If you’ve got 20 minutes and an oven, you can be elbows deep in this crusty keto artisan bread! Totally gluten-free, grain-free, and 3g Net Carbs!
Hearty Har Har
Only this bread is no joke! It’s a VERY serious loaf full of complex flavors and a depth like the freakin’ Pacific!
You might be a light and fluffy bread lover. That’s fine. This bread isn’t for you. This loaf is for lovers of a fat-toasted slice of 7-grain-style bread…without all of the gluten grains! It’s also for those of you who value your time because this beautiful loaf of artisan keto bread bakes up in under 20 minutes!!!
I was also *highly motivated* to get those cool score marks on top like the artisans do!
Crusty Gluten-Free Keto Bread (In less than 20 minutes!!)
If the smells don’t make you fall in love, the first bite will!
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How to achieve hearty keto bread
This loaf is built like a thorough(bread), meaning it’s very dense and hearty, much like traditional whole grain bread. To achieve this texture, grinding your binders (chia and flaxseed meal) is a must. By pulsing the seeds in a spice grinder or food processor, we break the hard seed shell and allow moisture to get in creating a gelatinous texture that holds this bread together.
It might be annoying but it really does matter for the texture and binding power! Just pop in it a bullet blender or coffee grinder and you’re set.
Keto Bread and Decorative Yeast
I tried to raise this baby with yeast, but to create a free-form loaf of keto artisan bread that shines with the beauty of a thousand suns, you need stiff dough. But a dough that is yeast-risen needs to be soft enough to be pliable while being firm enough to hold together.
The bottom line: Yeast is important for FLAVOR but not for the rising. Don’t skip it though because the taste is why we are here!
💡 Yeast doesn’t work that great on stiff keto dough so we use a boatload of baking powder to leaven.
Shaping Your Keto Bread Loaf
Shaping and scoring this bread is really based on your preference. For the best texture and to make sure the bread is baked through, try to make your loaf about 6.5 inches in diameter with a slightly oval shape. Keeping the bread loaf short and wide ensures an even bake.
💡 The score marks are necessary because they let some of the moisture escape during baking. No soggy centers here!
Smear it. Slather it. SYRUP IT! It’s your call. It’s got just a hint of sweetness (like real bread!) but it can be used for savory or sweet toppings i.e. this borderline pornographic stacked greek yogurt and blueberry chia jamm’d sandwich. Or try it dipped in Green Goddess Soup! Whatever you choose is going to be good. Pop it in the toaster and it will be even BETTER!
Looking for more? Try These!
Hearty Gluten Free Keto Bread
This mini loaf of keto gluten-free bread is hearty, seedy, and full of substance for only 3g net carbs per serving!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almond flour
- 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
- 1/4 cup Ground Flax Seeds, reground to a fine powder
- 1/4 cup White Chia Seeds, ground to powder
- 1/4 cup Nonfat Dry Milk Powder, for browning
- 1 tsp Granulated Erythritol, or sweetener of choice
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 pack Dry Instant Yeast, for flavor
- 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1 tsp Coarse Salt or Flaked Salt
- 5 large Egg Whites, room temperature
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Optional Add-In
- 1 to 2 tbsp Hulled Hemp Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, or Sunflower Seeds
Instructions
- Heat oven to 475° while you prepare your dough.
- In a coffee grinder or bullet blender, pulse the chia seeds and ground flax seeds a few times to grind. Don't over-grind! A few pulses, a shake, and another pulse should do it.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: 1 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1/4 cup nonfat milk powder, ground chia and flax, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp sweetener, yeast, 1 tsp xanthan gum, and salt. *Optional seeds can be added as well.
- In a separate bowl, beat the warm egg whites and vinegar just until combined, then add to the dry mixture and stir with a silicone spatula until a sticky dough forms.
