For those following a ketogenic diet, the longing for bread can be a significant challenge. Fortunately, King Arthur Baking Company has developed a Keto Wheat Flour that allows keto dieters to enjoy bread-like products while minimizing net carb intake. This article explores various recipes and experiences using King Arthur Keto Wheat Flour, offering options from sandwich bread to chocolate bagels.
Understanding King Arthur Keto Wheat Flour
King Arthur Keto Wheat Flour has 4 net grams of carbs per 1/4 cup serving. The flour is made from wheat, so this recipe is off limits for "clean keto" folks. But for those of us who don't mind going "dirty keto" every once in a while (especially for a weekend brunch… um, yes please!), these biscuits are a low carb treat that won't spike your blood sugar the way regular biscuits would.
King Arthur Keto Wheat Flour is quite high in protein, which means you'll get a sturdy biscuit. They keep their structure well enough for you to use a biscuit as sandwich bread. You can also dip the biscuits into jam without them crumbling apart. If you want to use this flour for other recipes, you can substitute 1:1 for regular flour. However, due to the high protein content, this type of four is ideal for hearty breads, not soft crumbly cakes. It does especially well with bread recipes including yeast.
Keto-Friendly Bread Recipe
This recipe follows the basic sandwich bread template you may be familiar with: knead, rise, shape, rise, bake. Then devour. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix to form a cohesive dough. Kneading in a stand mixer is recommended, because the high gluten content of Keto Wheat Flour makes a fairly strong dough. Cover your dough and let it rise for 15 minutes. This short bulk fermentation is also why the recipe includes 1 teaspoon white vinegar. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan. Shape the dough into a 9" log and place it into the prepared pan. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until it’s mahogany brown.
Keto-Friendly Biscuits Recipe
These "Dirty Keto" King Arthur Biscuits are great as a side dish for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea. Looking for more breakfast ideas? Want to amp up the comfort food? Serve any leftover biscuits alongside a steamy, creamy, take-you-back-to-childhood (and the good ol' days before keto) bowl of Crustless Chicken Pot Pie with Keto Biscuits. Because each biscuit has 3g net carbs, it's best to serve them as a side dish. Otherwise, I could easily eat half a batch in one sitting, which would be over half my carb limit for the entire day. My favorite way to serve these biscuits is alongside scrambled eggs and bacon. Alternatively, you could make gravy for a traditional Biscuits and Gravy breakfast. Place the butter in the freezer for at least 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, powdered erythritol and salt). Use a grater to grate the butter. If you don't have a grater (or are feeling lazy), just cut the butter into thin slices. Mix the shredded butter with the dry ingredients. Stir in the heavy cream and sour cream, working the dough just enough for it to combine. You want the ingredients to mix together, but don't want to overwork the dough either. Once combined, the dough should be sticky but firm. You should be able to hold the ball of dough in your hand without any parts dripping down (too wet) or falling off (too dry).Transfer the dough to a silicon mat, wax paper, or other non-stick surface (spraying the surface with cooking oil may help). Dampen your hands with water so they don't get too sticky on this next part. Flatten the dough with your hands until the dough is about 10 in x 10 in (25 cm x 25 cm). Lift one side of the dough and fold it over the other side, then lift the top half and fold it over the bottom half. It should now look like the photo below. Squish down the dough and repeat the folding one more time. Try not to overwork the dough; you want to lightly squish the layers together without squishing the crap out of them. (note: this photo was taken after folding, but before squishing them down). Gently flatten the dough so it's ¾ inch (1.5 cm) thick and then use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 9 pieces. If you prefer round biscuits, use a biscuit cutter. If you have time, pop the tray into the freezer for a few minutes to cool off before baking. This will help with the texture, but is optional. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Keep everything cold! Freeze the butter and keep ingredients in the fridge until you need them, keep everything as cold as possible as you make the dough. This ensures that the butter doesn't start melting ahead of time. To prep the night before: mix the dry ingredients together and keep the bowl in the fridge overnight (bonus points because the dry ingredients get cold). You can also grate the butter ahead of time and keep it in the fridge overnight. Just make sure you keep the dry ingredients dry until right before baking. Serve with butter, peanut butter, cream cheese and/or low-carb jam. To make low-carb jam, put ¼ cup of berries in the microwave for a minute, or until soft enough to mush with a fork. Then stir in a teaspoon of powdered erythritol (or a few drops of stevia would work as well). If your berries released a lot of liquid, you can add a pinch (no more than ⅛ tsp) of xanthan gum or some chia seeds to thicken it up.
