Question
Melissa Bryant
When baking something such as Whole Food, Plant-Based Samosas, what would be a few options you would consider using in place of the oil typically used to brush them before baking?
Answer
When we think about baking, any pastry items in order to, uh, promote color, uh, is common to based with something. And so it could be egg yolk, it could be egg white, it could be whole eggs. It could be any of those that are thinned down with a little bit of water. Uh, it could be milk, uh, it could be milk that's perhaps thinned down with a little bit of water. Um, you know, as well as other things that we might, uh, use. And, and so if we think about those categories and their typical plant-based replacements, then, you know, we come up with plant-based milks, uh, as, uh, a good alternative, a common alternative. So maybe it's soy milk, or maybe it's almond milk or something else. You can give that a try. And whether it has added sugar or not is up to you. Okay? Um, you know, more sugar will hasten the color development. Um, but the, uh, other, otherwise, the naturally present sugars and the proteins will contribute to color development. Um, uh, if there's no added sugar to the product that you buy. So either, either way is fine. Okay? Um, you might consider, you know, something like, um, in, in place of adding, you know, oil, you can find, uh, perhaps a whole food source of fat. And what comes to mind for me is tahini. Um, I am thinking of, uh, of tahini because I, I eat a lot of it. Um, but also, uh, it has a very light color. And so it's not too far out of step from just an oil that you might brush on. Now, consider thinning down the tahini, um, so that you're not adding a paste to the surface of the samosas. Um, and then you can thin it down with water to the extent that you want. You might consider some experimentation here as well. And then, you know, otherwise, uh, you can consider perhaps, um, you know, a vegetable stock, um, you know, as a, as a, a, a basting liquid. And, and try those out and see how they, uh, turn out for you, see how you like them, and have some fun with the process.
