I’m in the 6th year of living a low carb lifestyle and I do not crave for bread. I used to love eating bread. I’ve tried a couple of times over the years to make low carb bread but it has always turned out to have a cake, not bread, texture. So I’ve given up. I am very happy with my varieties of delicious food so I’ve stopped trying to bake bread.
I just got to know Maria Emmerich’s website recently and saw this recipe on almond psyllium bread. I thought I would give it a try. Honestly, I was prepared for it to turn out to be a cake instead of bread.
Encouragement came from my Facebook low carb group, “Eat, Live and Love Low Carb”. New members are asking how they can replace this with that all the time. I decided I should support them by trying it out myself and giving them an alternative. And I am glad I did.
This bread is unbelievably easy to make. And the texture is very similar to regular bread! I’d almost forgotten how bread actually tastes. This is as good as it gets.
When the buns came out of the oven I showed it to my husband.
He said, “What’s that?!”
He was a little shocked to see I had bread in the kitchen. When I told him it was low carb bread he said, “That’s a nice looking loaf of bread. I can’t wait to taste it.”
I lathered on butter and soaked it in olive oil to taste it. He said, “This recipe is a keeper.”
Yay! Now I’m thinking I might add some rosemary to the dough next time.
I have copied Maria’s recipe below and have re-organized/edited a little for my own notes. For the original recipe please look here.
As I am at a higher altitude, the ingredients, baking temperature and baking time are slightly different. I use only 1 teaspoon of baking powder and lower the temperature to 325F, bake for one hour and 15 minutes. It turns out perfect!
Try this out! I think you may like it too.
- 1½ (5 ounces) cup blanched almond flour (or 1/2 cup coconut flour or 2.5 oz)
- 5 tablespoons (45g) psyllium husk (must be a fine powder, not whole husks)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2½ (1 ounce) tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 egg whites (6 egg whites if using coconut flour)
- 7/8 cup (7 ounces, a little less than a cup) BOILING water
- OPTION: Use 2 whole eggs (Almond flour version) or 4 whole eggs (coconut flour version). If you are having trouble with it rising using whole eggs you can try egg whites. Also, if your bun looks nice and big but then deflates after removed from the oven, try reducing the baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176C). In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, psyllium powder (no substitutes: flaxseed meal won’t work), baking powder and salt. Use an electric hand-held mixer, mix until dry ingredients are well combined.
- Add the eggs and vinegar and mix until the dough is thick. Add boiling water to the bowl. Mix until well combined and the dough has firmed up.
- Place dough into a greased 5’x7’ loaf pan, bake for 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer pierced in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely. Cut open with a serrated knife. Fill with desired fillings.
- Alternatively, form dough into 4 to 5 mini subs (the dough will rise about 2 to 3 times so I start mine as a 1 inch disk) and place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 45-50 minutes for smaller shapes like buns.
Nutrition Fact:
Each loaf yields 10 slices. Each slice contains 6.8g total carbs, 3.7g net carbs, 4.7g proteins and 8.4g fat.
Each portion yields 6 buns. Each bun contains 11.4g total carbs, 6.1g net carbs, 7.8g proteins and 14g fat.
Share this with your friends!
Just made this recipe as written and it was fabulous! I made 5 buns and they all puffed up nicely and were just the right density. I did make sure to use psyllium husk powder and added BOILING water per the recipe. I made the egg white and almond flour version. These are so delicious that it is hard to believe that they are low carb. My husband and kids were all impressed! 😉 Thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe and use it for rolls, hamburger and hot-dog buns, even bagels. How do you recommend storing unused portions?
Hi Angela, I usually foil wrap each bun and store it in the fridge and eat it within the next 3 days. Glad you like it!
If I was to double the recipe do I have to bake it longer?
If you are baking it as a bigger loaf in the same size pan, yes it may need a few more minutes. Use a wooden skewer to pierce into the center of the bread, if it comes out clean it is ready. If you are making small buns, the baking time should not be different. But again test it with the wooden skewer.
