If you've been searching for the best keto bread recipe on the internet, you've come to the right place. This article dives into the world of keto nut bread, offering a comprehensive guide that includes recipes, tips, and tricks to help you bake the perfect low-carb loaf.
Why Keto Nut Bread?
For those following a ketogenic diet, finding suitable bread alternatives can be a challenge. Traditional bread is high in carbohydrates, which can disrupt ketosis. Keto nut bread offers a delicious and satisfying solution, allowing you to enjoy bread without the carb overload.
What Makes This Keto Bread Special?
This isn't just another keto bread recipe. It's the culmination of years of experimentation and refinement, designed to replicate the taste and texture of regular bread while keeping the carb count low. The key lies in understanding the role of each ingredient and how they interact to create the perfect loaf.
Keto Bread Recipes
Keto Almond Flour Bread Recipe
This recipe focuses on almond flour as the primary base, offering a simple and versatile option for keto bread.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- Butter
- Egg yolks
- Salt
- Stevia
- Egg whites
- Cream of Tartar (optional, for whipping egg whites)
Instructions:
- Separate the eggs: Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Adding cream of tartar to the bowl will make it easier to whip them up to the point of soft peaks.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a food processor or with a hand mixer, combine almond flour, baking powder, melted butter, egg yolks, salt, and stevia. Mix until well combined. Stevia is a great way to eliminate the eggy flavor of this low carb bread.
- Whip the egg whites: In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
- Gently fold: Delicately fold the egg whites into the almond flour mixture, preserving as much volume as possible.
- Prepare the pan: Line an 8x4 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Tips for Success:
- Whipping the egg whites: Beating the whites is the answer to the denseness that comes with making an almond flour bread. This adds air pockets into the loaf and makes it soft and fluffy.
- Parchment paper: Line an 8×4 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Toothpick test: Stick a toothpick into the center of the bread and take it out. If it comes back clean, it’s done. If it has gooey dough on it, put it back in the oven. Remember, all ovens are different.
Paleo Nut and Seed Bread Recipe
This recipe caters to both keto and paleo diets, using a blend of nuts and seeds for a nutrient-dense and flavorful bread.
Read also: Keto Bread Recipes
Ingredients:
- Almond flour (unblanched recommended)
- Coconut flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Eggs
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
- Flax seeds
- Pepitas
- Sunflower seeds
- Chia seeds
Instructions:
- Preheat and prepare: Preheat your oven to 325 F and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a high-speed blender, blend together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt for about 10 seconds to combine.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the eggs, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and honey to the blender, and blend on a low setting until everything is incorporated well.
- Incorporate nuts and seeds: Remove your blender from the base and add in the flax seeds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds. Use a spatula to fold the nuts into the blender. Put the cover back on top, and blend for about 20-30 seconds, just to break down SOME of the seeds.
- Transfer to pan: Transfer the batter to the loaf pan, using a spatula to make sure it’s evenly spread across the pan.
- Top with seeds: Top your bread with a generous amount of extra seeds.
- Bake: Bake your bread for about 38-41 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool: Once done, remove your bread from the oven and let it cool for 20-25 minutes.
Tips for Success:
- Unblanched almond flour: Unblanched almond flour has the skin of the almonds still intact and is more nutritious. That’s what gives this bread the dark color.
- Seed breakdown: We don’t want our seeds fully pulverized, just broken down and softened a bit.
- Check for burning: Check your loaf at the 30-ish minute mark, and if you notice the seeds on top getting too brown, use some aluminum foil to make a “tent” over your bread, and leave it on for the remaining cook time.
Keto Walnut Bread Recipe
This recipe highlights the rich flavor of walnuts, creating a delicious and nutritious low-carb bread.
Ingredients:
- Coconut flour
- Psyllium husk powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Oil
- Eggs
- Apple cider vinegar
- Chopped walnuts
Instructions:
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F degrees.
