Yogurt is popularly used in baking as a substitute for heavier or richer ingredients such as dairy cream or sour cream, resulting in healthier baked goods since yogurt has fewer calories and less fat. In many cases, yogurt is used as a moistening agent for what otherwise would be a dry dough. In other cases, yogurt is used to give the dough a softer consistency while retaining the solidity of the baked item. Often, baking recipes will call for yogurt in order to add a slight tang to the flavor of the dough.
There are some good alternatives that can be used as substitutes for yogurt that have similar consistencies and thus can provide moist dough.
Some recommended alternatives to yogurt for adding moisture to the recipe are sour crème or even crème fraiche. Other foods that can be used include mashed bananas or pumpkin and applesauce. Silken tofu that is pureed in the blender until its texture is uniformly smooth can be a good substitute for yogurt. Milk, dairy creams and non-dairy milk can also be substitutes, but these are thinner liquids than yogurt. Thus, you should add the liquid in smaller amounts than what the recipe calls for in yogurt, like 1/3 cup milk as a substitute for ½ cup yogurt, and then see how the dough’s consistency is before continuing to add.
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Substitutes |
Sour cream, crème fraiche, applesauce, mashed bananas, cooked and mashed pumpkin, milk, dairy creams, sour cream |
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Example of Recipe |
Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread
Servings: 12 (1 loaf) Ingredients:
Instructions:
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Recipes often call for fresh, plain yogurt because it’s great for adding a tangy flavor to the baked product. However, there are some good substitute for yogurt in baking. Because of its smooth, thick consistency, sour cream is an optimal choice for achieving a tangy flavor in the baked goods. Buttermilk, while thinner in consistency, also adds a tangy flavor to the final product. To substitute for a lack of either buttermilk or sour cream, simply add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk.
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Substitutes |
Sour cream, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice with milk |
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Example of Recipe |
Blueberry and Buttermilk Muffins
Servings: 6 muffins Ingredients:
Instructions:
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It is difficult to surpass yogurt in terms of health benefits, but there are a few options available that can function quite well as substitutes in any baking recipe. Buttermilk is a fermented dairy product that also contains some amount of probiotics, although it is thinner in consistency than yogurt. Skim milk is of similar nutritional value to yogurt and works as a good substitute. Both of these alternatives, because they are thinner liquids, must be used more sparingly than yogurt in baking recipes to get the right consistency and moisture in the final product.
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Substitutes |
Buttermilk, skim milk |
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Example of Recipe |
Milky Baked Biscuits
Servings: 12 biscuits Ingredients:
Instructions:
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Which of these substitute for yogurt in baking should you use in your recipe? It depends on the reason your particular recipe calls for yogurt: to add a tangy flavor to the final product, to add moisture or consistency to the dough, or simply to add health benefits such as useful probiotics and nutritional content, or lower calories and less fat.
You can determine which of these purposes yogurt has in your recipe by the following general rule: tangy flavor can be important in pastries and pies; moisture is almost always an important aspect of baked muffins and quick breads; and adding better nutrition or reducing caloric content is most likely in items such as cakes, cupcakes and sweetbreads. If your yogurt-including recipe comes from a book, you might check the introduction to the book or recipe, or the index for information about yogurt’s purpose in that particular recipe.
