Getting correct baking consistency when using stevia as sugar substitute
When replacing sugar fully or partially with stevia powder it seems that baked goods like biscuits do not spread as much and are often dryer. Is there anything that can be done to make the dough with stevia behave more like dough with sugar when baking?
Best Answer
Not really, unless you go for a different carbohydrate with physical properties similar to refined sucrose. And if you are removing the sugar for dietary reasons, you're probably not winning anything by doing the substitution.
Artificial sweeteners and stevia are just that - a sweetener, not a sugar. They can only be successfully used as a substitute where table sugar is used as a sweeteners. For example, they work well in a coffee or a homemade lemonade.
In baking, sugar is not used primarily to make the batter sweet, in fact it often makes it too sweet for my own taste. Its purpose is to provide structure. It has unique physical properties it shares with other short carbohydrates, but not with non-sugar sweeteners. You cannot substitute sugar for something which is completely unlike sugar and expect to get the same result.
If you are very adventurous, you can try using soluble fibre in place of sugar. But it's hard for a home cook to 1) get a supply of it, and 2) tweak a recipe such that it works well enough texturewise.
If my assumption is wrong and you are not counting calories, it becomes easier. Adding pure glucose or fructose will produce a recipe which still needs a tweaking, but can potentially be made similar to a sugar-containing one. Then you should also leave out the stevia, because it will make the bisquits overly sweet.
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Quick Answer about "Getting correct baking consistency when using stevia as sugar substitute"
We recommend trying the recipe with half the specified amount of agave in liquid stevia, but you may need to add more liquid such as water or milk to the mix to get the same consistency.Does stevia change the texture of baked goods?
In a study of muffins made with stevia extract and inulin, a replacement of 50% sugar resulted in muffins similar to the full-sugar control for texture, firmness and springiness.How do I substitute stevia for sugar in baking?
For each cup of sugar that your cake recipe calls for, use only a mere 1 teaspoon of stevia as a substitute.Does stevia thicken like sugar?
There are also some things that other sweeteners can't replace. Sugar has properties that stevia does not: It browns in baking; it can thicken and take on water, and it creates what is called \u201cmouthfeel.\u201dDoes stevia Bake the same as sugar?
Stevia is a natural, non-nutritive sweetener extracted from the leaf of the stevia plant. More than 200 times sweeter than sugar, stevia extract can be substituted into baked goods if another food is used to replace the lost bulk that the sugar would have added.How to Bake With Stevia Instead of Sugar
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Answer 2
I've successfully used apple fiber with paleo brownies. Where 1/3 cup of honey was called for, used about 1/2 that amount of the apple fiber with powered stevia to taste.
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