Could u please put this on pinterest i have ms and have a hard time writing
Hi Kelly, do u beat d egg whites separately or just dump it in tghtr wth d vinegar into the dry ingredients?
As I have described, add the egg and vinegar into the dry ingredients.
Hi Kelly. This sounds good and would really like to try baking a loaf to slice for sandwiches, but your recipe says to bake in a 7×5 inch pan. I’ve never seen that size loaf pan and can’t even find one on Amazon. I have a small 7×3.5 inch pan or 9×5 inch pan. Would it work ok in the 9×5 inch pan?
Hi Stacey, the 7×3.5 inch pan should work too. 🙂
This is the diet doctor recipe. Kinda shady that you post this as your own. Not cool!
Hi R, if you hasn’t read all the content in the post, this is Maria Emmerich’s recipe that I’m sharing.
I’m not sure what Diet Doc has on his website, may be you should let him know this is Maria’s recipe?
Yeah you did the right thing!! Maria Emmerich is a keto legend and you identified her as the creator! Go you 😀
Thank you for noting high altitude!!
Hi Maria! I have made this recipe twice and each time my rolls come out gummy and sticky on the inside and super hard in the outside. What am I doing wrong? I am using psyllium husk powder and egg whites
Hi Kristen, Maria is not here 😀 This is Kelly. Is your oven temperature too high? Use a toothpick to insert into the center of the roll and if it comes out sticky bake it a little longer and check again. The toothpick should comes out clean and it ready.
Hi Kelly! Lovely bread recipe and totally a keeper. I used 2 whole eggs and added a little coconut flour and it turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing the recipe. =)
Can you please tell me why sometimes the buns I make are hollow…this seems to be random, with the bread on the bottom and the top intact but I don’t know why. Any thoughts?
Hi Sharon, it could be there was an air pocket trap in the dough when you fold it together. Try to pat and lightly squeeze the dough with the cup of your palms, and make sure there are as few air bubbles as possible. It could also be your oven heat might be higher than it should and as it rose, together with the air pocket expands, it pushes the dough out and was set quickly enough to hold it’s shape.
Okay I got it, I need to reduce the qty of baking powder. However 1 more problem, in my oven at 175C it remains for more then an hour. Still then I took it back from oven, (yeah it deflated) but still I tried 1 bun, it was like uncooked from inside. Does it mean that I left it too think ? it was like 2-3 inches circle and less than 1 inch thickness.
Firstly, are you using psyllium husk powder? Not whole husk?
Secondly, I will check is your oven internal temperature is it accurate by placing a heatproof oven thermometer inside the oven while you bake. If you made the whole portion into 5 buns, at 175C it should be all done around 50 minutes. Next time test it with a toothpick insert into the center of the bun and if it comes out clean than remove the baking sheet from the oven. If the toothpick has dough, let it bake for another 5 minutes and check again. Every oven is different, so you may have to find your right timing of total bake time.
Thank you for your kind reply.
Well – here are my answer:
1) Yes i used psyllium husk powder – I took psyllium husk and grind it fully.
2) I put my backing tray on middle rack. When after minutes it did not baked well, I moved it to 1 level lower rack.
3) I will try reducing baking powder.
4) I put this on a tray and put that tray on the bigger one, then put the bugger tray in middle rack. I think I should put the dough directly on 1 tray and use that. This might be one of the problem ?
Use a baking sheet or a tray lined with parchment paper and place the dough bun on top.
Do use the middle rack in the oven throughout the baking time and do not open the oven door until the timer is up.
Hi
Nice recipe.
I followed your recipe (coconut flour version). I made 5 buns and they were looking good. However, as soon as I draw the backing tray back and put it on my kitchen counter, the buns got deflated. Its like all the air inside was leaked.
Can you please help me and guide me if I may have done something wrong.
You can try to reduce the baking powder to half and see if it works better for you. Are you baking at a higher elevation?
Thanks for this recipe!
