Low carb bread – we all crave it and we are all looking for the perfect recipe. This might just be the best low carb bread recipe, and it’s so versatile, you can use it for rolls, sticky buns, pizza and more.
Yesterday afternoon I did something I rarely let myself do: I completely blew off work. It was a glorious day here in the Pacific Northwest, not a cloud in the vibrant blue sky, a perfect 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It was CIT – “Carolyn’s Ideal Temperature”, and I just couldn’t let it go to waste, sitting inside working on blog posts and articles and photos. The glorious spring weather was calling to me and I succumbed. I threw on some flip flops and went for a walk, stopping to get an iced coffee along the way. And then I went to get my toes done, something I desperately needed for an event we are attending tonight. I couldn’t let the world at large see my calloused, banged up runners’ feet and toes as they were!
How to make Low Carb Bread
So this bread recipe is going up a little late today. And it’s not one I can just throw up and leave be. This one needs a little explaining, a little talking through. See, I’ve been working on this for a while now, trying to perfect my own version of the low carb psyllium bread (hats off to those who’ve gone before, most notably Maria of Keto-Adapted). Psyllium is like many other low carb ingredients, something that takes a little getting used to. It has its own quirks and idiosyncrasies and you have to learn to work with them or you won’t get the desired results.
One thing I’ve found is that the brand of psyllium powder definitely makes a difference. I’ve tried two: Now Brand and Yerba Prima. I think I like the Now Brand better, as the Yerba Prima gives my bread more of that slight purply colour. It also seems to give my breads a more gummy texture than the Now psyllium powder.
Because of this difference between brands, it can make it hard to write recipes that work for everyone. I know many people experience frustration with psyllium bread recipes being gummy or deflating after being removed from the oven and I think a lot of that is the brand differences. So I tried to write this particular recipe with those differences in mind. In this case, you only add just enough hot water to expand the bread to about 1.5 to 2 times the original size. With Now Brand psyllium, I find you need more water and with Yerba Prima, I find you need less. It does require using your judgement and deciding when enough is enough. This may take a little practice, but when you get good results, it’s worth it.
I also wanted to develop a bread recipe that could be used in multiple applications and I think I’ve succeeded. I’ve used it for my low carb Pizza rolls, loaf bread, buns and yes, some delicious low carb sticky buns. I think it could be used as pizza crust too, but I haven’t tried it as yet. And I am going to be cruel and tease you with the sticky bun photos today, as the recipe with be forthcoming in a few more days. They were delicious and well worth the effort!
Multi-Purpose Low Carb Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
- ½ cup almond flour
- 5 tablespoon psyllium husk powder (about 1.6 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic or onion powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon herbs like rosemary, oregano or basil. Pizza seasoning is great too! (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup egg whites (about 8 to 10 large egg whites)
- 3 tablespoon oil or melted butter
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ to ¾ cup hot water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. If you are making a loaf, grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan well. If you are making rolls, line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, almond flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in egg whites, oil and apple cider vinegar. Slowly pour hot water over, stirring until dough expands. Start with the lesser amount and add a bit more until dough seems like it has expanded about 1.5 to 2 times. Do not add too much water or it can become a gloppy mess.
Loaf:
- For a loaf of bread, shape into a rough rectangle and place in prepared baking pan. Bake 60 to 75 minutes, until browned and crust feels hard to the touch (it will look done long before it really is. Don't take it out early or it will deflate). Remove and let cool in pan.
Rolls:
- Divide dough into 10 to 12 equal pieces and roll between palms into a rough ball. If dough is sticky, oil your palms with olive or avocado oil. Place on prepared cookie sheet. If you want flatter rolls for burgers or sandwich rolls, press down to 1 inch thickness with your palm.
- Bake 45 to 60 minutes, depending on size and shape of rolls. Rolls should be well browned and quite firm to the touch. Remove and let cool on pan.
cimmaryn says
I made rolls with the recipe, for the first time. I did tweak the recipe (cannot seem to help myself). 🙂 I did not want the sweetness coconut flour sometimes brings, so I subbed 3/4 cup wheat bran, 1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten, and an extra Tbsp of psyllium powder. I did not add any spices. I used nearly the full 3/4 water.
The rolls came out pretty awesome. My dough was not sticky, it was firm and easy to form into balls. I made 11 rolls. They rose beautifully and looked like whole wheat rolls. I think if I made them the same way, next time I will put a bit more salt — the flavor is a bit bland. The mouth-feel is different than yeast bread, I guess the ‘gummy’ thing people mention. There are air holes, and the rolls look like rolls. 🙂 I think they will be spectacular with butter, or maybe butter/garlic salt, or cheese, or cream cheese….They are very sturdy, nearly the same as wheat bread.
I definitely think this recipe would make a pretty awesome pizza crust. May try that next!
I took a picture of the rolls, and the inside of one, but i’m not sure how to post it?
