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Our goal at Wellness Bakeries is to help you transform all your favorite comfort foods – from bread, breakfast and pizza to the most decadent desserts – into nourishing Paleo and Keto-friendly treats that help (not harm) your health.
That’s why we’ve crafted our products to be free from the grains, gluten, excess carbs, sugars, soy, dairy, and other potentially harmful additives, typically found in baking mixes.
In short, we’re sensitive to your sensitivities!
And we know how challenging it can be to cook and bake delicious treats, when suffering with food allergies or intolerances (or simply trying to avoid certain ingredients).
Today, we tackle the tricky subject of substituting dairy products in baking.
In the article below, you will learn:
There is certainly a place for grass-fed, full-fat dairy in a healthy diet… for most people.
However, some forms of dairy – like cheese and cream cheese– are much richer in a compound called casein, which can cause problems for wide numbers of people.
In fact, the problems people have with dairy are often the same as those experienced by those who have issues with gluten. That’s because cheese and wheat contain similar compounds, known as caseomorphins and gluteomorphins, respectively.
And the common denominator between these compounds is that they are both a type of opiod. They stimulate the same receptors in the brain as those triggered by drugs like morphine. And just like opiates themselves, these compounds have effects that are calming, euphoric… and even addictive.
If you’ve ever felt the magnetic pull from a warm and crusty slice of pizza, covered in bubbly, melted cheese… then you know just how powerful the “Craving Compounds” in wheat and dairy can be.
With such strong psychological effects, it’s no wonder 75% of the calories in the standard American diet come from wheat and dairy alone!
But an over-reliance on dairy doesn’t just contribute to food addiction. For many people, it can also lead to chronic inflammation,asthma and other respiratory issues, digestive trouble, depression, anxiety and a host of neurological conditions.
And when it comes to your health, the dairy dilemma doesn’t end there…
Most forms of dairy also contain lactose – or milk sugar. It is estimated that 75% of the world’s population doesn’t produce enough lactase – the enzyme needed to digest lactose. The results can be abdominal discomfort, bloating, gas and diarrhea.
Conventionally-produced dairy products can also be a health concern,due to harmful contaminants, including hormones, pesticides and antibiotics that come with a laundry list of risks.
You see, dairy can be a “mixed bag” when it comes to health. And, of course, as with all foods, there are individual factors at play in terms of how they affect you personally.
If you can consume dairy – without the list of health concerns above – consider yourself fortunate. The great news is that you can still enjoy all of Wellness Bakeries baking mixes – while following a dairy-free lifestyle!
First – let’s jump into the “Baking Benefits” offered by different forms of dairy. Then, we’ll show you how to create similar results – without the dairy.
Many of the recipes we’ve create with Wellness Bakeries’ blend-and-bake mixes call for sour cream or yogurt. These include Keto Yeasted Streusel Muffins, Keto Pumpkin Spice Donuts, Carb-Conscious Blueberry Muffins, Lemon-Poppyseed Muffins, Keto Sandwich Bread and more.
Sour cream and yogurt are both created with milk that has been “soured” through fermentation by microorganisms. As the microbes work their magic, they thicken the consistency and produce lactic acid (increasing the acidity)… not to mention adding a wide variety of flavorful byproducts.
Consider the many ways sour cream and yogurt can benefit carb-conscious and grain-free baking:
Now let’s talk about the dairy-free sour cream and yogurt substitutes you can use to get great results:
From our fluffy Belgian Waffles, decadent Cinnamon Rolls and moist Keto Pound Cake to “Cream Cheese” Danish… “Apple” Hand Pies… and Quiche Lorraine, you’ll find that we often call for cream cheese to create moist and tender cakes, waffles and muffins – or a beautiful grain-free rendition of puff-pastry or “choux”-like dough.
But cream cheese dough is not a new invention. It’s been around for decades, thanks to its ability to make pie crusts exceptionally flaky and Rugelach melt-in-your-mouth.
But how does it work?
Just like the pockets of butter or shortening nestled into traditional pie dough, cream cheese incorporated into our grain-free, carb-conscious doughs makes the finished crusts flaky and tender.
And if you can’t have dairy – we have some great news!
You can easily substitute the classic with two new,health-conscious brands of dairy-free cream cheese. These brands will work for our “cream cheese dough” as well as any filling that calls for cream cheese (such as our Cream Cheese Danish):
Unfortunately, homemade “cashew cream cheese” does not have the properties needed to create the same results, so stick with the brands above to get bakery-style results every time!