- If the dough is sticking to your hands, wet it with water or a touch of oil. Form the dough into an oval, about 6 1/2 inches wide, and place it on the baking sheet. The uncooked dough will look like the shape of your finished loaf. If it's too tall the center won't cook fully.
- Use a very sharp knife to deeply score the top with a star (4 lines) or pattern of choice. Place the pan of warm water on the bottom rack of the hot oven and the baking sheet on the middle rack and lower the temperature to 450°. Bake until brown and crusty, about 12-15 minutes, then turn off the oven and continue to bake for about 5 minutes, watching for over-browning. If the bread is getting too dark before the baking is complete, tent the loaf lightly with foil.
- Let rest for 5 minutes, slice, toast, and enjoy!!!
You will need 1 small pan filled with 2-in warm water, a small baking sheet greased with oil or lined with parchment and greased, and Room Temperature Egg Whites.
Notes
Eggs: If you hate wasting egg yolks, save them! Add to a whole egg for extra creamy scrambled eggs or make a batch of keto ice cream!
Yeast: The function of yeast here is not to rise but for flavor and that AMAZING bread smell! If you are allergic, you can omit!
Bake Time: The bake time is very delicate on this since we are using high heat to achieve crust. Just keep a close eye on the bread and if the center isn't getting done before it's brown, lower it to 350 and lightly cover it with foil to finish.
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 slices Serving Size 1 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 124Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 2gCarbohydrates 8gNet Carbohydrates 3gFiber 5gProtein 6g
Would black chia seeds also work?
Absolutely!!
It wasn’t very.
Felt so confused about the pan and the water think a video may have been better as never used this method for Keto bread ever not really clear here lm afraid and wasted a lot if ingredients
Hi Annette! Here’s a better explanation from King Arthur Flour website! But even if you don’t use this method, the bread will still bake perfectly fine. Hope that helps! https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2017/02/28/steam-in-bread-baking
Hi Liz, thanks for this beautiful bread! I did not have dry milk so I
exchange it for patatoes fiber (not patato flour – Patatoes fiber is a German product) great result. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I’ve just tried to make this bread and I used a thermomix so think I may have mixed it. It’s still yummy though. I was wondering if you can make it using whole eggs rather than just egg whites?
Hi Karen! I’m glad it turned out, even if overmixed 🙂 As for the eggs, the reasoning behind egg whites vs whole eggs is the fat content. I wanted the bread to be dense, but not too dense. The use of whites helps with leavening and binding without the fatty yolk sort of weighing it down. It might be something I revisit in the future though. Thanks for the comment! -Liz
Can I use dry buttermilk powder in place of milk powder?
Off the cuff, I’d say yes! It will probably give it more of a buttermilk flavor but that sounds delish. The milk powder is mostly for flavor and browning so please let me know how it goes!
This looks amazing—would substituting buckwheat flour for the coconut flour work? I know coconut flour tends to absorb more moisture, but do love the buckwheat flavour.
I’m not sure since I’ve never baked with buckwheat flour! I’d love to hear if you do try it and how it worked!
Hi Liz I have a couple questions if you don’t mind could I use a Dutch oven?? Also, could I use dry egg white powder in this recipe? Would that work you think?
Thank you
Beanie
Hi Beanie! I really do think you could use a Dutch oven but I haven’t tried it because at the time I made this recipe I didn’t have one!! My only concern would the outer crust not forming. But I think it would probably cook through more evenly in a Dutch oven so I’d say try it and check on it early in to see how it’s baking. We want the outside of the bread to cook pretty quickly so there’s a barrier to trap air bubbles and give a good rise. As for egg white powder-I don’t think it would make a huge impact on the loaf other than absorbing some moisture. Since this is a VERY small loaf, I would recommend only changing one thing and giving it a try (so if you try the dutch oven I’d leave out the egg white). And if you don’t have milk powder it will still work without!
That helps, thanks so much! Also an additional clarification question from your reply. You mentioned egg yolk but in the recipe there’s only egg whites. Do you mean only just mixing egg whites and vinegar or incorporating them? Thanks again so much for your clarification.