Anyway, awesome recipe! Low carbing has come a long way from the first time I tried it — and your recipes help me feel like this could be a lifestyle, not a diet. Thanks!
Carolyn says
You can post it to me on my Facebook page if you like. I don’t thin you can post it here. So glad it wired out that well.
Rena (An Ordinary Housewife) says
Can you sub Trim Healthy Mama baking blend for the flours and psyllium husk powder?
Carolyn says
No, I don’t think that would work. Especially not for the psyllium, which gives this bread its bready texture.
allison G says
I just love this recipe. It is so versatile and easy!! I have made rolls quite often and used it to make Pizza pull apart bread and my latest Caramel Monkey Bread. It worked perfectly both times. My family loves that Monkey bread and I have to make rolls every week and now they want the pizza pepperoni bread all the time now. It is so great to have this recipe to use for so many different uses!!
Carolyn says
Thanks so much, Allison! I am so glad you find it useful.
Pam says
Allison, do you have a blog or FB page where I can find your recipes?
cimmaryn says
This sounds great. I’ve ordered some psyllium, and will try it when it arrives.
Two questions – would it be beneficial for me to add vital wheat gluten (no gluten issues for me). Also, do you think I could sub oat fiber for the coconut flour?
Thanks so much!
Carolyn says
I don’t see any benefit to adding vital wheat gluten. Not sure about the oat fiber…it’s not nearly so absorbent as coconut flour. You can try it but you may need to add more.
cimmaryn says
Thanks! I wondered if the vital wheat gluten would add to the ‘bread’ texture.
With the oat fiber, do you think doubling the amount vs. the coconut flour would be enough/too much?
Thanks again!
Carolyn says
I really am not sure. Maybe start with 1.5 times the coconut flour and see if your dough is too wet?
anabanana says
It would be helpful if you could include photos of what the dough should look like before and after adding the water. Photos would help me visualize the proper consistency, texture should be like since psyllium husk powder is tricky to work with.
Allison says
Just made this into rolls. They are awesome!!! Best Paleo/Keto bread I have ever made, and I have tired a LOT of bread recipes. Tomorrow I am going to experiment with these a bit. I put one in the freezer to see how it holds up. Going to have a breakfast-egg, cheese and sausage roll tomorrow. And I want to see if I could do some kind of hot pocket with pizza toppings or cheddar, chicken and broccoli, or chicken, mushroom and swiss. The Cinnamon rolls will definitely also be in the works! Thank you so much for your efforts here!!
Mrs Babyhead says
My loaf deflated but I didn’t leave it in long enough. I should have resisted temptation! However, it tasted yummy enough that DH asked me to keep the deflated loaf (or lump!) so he could eat it with butter. It really has a good bready taste. Could this be used as a sort of chewy pizza crust if flattened into a thin disk? It has the chewy sort of pizza crust “feel” that we all miss. I’m trying to figure out of it should be baked and then topped with cheese, etc or could be baked all at once. Any ideas?
Carolyn says
Yes, you can make this into pizza crust. Bake it for 10 minutes or so before topping it and baking again, it will be crisper.
mrsbabyhead says
Oh thank you! We will try and I’ll report back! Your recipes as part of a LC diet have helped make DH glucose go from 358 fasting to 98 fasting. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. You are the best!
Carolyn says
You are welcome!
Mrs Babyhead says
We made it into pizza and it was pretty good! We all enjoyed it. 🙂 Next time we’re going to try a half recipe and make a thinner crust to get it a bit crisper. Thank you again, I can’t overstate how thankful I am for your hard work and your recipes!
Mike Fesik says
I was so disappointed in this bread. It’s another”pancake” loaf. I’m so tired of them. I followed the directions explicitly, down to measuring the ingredients on a scale. The bread was not a gloppy mess. I was able to form it into a loaf and put it into a 9 by 5 loaf pan. Yes, I used the NOW psyllium and did everything else. It just did not rise like a loaf of bread should. It didn’t fall when I removed it from the oven. It baked 90 minutes. It’s just flat. It tastes sweet from the coconut flour (and I love coconut)! I’m very glad for all of the readers out there who are satisfied and I mean no disrespect to your website at all! But I won’t be making this again. I’m tired of trying to find a low-carb bread recipe that works The ingredients are also expensive. I’m going to spend the $7.99 plus over $5.00 and try one of the ThinSlim breads from their website. If their bread isn’t good, I’m going to gi just have a slice of the real stuff every once in a while.
Sam says
After an half and a half of cooking the loaf was still raw in the middle? Wgat happened? I was so excited to finally having bread for sandwiches and it is not cooking through even though the outside is completely done
Carolyn says
How much liquid did you add? What kind of psyllium was it?
Sam says
Wgat size loaf pan would I use for this recipe?
Carolyn says
9 x 5.
Jackie says
Thank you for the recipe. Is the vinegar really needed? I thought vinegar is needed with baking soda, but not baking powder. I have tried a similar recipe earlier, and the vinegar smell kind of ruined it for me. Thx.
