Have you tried Soul Bread yet? It just might be the most innovative and delicious low carb bread recipe around. These little keto rolls are perfect for making burgers, sliders and other sandwiches.
There are a lot of food bloggers out there these days. It’s something of a booming industry and it is both wonderful and a little daunting to be part of it. Daily I discover new blogs and new recipe developers doing some pretty amazing stuff. I get so many wonderful ideas from them, so much inspiration, and I learn and grow and branch out a little more. And I hope that I too am inspiring others in my own right. But bloggers really shouldn’t be getting all the glory here. There are also some innovative home cooks who are quietly coming up with some amazing recipes on their own. And since they don’t blog about it, it tends to stay on the down low until somebody with a bigger outlet, a blog or a social media following, picks it up and broadcasts it. Such is the case for Soul Bread.
If you are on Facebook, chances are you’ve already heard of, and possibly tried your hand at, Soul Bread recipes. It’s all the rage in many low carb Facebook groups. I just started hearing about it a few months back and decided I had to give it a go. If you aren’t sure what it is, then it’s a very, very low carb bread that’s made primarily with cream cheese and protein powder, along with smaller amounts of other ingredients. It has no flours…no nuts, no coconut, no flax, no seed flours. Unlike the famous cloud bread, you don’t have to whip a bunch of egg whites, so it’s pretty easy to make. And the crazy part is that it has the texture and taste of a very light white bread. It’s heavy on the dairy, obviously, so it’s not for the lactose intolerant.
I want to make sure to give credit where credit is due here, because Soul Bread is very innovative and I wouldn’t dream of trying to pretend I came up with it. Bear with me here as I try to get the chronology of this. It all started in the Original Atkins & LCHF Facebook group, where admin Gloria Koch got to playing around with using protein powder as the “flour”. She had fellow members, Pat Gunder and Joan Snydmiller, play the role of recipe testers and they added some of their own suggestions until they perfected it. And then it really took off, with everyone coming up with variations and new flavours. Joan started a whole Soul Bread Facebook page to share these wonderful recipes. And it was also picked up and shared (with permission) by Ann Moore of Low Carb Diem. So now it’s pretty famous as one of THE best low carb breads.
In some ways, it’s similar to a keto cloud bread recipe like this one.
Being ever the recipe tinkerer, I wanted to play around with it and come up with a sturdy low carb dinner roll/hamburger bun. Specifically, I wanted to have a sesame roll because I have always love sesame seeds on my rolls and buns. I first tried free-forming the rolls on a baking sheet but the batter was too thin and they ended up very flat and a little dry. Clearly they needed the structure of a pan to bake properly, but my muffin top pan had recently died a slow death and was no longer non-stick. So I went with my square brownie pan. This made them a little on the smallish side, but they were perfect as dinner rolls or small burger/slider buns. I used the suggested Isopure whey protein isolate, but I changed the amounts of some ingredients to suit my needs and my pan. I also simplified the instructions somewhat, as I found my first attempt at Soul Bread a little confusing. I found I didn’t need to sift the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients, as long as I whisked them together well enough beforehand.
Really, this is a remarkable recipe and it’s quite adaptable. Hats off to the wonderful Soul Bread Creators, my thanks to them and I hope I have done it justice. These little rolls hold up perfectly to burgers and sliders, they toast beautifully, and they make great sandwiches. Viva la Soul Bread!
Be sure to check out all the amazing Soul Bread creations on the Soul Bread Facebook Page!
Soul Bread Sesame Rolls
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp (42.61 g) butter, melted
- 2 1/2 tbsp (35.5 g) avocado oil
- 2 1/2 tbsp (37.5 ml) whipping cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup (108 g) plus 3 tbsp unflavoured whey protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 plus 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a muffin top pan or a square brownie pan very well. You can also use a muffin pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, avocado oil, whipping cream, eggs, and egg white.
- In another bowl, whisk together the protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, garlic powder, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Break up any clumps with a fork.
- Add dry ingredients to the cream cheese mixture and fold in by hand until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Fill the cavities of prepared pan to almost full (for the muffin top pan, you may need to work in batches). Sprinkle tops with toasted sesame seeds.
- Bake 25 to 35 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool in pan 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely. *If using a muffin top pan, they won't take as long to bake. Keep your eye on them!
Notes
Total fat: 14.42g
Calories from fat: 129
Cholesterol: 67mg
Carbohydrate: 2.50g
Total dietary fiber: 0.33g
Protein: 9.34g
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Could you just use powdered egg whites instead of the protein powder?
Potentially but I haven’t yet tried it.
These look fanastic! I’ve never heard of soul bread before. Can’t wait to try these!
I’m just getting started on Trim Healthy Mama and think these rolls would be on plan. I have a quick question, though. What could I use in place of the xanthan gum? I have glucomannan on hand. Would that work?
Thanks so much for the awesome looking recipe!
Yes but I am not sure of the conversion. I’ve never used glucomannan.
It does work as well Trina, and it measures straight across.
Thanks, Joan!
I use glucomannan in place of cornstarch in puddings. 1 teaspoonful in place of 3 tablespoonfuls of corn starch.
could you use arrowroot flour in pace of it then?
Thank Carolyn I am planing to make them !
