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.
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That’s weird! I look into it!
No worries, I already got it cleared up with Gloria!
I’m not sure what happened to my question but here it is again. Can I use soy protein isolate instead of the whey protein? And what’s the difference if not? Thank you for your time! Marie
Hi Marie, we’ve never tried it, so it’s up to you if you’d prefer soy to whey. Soy is…well… Not something a lot of Ketogenic eaters will eat ?
Hi Carolyn-
I made this today and put it in a loaf pan and it was very flat. Any ideas on what I did wrong?
It taste good though!
No idea. Did you use the suggested brand of whey protein isolate?
I used Isopure.
That can happen if it’s over mixed after the addition of the whey.
Can anyone tell me if these taste eggy at all? I really hate the taste of eggs!
Jenny
There are very few eggs, so no, it does not taste eggy.
Ugh…just back from the city getting all the ingredients and see I have bought Isolate SOY Protein…Is this a no-no or do you think it will work?
Oh dear. I really have no idea but I don’t think soy is very good for you. But it’s worth a try if you are desperate to make it!
i made mine in a muffin top pan, followed directions except i used olive oil and vanilla whey protein powder (all i had on hand). i made sure to fold in the dry ingredients and not over mix. how did you get them to rise? mine came out flat as a pancake. the recipe looks great, but i’d love to get it right!
Just made these in two silpat inspired muffin forms. They turned out perfectly, yielded 11 rolls. I substituted Guar Gum for the Xanthin Gum because I had it on hand. I also used unflavoured Precision All Natural Whey Protein.
Thank you for this recipe!
I just made my first batch of these. They’re FANTASTIC! I followed the recipe as written (except for the sesame seeds..didn’t have any) and I used a muffin top pan. I baked them for 18 minutes. For the small amount of garlic powder in the recipe, it sure lends itself fully to the flavor, not overpowering at all, but you definitely know it’s in there. I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as texture and density from having Whey Protein Powder as the only “flour” ingredient but I did find that they were a little on the dense side, which I like, and the first 6 were just a tad bit on the dry side. Before I baked the next 6 using the rest of the batter, I added about 2 Tbs of freshly grated Asiago cheese that I had left in the fridge. The second batch was a little bit more moist. I don’t know if it was from adding the cheese or maybe the batter resting for the time it took the first batch to bake and cool. All in all, a really great recipe with so much potential for savory or sweet. Thank so much for the hard work you put into bringing us all of your wonderful recipes.
So glad you liked them!
First of all, I’m no glad to have found your blog and your Facebook page. I know this post is “old” so I hope you’ll be able to see my question I’m about to ask. For fear of asking the same question over and over, I searched all the comments to make sure it wasn’t asked earlier……where or how did you make these cute rolls? What pan you used? These are the perfect slider or hamburger size.
I believe I called out the pan in my post and recipe. I used a brownie pan like this one: http://amzn.to/2aRqw8E
Thank you so much for doing what you do, Carolyn. I love how easy and delicious your recipes are, and I have learned so much about how ingredients work together that I am not afraid to tweak to my tastebuds…
I have made this recipe twice now, using Terra’s Whey, and only whisking everything together by hand (away from home, no mixer). This leaves lovely little bits of cream cheese throughout the finished product!
The first time I used a loaf pan, and sliced it into 16 pieces (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16)… These were thin-ish slices and I made yummy peanut butter sandwiches and french toast out of them…
The second time, I found a Wilton brownie pan on Amazon for $10 that I had shipped to me where I am! I love these little squares. Yes, only 12 instead of 16, but the recipe is for 12 servings, right?
These are delicious and easy and I will leave out garlic, and add some Swerve, vanilla extract and cinnamon next time… Especially love them toasted and buttered… Another batch I will add maple extract to use for breakfast sausage sandwiches… I love maple with sausage… Also with peanut butter… Can you say “huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh…” Like Homer Simpson?????❤️
I just made these to the exact recipe. Perfect! 17-18 minutes in a muffin top pan.
Then I made a BLT. In fact, I made two.
Hi Carolyn,
Do you know if something other than avacado oil would work?
Thanks
Yes, olive oil is fine too.
Hi there. I have a question. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar.
Since 1 part baking soda + 1 part cream of tartar = baking powder, can I just do 2 tsp of baking powder and skip the cream of tartar and baking soda?
Also, what would you think of using coconut flour instead of the protein powder? Do you think it would still work? I realize that changes the recipe completely, but wondering if it would still work. Thanks.
The baking powder would be fine, but the coconut flour would not be fine. Coconut flour is extremely absorbent and needs many eggs to help it rise. This recipe absolutely depends on protein powder for its shape and consistency.
I just made these and I can’t get it to look like yours. Mine are still a little eggy in the middle. I made them with a muffin top pan.
The top gotten golden brown but the middle was spongy and eggy.
Note: I use whey vanilla protein. Does that matter?
According to the original soul bread people, the type of whey protein really does matter. I used the Isopure brand, what did you use?
Just some weight lifting protein powder.
If you over mix the protein powder, they can turn heavy and eggy too. Protein powder needs to be added stirred until the dry is wet, then stop. Also, some whey powders can be quite coarse and gritty. If you can find a highly rated powder, that says it mixes easily or instantly dissolves that would work.
Ya I thought I over mixed. Thanks.
Good to know, Joan. I know your instructions said that earlier, I should think about mentioning it in mine.
I gave these my “acid test” …. tasted one straight from the oven with butter only. Absolutely delicious. This is a keeper.
I made these and they are pretty darn good. I used a muffin pan and they came out great. I used the Terra Whey Protein powder – again pretty awesome. Because I used the Terra Whey, the carb count was higher. It equates out to 4 grams of carbs per muffin. Were you using a different powder that has a lower carb count?