- Mix dry ingredients: Place the coconut flour, baking powder, psyllium husk powder, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the oil and eggs and blend well until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- Incorporate vinegar: Add the apple cider vinegar and mix well.
- Add walnuts: Add the chopped walnuts to the bread and mix.
- Add water: Gently add the water, a bit at time and stir into the mixture (you may not need it all).
- Form and bake: Form into loaf shape and score. Bake until done.
Tips for Success:
- Psyllium husk powder: I grind mine in the coffee grinder before use to make it extra fine.
- Egg Whites: the next time I would separate the eggs and whisk up the egg whites to give the bread a bit more volume.
- Variations: Try this with pecans in place of the walnuts. Utterly delicious!
Nordic Stone Age Bread (Keto Adaptation)
This recipe is inspired by the Nordic stone age bread, adapted for a keto lifestyle with a focus on nuts and seeds.
Ingredients:
- Combination of whole nuts and smaller seeds (e.g., almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds)
- Flax seed (ground preferred)
- Egg
- Oil
Instructions:
- Combine ingredients: Mix a variety of nuts and seeds together with a little egg and oil.
- Bake: Bake until done.
Tips for Success:
- Nut and seed selection: Use whatever you have lying around, it will work as long as you follow the rest of the directions.
- Flax seed: Do not omit the flax seed, and if possible use ground flax seeds. These, along with the egg, serve as a binder for the bread.
- Cooking time: Cook for the specified length of time.
Nut and Seed Bread (Dark and Dense)
This recipe focuses on creating a dark and dense nut and seed bread, inspired by Norwegian fjellbrød.
Ingredients:
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Golden flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Golden flaxseed meal
- Whole psyllium husks
- Coconut oil, melted
- Salt
Instructions:
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Process the nuts: Add the almonds and hazelnuts into a food processor fitted with an S blade and process into a fine meal.
- Mix dry ingredients: Add the processed nuts, seeds, psyllium, and salt into a large bowl and mix until well combined.
- Make the dough: Add the coconut oil and water into the bowl and mix again. If the dough is too thick or some of the dry ingredients aren't completely soaked, add more water, 1 Tbsp./15 ml at a time.
- Bake: Transfer the dough into a parchment paper-lined 8 x 4 inch/20 x 10 cm loaf pan and press it into an even layer. Smooth out the top and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and place it directly on a baking sheet (or an oven rack). Bake for another 15-25 minutes.
- Cool: Transfer the bread onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing.
Tips for Success:
- Nut texture: If you don't like a lot of texture, you can also process the sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.
- Dough consistency: If the dough is too thick or some of the dry ingredients aren't completely soaked, add more water, 1 Tbsp./15 ml at a time.
- Cooling: The bread will continue to firm up as it cools.
Key Ingredients and Their Role
Almond Flour
Almond flour is a staple in keto baking, providing a low-carb alternative to traditional wheat flour. It's made from ground almonds and adds a slightly nutty flavor to the bread.
I recommend using UNBLANCHED almond flour. Unblanched almond flour has the skin of the almonds still intact, and is more nutritious. That’s what gives this bread the dark color! That said, you absolutely can use blanched almond flour. Just note that your bread will be lighter in color.
Read also: Tips and Tricks for Keto Bread
Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is another popular low-carb flour option. It's highly absorbent, so it's often used in combination with other flours like almond flour.
There’s no harm in adding a tablespoon coconut flour to this recipe while removing 2-3 tablespoons of almond flour. This gives it a slightly different texture that many people like.
Eggs
Eggs play a crucial role in keto bread recipes, providing structure, binding, and moisture.
This recipe calls for 6 eggs, which, I know, is a lot. However, since we aren’t using all-purpose flour, or a gluten-free flour blend that’s fortified with yeast (and binders like xanthin gum), we need the eggs to keep this bread fluffy and together.
Psyllium Husk Powder
Psyllium husk powder is a soluble fiber that helps bind the ingredients together, mimicking the role of gluten in traditional bread.