Mozzarella Cheese Substitutes
When you think of mozzarella cheese, pizza, calzone and chicken parmigiana might come to mind. But a number of our recipes also use mozzarella cheese in the dough. These include Keto Garlic Knots, Keto Sliders, Keto Dinner Rolls, and Keto Bagels, to name a few.
When we use mozzarella cheese in the dough, we are using it for structure. The goal is to imitate the chewy, golden crust imparted by gluten (but without the health-harming consequences).
If you’ve tried these recipes, you know how the mozzarella creates a chewy, toothsome crust that rivals gluten-filled breads and pizzas!
And while dairy-free commercial mozzarella cheese may work in these recipes, most of these products are made with modified food starches, yeast extracts and chemicals that we do not recommend.
If you’re looking for a mozzarella cheese substitute to top a pizza or fill a calzone, Miyokos Fresh Vegan Mozz works perfectly. It even melts and bubbles just like the real thing.
Hard cheeses – like cheddar and Parmesan – offer loads of flavor, fat and protein to recipes.
When hard cheeses are not used as a structural component,you can easily substitute commercially available or homemade alternatives. Treeline Tree Nut Hard Cheeses are our favorite for both flavor and nutritional benefits.
Be sure to grab our free book – Perfect Paleo Pizza – for 3 quick and delicious, homemade dairy-free cheese recipes including Dairy-Free Parmesan, Dairy-Free Mozzarella, and Dairy-Free Ricotta Cheese.
Soft Cheese Substitutes
Soft cheeses – like feta, ricotta and goat cheese – also add flavor, fat and protein to recipes.
You’ll find these cheeses tucked into our Keto Spanakopita Triangles and Keto Lemon Ricotta Waffles.
To get the same creamy and zingy flavors, consider Kite Hill Almond Milk Ricotta Cheese or Treeline Tree Nut Cheeses.
Substituting butter in our recipes is the easiest of all. Simply use any healthy fat that is solid at room temperature, such as:
For many people, ghee is also an option for replacing butter. Pure Indian Foods Cultured Ghee is batch-tested to contain no more than 0.25% lactose and 2.5 ppm casein/whey.
Milk & Cream Substitutes
Like butter, milk and cream are also very easy to substitute in our recipes.
To replace milk, our first choice is coconut milk (choose a brand made without additives or gums). Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk or Aroy-D Coconut Milk are two that we like and use, here in the Wellness Bakeries test kitchen.
Homemade almond milk is our second choice for replacing cow’s milk in recipes. Because most commercial dairy-free milks contain a number of additives, synthetic vitamins and other questionable ingredients, we suggest avoiding these.
When cream is called for, coconut cream – like Let’s Do Organic Heavy Coconut Cream or Native Forest Unsweetened Organic Coconut Cream – work superbly.
We hope this article has given you a better understanding of the many roles dairy plays in baking… and the simple and delicious substitutions you can use to make your recipes deliciously dairy-free!
Paleo Pizza Crust Mix helps you bring New York style pizza back to the table… without the health-harming ingredients found in most pizza crusts.
And because it’s made without grains it has 77% fewer carbohydrates than the average store-bought mix.
This carb-conscious blend creates a crispy-chewy crust with just the right density… so you can easily create truly authentic crusts that are the perfect platform for all your favorite toppings.
And you won’t believe the taste!
So, gather family and friends – and all your favorite toppings – because...
Pizza Night is Back!
And best of all, the preparation for Paleo Pizza Crust is foolproof.
All you need is an egg (or egg substitute), a little water and some healthy oil. Mix the ingredients, shape the dough into a circle and pop it in the oven for a few minutes.
Once your crust is firm, roll out the marinara, add your favorite ingredients and bake again until the cheese is melted, the crust is golden and your toppings are sizzling.
It’s so simple you can have a pizza on the table in about 15 minutes!
Just imagine digging into a savory slice of pizza with all your favorites on top…
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You can count on Wellness Bakeries for products that bring you pleasure and health in equal measure. We never compromise on taste or quality and your happiness is very important to us.
That’s why we promise:
And you can order with confidence, because you have…
When your order arrives, try one or two of our products at your convenience. If you are not absolutely thrilled and would like a refund, just send back the unopened packages within 30 days of purchase. We will cheerfully refund your entire order (minus shipping and handling).
We stand behind our products and want you to be completely satisfied!
