Vegan bakeries are stores that make and sell vegan-friendly baked goods. Many of these shops also stock other vegan-friendly items, including candies, vegan ice cream, and sometimes even vegan cookbooks and cooking supplies. These bakeries are often popular because recreating baked dishes that typically include eggs and milk can be very difficult to do well at home. Some bakeries may offer vegan goods, but the benefit of having a vegan bakery is that there should be no risk of contamination from any animal product.
Almost any product that can be found in a normal bakery can also be found in a vegan bakery, but it may not taste quite the same. In order to make baked goods conform to vegan standards, it is sometimes necessary to drastically change the texture or flavor of the food involved. Many people find that vegan versions of baked products taste better in some cases, but other products occasionally fall flat. For vegans, being able to eat something that even resembles a familiar baked good is often enough to combat any deficiencies in taste.
Some of the most common products sold in vegan bakeries are vegan cupcakes, cookies, and muffins. Brownies are also popular. The primary problem in these recipes is finding a replacement for milk and eggs, but some recipes do not include much of these ingredients in the first place. Replacing them in terms of function is the most important part, as eggs are sometimes responsible for giving an item strength and texture. Each bakery has a different strategy for dealing with this problem, and some are much better at altering recipes than others.
Large, complex items like wedding cakes can also be made to fit vegan standards, but these are often very expensive. While most bakeries focus on sweets, it is also possible to bake savory items. Some bakeries offer deliveries and may be able to bring cupcakes to offices, parties, and other events. Since bakeries of this sort must cater to a somewhat smaller market than other bakeries, they are often more creative in marketing and distributing products.
Vegan bakeries are often concerned with meeting the moral and nutritional expectations of a primarily vegan customer base. This means that many items sold in vegan bakeries are not only free of animal products, but also organic, gluten-free, and often soy-free as well. Certainly, not every item on a bakery's menu can meet the nutrition requirements of every person, but vegan bakeries are often very careful about which ingredients go into their items because of their highly exacting customers. That makes this type of bakery perfect not only for vegans but for people with many different food sensitivities as well.