We just finish your browny cheese cake my grandkids ate the entire cake my 5 year old grandkids agree w me we need too keep this in family. Every resepie i try from you id amazing Thank for goodness and for love of cooking creating.Best regards.
So glad you liked the cheesecake. Or rather, your grandkids did!
Oops! A question about the carbs. You show 1.17 carb per roll. But if you subtract the .33 fiber from the 2.5 carbs, you get 2.17?? Clarification, please. . . Thanks!
That’s probably a typo, Jeanette. 🙂
MasterCook says 3g net carbs, but I use Bob’s Red Mill whey protein powder and it’s a little bit more carb-heavy than some of the more expensive powders. I think it’s important to calculate the net carbs with the ingredients you’re using. Sometimes there is a difference between what the recipe author uses and what you may have in your pantry.
I agree! 🙂
Sorry…2.17g!
Really? A good low carb bread? Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I MUST try this immediately.
Oh, and Happy Canada Day.
Carolyn, thank you so much for modifying the Soul Bread recipe to work in muffin top pans AND for making a smaller batch! I’ve made the Soul Bread many times and really like it – but mine never raises up very well – maybe because of the altitude (I live at over 3,000 feet). I’m going to make your recipe using the tip for baking at higher altitudes and see if they will rise. You’ve done the creators justice in your review. Thanks!
Yes, I hear it’s tricky at higher elevations. Not sure what to tell you!
I have been making Soul Bread for some time now. It solves the issue of toast with bacon and eggs in the morning or being used for sandwiches. It does freeze well if you’re making a few in advance. I hadn’t thought of adapting them for other uses but this is now on my to do list.
I have tons of ideas for adapting it!
I am going to make Soul Bread soon and it will be for sandwiches. How is the texture? I have trouble eating “dense” bread…..I am trying to find a recipe that is similar to regular white bread and fluffy in texture. Thanks!
It’s not dense at all, very light.
The only thing I don’t like is the whey in the recipe. I follow Wheatbelly WOE and they are not a fan of using protein powders….is there any substitute that would work as well? These look awesome and I’d love to make them
You could try egg white protein.
Could you substitute the whey protein with unflavored gelatin?
No, that would be a gummy, horrible mess.
Hi! I’m noticing that alot of the baked goods reciepics call for whey protein, is soy isolate protein a good substitute? If not why? I can but it it bulk and it’s alot cheaper per pound.. Thank you so much for your time.. Marie
how about Collagen protein .. hear whey is heat sensitive
You can give it a try, I haven’t tested it myself.
I read that too somewhere. Whey only gets bothered by high temps, that’s why we recommend the temp at 325’F, not 350’F
That is interesting about Wheat Belly! Are they opposed to using whey proteins because of casein? If so, whey protein isolate as this recipe calls for, the casein is removed and therefore you would not have the insulin response as if otherwise.
These look amazing, I can’t wait to try.
I’m happy about then texture, so much you could do with this. Thanks for posting it!
Do they come out a little dry? Seems like so many of my recipes start out on the dryer side on 1st day, but refrigerating and/or a day or so later, baked goods become more dense and moist. Trying to decide if I should make the day I’m using these or bake a day or two in advance.
I don’t find them dry but they do refrigerate well.
These sound wonderful! Could I use another oil, perhaps olive or coconut? Thanks
Yup, olive works fine.
EVO oil or light olive oil? Thanks! They look wonderful.
These sound wonderful!! Making this weekend.
Is it okay to sub egg white protein powder for the whey protein powder? I only have vanilla whey protein powder, which would not work in a savory bun. I appreciate your advice.
I don’t know if the egg white protein would work. It’s worth a shot!
Egg white protein will make it more dense, but it is do-able. The first time I made soul bread, I only had egg white protein. You might try reducing the amount by a TBSP or 2 and see if that helps.
I had never heard of soul bread before seeing this!
These look wonderful! Just in time for the 4th of July. I wonder how using ramekins to bake them would work? It would seem to make a bigger bun. Thank you!
It’s a great idea and I wish I’d thought of it. You could probably get 8 or so decent sized rolls.
First of all, Carolyn, I could hug you! This is a wonderfully written recipe blog… As always!
You can use English muffin rings, whoopie pans, egg rings, round silicone forms, and some small tart pans. Use a silicone mat or parchment under open rings.
All great tips. And one reader just suggested ramekins so I am doing that next time!
I ended up using tart pans becaise Bed Bath and Beyond was sold out of the brownie pans and they turned out awesome.
I found the USA mini cake pan…6 cakes. Worked great!!!!! If you make 12 would be like sandwich thins. I also took someone’s suggestion to use a pan of water when baking so the crust isn’t as crunchy. https://www.amazon.com/USA-Pan-Bakeware-Nonstick-Aluminized/dp/B001QXW3Q4
Hi. I’m planning on making these at the weekend but not sure about storage…where and for how long (I assume fridge due to dairy). Do they freeze/defrost well?
I haven’t tried freezing them but I would imagine they would be fine. I keep mine on the counter for a few days but after that, refrigerate. They do fine when you warm them up and they are fabulous toasted!
is there any other kind an what makes the bread texter
Fabulous! The rise and texture are BREAD. Made recipe as written but anxious to experiment with other flavors..sweet and savory. Thank you Carolyn…love your recipes so purchased your books.