For your inspiration and to ensure you know all our secrets for baking the perfect crispy-chewy – we created a FREE recipe book.
Inside, the Paleo Pizza Bakebook, you will find recipes for six classic pizzas, including:
And for those of us who need to avoid the melty-golden goodness of cheese - due to allergies, digestive issues or simply the desire to stick to a strict Paleo diet - we also include delicious dairy-free cheese recipes.
Inside you'll find easy recipes to make dairy-free versions of the three most common pizza cheeses, including Parmesan… Mozzarella… and Ricotta..
You won’t believe how they taste (and melt) just like the real thing!
Hi, we’re Kelley & Jon Herring… Welcome to our kitchen!
Wellness Bakeries was founded in 2006, with the mission to create the world’s healthiest and best-tasting gluten-free, carb-conscious, baking mixes.
Our goal was to make it easy for you to enjoy decadent desserts, chewy breads, crusty pizza, fluffy pancakes, crispy waffles and other sweet treats – that would not sour your health!
When we started this journey, there were no options for truly healthy baking mixes.
Everything was loaded with inflammatory grains, fake fats and sugar…or even worse, artificial sweeteners. We knew there had to be a better – and MUCH healthier – way.
So, with our backgrounds in health research, nutritional biochemistry and recipe development, we set out to use grain-free flours, healthy, slimming fats and natural no-sugar sweeteners to match the taste, texture and flavor of our favorite comfort foods.
At the time, very few people had even heard the term “gluten free.” There were no products to taste for inspiration and no recipe books to follow. It was all trial… and LOTS of errors.
Eventually, however, the experiments paid off. We discovered a few secrets. And then we made small, incremental improvements… perfecting one delicious product at a time.
And while it certainly wasn’t easy…
In 2008, Wellness Bakeries began offering our healthy baking mixes to the world.
And while our goal today is to make “healthy baking” easy for YOUR family… it all began with a desire to feed our family in a better way.
So, you can be sure that every Wellness Bakeries product is Kid-Tested & Mom Approved!
Pictured in this section, our Co-Founder (and hand model!), Jon, assisting with a quick food styling of our freshly-baked Primal Sausage & Pepper Pizza.... just before devouring!
We’re so grateful for you taking the time to visit Wellness Bakeries.
We hope you enjoy our uniquely delicious products as much as we have enjoyed creating them for you. We truly appreciate your support!
"I love what you do. I am gluten intolerant and reducing sugar, so your products fill the bill perfectly. I started with the Chocolate Bliss, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Drinking Chocolate. I have enjoyed them all! There are a lot of gluten-free products, but it is hard to find products that are gluten-free and low glycemic. Keep coming up with recipes and new products… they’re great!"
— Bari H.
"I’ve been looking for products like yours for a long time. My family loves dessert, but I hate the thought of feeding them so much sugar. We tried desserts with artificial sweeteners, but my kids always responded YUCK! We made our first batch of your cupcakes last night. I’m so impressed! More importantly, my family LOVED them!"
— Karen W.
"Going grain-free and sugar-free has been a challenge. I was looking for ways to have a treat without blowing my new way of eating. I have tried your chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies and ginger cookies. The texture in grain-free, sugar-free products is usually crumbly and mealy. But your products are exceptional! I will be trying new ones and reordering the ones I have already tried."
— Gina S.
"I love your baking mixes. When I decided to eat less gluten and sugar, I dreaded not being able to enjoy my favorite sweets. I tried some gluten-free products but none offered the right flavor and texture, until I found yours! I made the Chocolate Bliss cupcakes and they were soooo good. Didn't even get them frosted before they were gone! I don't recall how your website found me, but I’m sure glad it did!"
— Suzanne Z.
"I am so thankful for your products! I ordered Chocolate Bliss Cake and absolutely LOVE it! It is so nice to enjoy something sweet without the sugar crash of most desserts. I feel great when I eat this cake and I don’t even feel guilty!! I eat low-glycemic and paleo as much as possible. I just feel healthier and more energetic when I eat this way. I have not found anything that compares to your products!"
— Andrea H.
"I want to thank you for the delicious and OOOOH SOOOOOOO good for you desserts! I just tried them and was SO IMPRESSED with the taste, texture and, of course, clean ingredients! I am a drugless health practitioner and weight loss coach and have started sharing your website with my clients. Everyone needs to know about you! Thank you again for all you do and for offering such "wholesome" products!"
— Tracey V.
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