Carolyn says
You can skip it if need be.
Jackie says
Thanks! i tried it without the vinegar, and it still worked wel, and smells good!
Debi says
Hello there
I’d like to try this recipe, but I have one question…..just wanted to make sure there isn’t a typo in the ingredients…..recipe calls for 1 TBL baking powder….should that be 1 tsp???
Carolyn says
Nope, it’s one tablespoon. Gluten-free recipes typically call for much more leavening agent to help things rise properly.
Marci says
Hmmmm… So I made the bread. I think it needed more water, I added the whole 3/4 cup but didn’t get any expansion, it sucked the water right up. When I make Maria’s rolls, at first the batter is very watery (almost like a pancake batter that someone else mentioned) but then the dough forms, the water gets absorbed, and it is very sticky. This didn’t happen here but I was hesitant to add more water, wanting to make it as written the first time. The bread rose beautifully, I let it cook for 1 hr & 20 min, it was hard to the touch and smelled so good. I left it in the oven to cool and after a while took it out of the pan and placed it on the hot pizza stone that was in the oven. It slowly sank, and after it had cooled a bit I cut into it, to find the bottom was completely gummy. I will keep trying, but I think more water & longer cooking might be in order. The non-gummy parts are yummy!
Cristal says
Okay, NOW I am a believer!! This is my second batch, first was Maria’s…had to throw it away, didn’t work out at all. I made the buns – SO EXCITED! I can have my burger or chicken or roast beef or WHATEVER sandwich again! Y are a genius! THANK YOU!!!
Carolyn says
So glad, Cristal!
Amy says
Carolyn,
I am new to low-carb cooking. I baked this bread last night and it turned out good. After reading the comments from others who live in high altitudes I left some of the hot water out. I think maybe I should have added a little more as my rolls did not raise very much even with the addition of an extra half tablespoon of baking powder. I also used a different brand of psyllium because that’s what I had on hand.
I wondered if you have considered posting any videos on your blog. I would love to see what your dough looked like compared to mine.
Also made the grab and go blueberry muffins and my newly diabetic husband liked them so much. I really appreciate your beautiful blog, a diabetes diagnosis is really hard, and being able to make familiar foods is the best feeling
Carolyn says
Good idea about the video!
Denise S. says
I just made these and they turned out perfect. I took a chance and added 1/4 tsp of onion powder. It made such a good bun for a hamburger! I froze the rest. Your recipes are so good and always turn out.
juliendbq says
What a wonderful recipe! I made 12 hamburger buns; they looked great, other than being a little small. Next time I will make 8, or 6. BUT … the end products was super. Hamburgers are the one item I have a hard time eating without bread. … not anymore! Thanks, Carolyn.
Oh, I almost forgot … if I were rating this recipe, it would get extra stars for simplicity and the economic factor, as well!
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
Bernadette says
Oh my goodness! This is the best grain free bread I’ve tried yet! Wow! A nice browned crust, but soft on the inside and substantial enough to make a sandwich with. I especially liked that the addition of the spices masked the coconut flavor that sometimes can be overpowering when using coconut flour. Genius!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Marci says
I’ve been making Maria’s bread for years, I make rolls and they are my go to for a sandwich. Over time I have tweaked the recipe to add less psyllium (because I did not like the gumminess) and replaced it with whey protein powder, and small amounts of great lakes gelatin (red can) and raw buckwheat flour (I grind that from Bob’s Red Mill groats). I would love a bread for toast, so I’m hoping this is not gummy and toasts well. I also love that it is a combo of almond and coconut flours, I know I eat too many nuts! Looking forward to trying it. When I make Maria’s recipe, I use my stand mixer, I know it is done when all of the water is incorporated into the dough and it pulls away from the beaters almost like a gluten dough would. The first few times I made it I did not let the water incorporate enough, so that step is really important. I use Konsyl psyllium that I get at Walgreens, it is a very fine powder and I’ve never had a problem with it.
Carolyn says
Great tips!
MarciaH says
I finally made the rolls. I weighed all the main ingredients:• coconut flour (78g)
almond flour (51g); NOW psyllium husk powder(45g) and approx. 1/3 cup water. I baked them for 65 minutes at 325. They came out perfect. Very nice bready texture. The only thing is, I could only eke out 7- 3″ diameter rolls. Far from the 10=12 noted in the recipe. They would have been minuscule if I had tried for more. Although it’s been a while since I made Maria’s rolls, I recall them behaving quite differently. They really had a yeasty doughy quality and definitely puffed up after adding the hot water. These did not. Maybe that’s a good thing, but it’s different. I think when they puff up a lot there is a much higher risk of them deflating. Mine didn’t at all. Thanks for the great recipe,
Carolyn says
Hmmm, when I used NOW brand, i needed more water and I got quite the yeasty, inflated dough. I think you probably could have used more water here.