Oh yes, sorry! That’s whites only 🙂
Thanks for this recipe. I looked at the comments and googled “beat the warm egg whites and vinegar just until broken” and only found the different peak stages and that overbeating them causes them to “break down”Is that what you mean? To overbeat them just until liquid appears? I have never seen that phrasing before and don’t understand and even youtubed it but once again people talk about the different peak stages. Sorry if this is a very common or obvious statement but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it means. I don’t want to waste such expensive ingredients by incorrectly following your instructions. I just want to make sure I understand first what to do with the egg whites. Thanks for yours or anyone’s clarification.
This means to beat the eggs to break the yolks and incorporate the vinegar. You can use a fork to just simply combine the two ingredients without overbearing, much like making scrambled eggs. I hope this helps!
Excellent recipe! I added nuts & seeds, then formed into 6 small rolls, and cut the star pattern on top of each. They’re so cute, crusty, and DELICIOUS.
Thank you Deborah! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!!!
I made the bread today. In the recipe, it says “until a sticky dough forms”. My dough wasn’t sticky at all. It was pretty dry. I had to knead it together. What do you think I did wrong? I used egg whites in a carton. Should I add another egg white?
I didn’t cut the star deep enough and the bread wasn’t done in the middle. I tasted it and it was really delicious. I’m going to toast it and eat it all. 🙂
I think the egg whites in the carton might be the issue, so you can always play with the measurement to get a better consistency. Also, if its really not getting done, drop the oven temp and cover the loaf with foil to bake it a bit longer! BUT I’m glad it was good toasted and hopefully the next loaf will be perfect!
The only thing I don’t have are flax seeds. Is there a substitute?
Also, is there a reason why you don’t bake the bread first and then go for the crust? I’m worried about burning the outside with the inside still raw (I did read your instructions and I’ll follow them but I was just wondering).
You can try to substitute chia seeds for the flax (but I’ve never tested it that way! The bread shouldn’t burn but if you feel like it’s browning too fast you can always cover it gently with foil. All ovens are different but I’ve not had trouble with it burning as long as you cut the top of the loaf before you bake!
I’d love to try this but don’t have chia. Is there anything else I can use?
I think you could get away without the chia and substitute with more flax, but I’ve never tested it that way!
Oh my Gosh! This bread is amazing! I am a long time low carb Baker, and have tried many things to get a real bread taste, including using yeast for flavour. But I have never had results like this! Delicious! Thank you so much!
Bonnie, I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! Thank you for sharing such a lovely comment ❤️
Hi
This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!
I can’t understand the baking method though – fill the pan with two inches of water and do what with the baking sheet? Some clarity would be great – thanks!
Hi Tehmina! So the pan of water is basically to add some steam in the oven while you bake the bread. The pan can go on the rack below the bread or can go on the same rack as the sheet pan that has the bread (if it fits.) Just make sure you don’t put the water in the SAME pan as the bread. Does that make sense?
Could you not preheat a Dutch oven and bake in that with lid like other artisan breads. ??
You sure could! I’d just keep an eye on it to make sure the center gets fully cooked before the outside is overdone. Happy Baking!
Can I omit the milk powder? If not, what non-dairy product do you suggest as a replacement?
Hi Cindy! I haven’t tried it without the powder, so I can only guess what will happen without–your bread may not brown and nicely and have the exacty flavor that the original recipe has. That being said, if you can handly whey, you could use half the amount of whey protein isolate powder! If not and you want to give it a go, I would make the dough without the powder and if it feels too wet, add 1 to 2 tbsp more of almond flour.
Hope this helps!
I omitted the milk powder for a vegan friend and added a 1/4 cup extra almond flour. Baked at 450 for 15 minutes fan forced. The bread tastes just as good without the milk powder. I enjoy it both ways.