I have another sub question: can a flax egg replace the egg? I plan on using almond flour and of course psyllium. I’ve made some killer psyllium coconut flour flat breads before with no egg.
Hi Josh, I’m not sure if the flax egg would work, I’ve never tried that. If you try it please let me know if it works. 🙂
Thank you so much for this one
Its awesome!
I’m preparing my breakfast right now and its a tuna sandwich in this bread
Thanks!
Glad you like it 🙂
Can I use unblanched almond flour instead of blanched?
It should work too 🙂
Just cooked almond Psyllium husk bred rolls from the diet doctor website pit on for 70min but still a little moist inside any thoughts.
Thanks
Barbara
Hi Barbara, is the recipe from Diet Doc same as the recipe here? Different oven perform differently so may be you have to bake it longer in a lower temperature.
I followed coconut flour/ 6 egg whites version I divided my dough in 4 by weight. I wanted hamburger buns. I used the patty maker gadget to shape the buns. They puffed up into round balls and were full of air. I cut it open while still warm because dinner was ready. These are very filling. They worked out well for 5oz burgers. I think I’ll try cutting back on baking powder as suggested.
Can I omit psyllium husk if I don hav any ?
Hi, I don’t think so.. psyllium husk is what it gives a bready texture in this recipe.
You can try the other two bread recipes that don’t need psyllium husk. 🙂
Wow – this is really really good bread! I’m dealing with some inflammatory autoimmune health issues and so am diving further into ketogenic eating to do everything I possibly can to reduce inflammation. This recipe is great and will help meet the occasional bread craving that I have. Thank you! For those who’ve not made it yet, it’s dense, doesn’t rise much, but is really flavorful and is great with coconut oil spread on top. Thanks!!
Thank you for your feedback!
Can I use less psyllium husk? I’ve used it in other recipes and I find that it leaves a stickiness to the bread? Unless I’m undercooking it? Also, can you tell me what the apple cider vinegar is for in the recipe? Thanks
Psyllium husk helps to make the bread more like a bread texture. It shouldn’t be sticky when is baked well.
Different oven may need a different baking time. You can use a tooth pick to insert into the center of the bread and when it comes out clean the bread is ready. Otherwise, let it bake for a few more minutes and check again.
The acid in the apple cider vinegar helps to rise the bread a little more besides baking soda, and it also acts as a preservative.
How long will it last if refrigerated?
It could last a few days in the fridge, or longer in the freezer.
Omg finally a ketogenic bread that doesn’t taste like eggs so good now mine did not rise but my loaf pan was big if I were to sub in the full eggs would it change the taste? To me right now it taste like a combination of rye bread meets sour dough love it!! Also best way to store it? And if I made a sandwhich for the next day would it still taste as good want to make my husbands lunch night before😊 Thanks so much for awesome recipe
Glad you like it! This bread does not rise a lot. You can try using a smaller pan.
I tried adding the yolks one time, it tasted good too. The dough could get a bit more wet with the yolks.
Just add a bit more psyllium husk powder should be fine. No, I didn’t find that the taste changed much.
Hey made this and love it.. What’s the calorie count per loaf?
Each gram of carb and protein is 4 cal. Each gram of fat is 9 cal.
Hi, can I substitute lemon for apple vinegar cider?
Hi Hazel, I have not tried using lemon juice. You can certainly try.
Hello, I am just wondering am I able to substitute buckwheat or amaranth flour for the almond/coconut flour ingredient?
Hi, Buckwheat and amaranth flour has three times higher carb than almond/coconut flour. It is not recommended for low carb eating.
Hi Kelly,
I’m using Maria’s recipe I found on Diet Doctor’s website for Hot Dog buns and I noticed your bread turns out a rather brownish purple color like mine. Do you know what causes that? I was afraid I had faulty ingredients, but now know I’m not alone.
I appreciate your response.
Aloha, Michele
Hi Michele, the psyllium husk makes the bread look a little bit purple after baked. It is perfectly fine. 🙂
Thanks a lot for your prompt response. Will try to get it today so I can try making them 🙂