Read also: Fluffy Keto Bread
If you can't use psyllium husk powder you could try using a flax egg. The psyllium husk powder helps bind the bread in place of any gluten.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds add flavor, texture, and nutritional value to keto bread. They are a good source of healthy fats, protein, and fiber.
Use a combination of whole nuts and smaller seeds. Use whatever you have lying around, it will work as long as you follow the rest of the directions.
Baking Powder
Baking powder is a leavening agent that helps the bread rise, creating a light and airy texture.
3 teaspoon baking powder is used in this recipe. While it may seem like a lot, we have testing this recipe extensively and found this to be the magic number.
Sweeteners (Stevia, Honey)
Keto-friendly sweeteners like stevia or small amounts of honey can be used to add sweetness and balance the flavors in the bread.
Stevia - It might sound crazy, but adding a few drops of stevia to this recipe is the best way to eliminate the eggy taste. Just a few drops will do!
Other Ingredients
Other ingredients like olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and various spices can be added to enhance the flavor and texture of the bread.
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Keto Nut Bread
Separating and Whipping Egg Whites
This technique is essential for creating a light and fluffy keto bread. Whipping the egg whites incorporates air into the batter, which helps the bread rise and prevents it from becoming too dense.
The thing that takes this keto bread from good to great is the separation of the eggs. You’re going to want to separate the yolks and the whites. The reason for this is that we’re going to whip the whites until they are fluffy.
The Right Flour
In general keto friendly breads are made of coconut flour or almond flour. These flours are used to produce a bread that is very low in carbs, and free from common allergens.
Dealing with the "Eggy" Taste
There is a mild eggy taste to this bread, which we happen to love, but some people don’t like it.
- Stevia: Adding a few drops of stevia to the recipe can help eliminate the eggy taste.
- Other Options: Butter - This might be the top way 🙂 Just add some delicious butter or coconut oil to the top of a slice and you will think you’re eating traditional bread!
Storage Tips
Yes, it is ideal to store keto bread in the refrigerator. It is also good to not slice the bread ahead of time. To prolong the shelf life of your keto bread, you will want to slice it when you are hungry, and keep the entire loaf in a Ziploc bag, or a Tupperware container in the fridge.
Troubleshooting Flat Loaves
The two major issues that will lead to a flat loaf is not whipping the egg whites and gently folding them in, OR using almond meal instead of a finely ground almond flour.
Versatility of Keto Nut Bread
Another amazing this about this recipe is its versatility. We like using this bread for breakfast sandwiches and as a complement to standard keto breakfast foods. It’s also great toasted.
Keto Bread at Stores
Store-Bought Options
Store bought low carb breads will typically use a much larger list of ingredients. Some common ingredients in store bought keto breads are vital wheat gluten, oat fiber, soy flour, wheat protein, and more.
- Whole Foods Market: There are a few different options in the freezer section at Whole Foods.
- Aldi: Aldi has a new product called “L’Oven Fresh Zero Net Carbs Bread”.
- Sprouts: Sprouts carries a line of high protein, low carb breads under the brand name Chompie’s.
- Local Bakeries: The last option would be to find a local bakery near you that makes keto bread.
Online Options
If you’re willing to order online there are a number options out there for a keto diet. We’ve tried just about every type of keto bread on the market and without a doubt our favorite is The Great Low Carb Bread Company. Some of our favorites from them are their bagels and their dinner rolls. We order from them every few months and store them in our chest freezer. The Great Low Carb Bread Company has been making the best tasting keto bread since before keto was cool.
Serving Suggestions
- Butter Toast: Go the good ole’ butter toast route and spread some grass-fed butter (or vegan butter) across your toasted bread, and add a sprinkle of flaky Maldon salt on top!
- Sweet and Salty: Make a sweet and salty dream by layering on whipped ricotta cheese and your favorite fruit jam.
- Cheese and Bread: Sliced and served with cheese this is a delicious nutty bread.
- Eggs and Bread: Try it toasted with eggs too!