Read also: Fit for a King
Cottage Cheese Chocolate Bread Recipe
This recipe uses King Arthur Keto Wheat Flour, allulose as the sweetener, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar-free chocolate chips and cottage cheese.
Ingredients and Their Roles
- King Arthur Keto Wheat Flour: Provides the structure for the bread while being lower in net carbs than regular flour.
- Allulose: A sweetener that doesn't crystallize like erythritol and helps keep the crumb soft and moist.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Gives the dough its rich chocolate color and depth.
- Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips: Adds sweetness.
- Cottage Cheese: Contributes protein and extra bulk to the bread.
Making the Bread
- Activate the Yeast: Heat the water to about 115 degrees and put it in a small bowl. Add the yeast and a pinch of sugar to help feed it, then let it stand until foamy.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 cup (130 grams) of the flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, salt and espresso powder (if using). Mix very well with a spoon or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Add the cottage cheese and egg to the melted chocolate mixture and stir until blended. Heat over low just until the mixture is barely warm.
- Mix Dough: Add the activated yeast and the warm cottage cheese mixture to the flour mixture and stir until it all comes together. It should be soft like cookie dough at this point, so add the remaining flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Knead the Dough: Attach dough hook to the stand mixer. Set the bowl on the stand and let knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).
- First Rise: Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise for about an hour. It most likely will not double, but it should rise quite a bit in the oven.
- Shape the Dough: Punch down the dough very lightly. Reserve about ¼ of the dough, then add the chips to the remaining dough. Shape into a round. As you form the round, try to keep the chocolate chips buried in the dough. Use the reserved ¼ cup of dough to patch any exposed chips. This keeps them from drying out in the oven.
- Second Rise: Set your dough round on a piece of parchment. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise for about 60 minutes. It will not double during the rise, but it will puff up substantially.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bread on the center rack for about 45 minutes (for small loaves) and 60 minutes for one large loaf, shielding with foil the last 20. If you have an instant read meat thermometer, bread is usually done when it's a little over 205 F. If you'd like, you can lay some chocolate disks or pieces on the hot loaves and let them melt into the top as the bread cools.
- Cool: Let cool for at least an hour, preferably longer.
Nutritional Information
Each slice has around 103 calories, 5 grams fat, 10 grams of protein and 12 grams of carbs.The 12 carbs that are there are mostly from fiber (6 grams), sugar alcohols (around 4 grams) and natural sugars (around 2 grams). If you subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols the net carb sound per slice is around 2.
Bagel Variation
This loaf will give you 6 nice size chocolate bagels. To make the bagel variation, let the dough rise for an hour, then divide into 6 sections. Shape into balls, adding chocolate chip to each ball and sealing them in. Create a hole by sticking your finger through the center. Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet, then cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.
General Tips for Baking with Keto Wheat Flour
- Weigh Your Flour: Especially with keto wheat flour, where too much can make the loaf dense.
- Don't Skip the Rise: This dough needs time to get puffy, even if it won't double like traditional dough, but it will rise a little.
Flavor Enhancement
Many people find that keto breads lack the rich, complex flavor of traditional wheat bread. To address this, consider using beer instead of water or exploring flavorings designed for bread, such as wheat bread flavor, rye bread flavor, or potato flavor.
Read also: Keto King Cake Recipe
Read also: Creamy Keto Chicken Recipe