One of life’s simple comforts is fresh homemade bread. Alas, if you follow a low-carb or keto lifestyle, your options are limited. Most recipes (and I have tried a ton of them) are eggy, tasteless slabs of cake-like bread. In my search for low-carb bread perfection, I finally stumbled upon a pre-made mix that I could dump in the bread maker, add some fresh ingredients, and voila: the perfect loaf.
That was not to last. Bob’s Red Mill discontinued their low-carb bread mix and for all intents and purposes, I was out of luck until I could develop a recipe of my own. My goal was to create a tasty, low-carb bread from scratch. After many failed attempts, my mission was accomplished. Or so I thought.
In May I moved to my mountain home, elevation 5000 feet and oops, my tried and true recipe was hardly the beautiful loaf I had become accustomed to. I went back to the drawing board and after another round of testing, I am finally ready to share my Low-Carb Bread with you, including high altitude adjustments. The recipe is a complete, from scratch recipe and it is delicious.
Warning: your mouth is going to water.
Low-Carb, Keto-Friendly Bread Using a Bread Machine
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup Water (1/3 cup for high altitude)
1/2 cup Half & Half
2 Eggs
2 tablespoons Melted Butter, Coconut Oil or Pure Olive Oil
Dry Ingredients:
38 g Oat Fiber
2-1/2 tablespoons Monkfruit Sugar
84 g Milled Flax Seed
192 g Vital Wheat Gluten
1/4 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
1-1/4 teaspoons Salt (1 teaspoon for high altitude)
Leavening:
1 teaspoon Honey or Sugar
1 heaping tablespoon SAF Yeast (1 1/2 teaspoon for high altitude)
Directions:
1. Add water, half and half. eggs, and coconut oil or olive oil to the bread pan. Mix to break up the eggs with a mall whisk or fork.
2. Weigh the dry ingredients and combine them together by mixing well with a whisk. Add to the bread pan.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry mix. Add the sugar or honey to the well of the dry mixture then top with yeast
4. Close the bread maker and press START.
5. When done, remove from the pan and cool. For easier slicing, refrigerate overnight.
Net Carbs: I plugged the recipe into a number of online carb calculators and depending on how thin or thick you slice it, each slice will run 6 to 10 net carbs. Since we are not on a strict keto regime, this variance did not matter.
Credit where credit is due: This recipe was significantly modified from Deidre’s Bread video on YouTube https://youtu.be/sFdN4tF_eCQ
**Print Recipe**
Gaye’s Notes
My mountain cabin is at an elevation of 5000 feet. The first loaf I made using the standard instructions rose too much and practically blew off the top of my bread machine. It took five test loaves to get it right. Here is a summary of my high altitude changes to the basic recipe.
High Altitude Instructions:
Reduce water to 1/3 cup
Reduce salt to 1 teaspoon
Reduce yeast to 1 1/2 teaspoon
You can find more altitude tips here: How Do I Adjust Bread Machine Recipes for High Altitude?
Something else to keep in mind is that oat fiber is not the same as oat flour or oat bran. Ensure you are using Oat Fiber or your loaf will fail. Been there done that.
Sourcing Ingredients
Because we were/are in pandemic mode during, I sourced all of my ingredients except yeast online.
The yeast I used was nine years old so I proofed it before using. During that time, it was stored in the freezer except during the big move when I had it in a cooler. Even I was surprised it still worked. I would definitely stock up so you are never again without. I plan to double my supply from 4 pounds to 8 pounds. I have more wheat than I am willing to admit, plus both a manual and electric Wondermill. My only issue now is that I feel better on a low carb diet. But if the world goes to crap, I will eat for survival and not worry about maintaining my preferred low carb diet.
Proofing yeast is easy. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast (~ one envelope) to 1/4 cup of warm water. Give it a good stir then set it aside for ten minutes. If the mixture bubbles and yeasty, you are good to go. If you are still unsure, let it sit a bit longer. In my case, after an hour, my bubbly yeast mixture reached close to the top of my measuring cup.
My recommendation is that you stock up on yeast as soon as it is readily available. Store it in the freezer or refrigerator and it should last a very long time. When in doubt, proof it before using it.
A Word About Bread Machines
I own two bread machines. One is over twenty years old. It is an Oster Expressbake and may still be available at the Goodwill or a thrift store.
The other is a five-year-old Cuisinart. Both appear to make the same the loaf of bread just fine. Although neither machine is currently offered for sale, chances are you know someone with a machine gathering dust in their basement or garage.
If I were going to purchase a new automatic bread machine today, I would probably choose this KBS Pro Stainless Steel model.
Can This Bread Be Oven-Baked?
Why not? I have not tried it but I see no reason why it would not work. Here are the basic instructions for baking bread machine dough in an over (from my bread machine manual).
Close the bread maker lid and press start and let the bread maker mix the dough until it stops mixing. (which is the first cycle of the bread maker)
The dough should be in a ball and not sticky.Preheat the oven to 350(F)
Bake the loaf for 25-30 minutes.
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A Foolproof Bread Slicer
I would remiss if I did not share how I am able to get such nice even slices of homemade bread. My secret is this bamboo bread slicer that I purchased on Amazon.
The way it works is that you set the bread on the slicer’s platform while resting one end against the guide. The guide itself can be moved from slot to slot, depending on the desired thickness. The unit includes a quality bread knife that attaches against the side via a magnet and the whole set up folds up flat. Also, as I mentioned above, the loaf is easier to slice if allowed to cool in the refrigerator overnight.
I love this thing.
The blue tape is my own addition and is something I used to indicate the start and stop point of my desired slice thickness.
Summing It All Up
I have personally followed a low-carb regime for a couple of years. My reasons were many but it has mostly been because I simply feel better. On the other hand, my husband was getting heavy and his cardiologist suggested he lose some weight following a low-carb regime with a couple of “free days” a week.
Did it work? Within four months he had lost 26 pounds and for the most part, maintained the weight loss. At 170 pounds, he looks great, and feels great. Mostly, though, he looks in the mirror and no longer sees a fat old man.
There have been some dietary game-changers that have allowed the two of us to look good and feel good: my low-carb bread, homemade low-carb/keto cookies, Atkins candy bars, and the aforementioned free days. I will save the discussion of low-carb/keto cookies and the candy bars for another day. But in the meantime, enjoy the bread!
Yours for a Joyful Life,
Gaye
PS: If you are not concerned about low carb restrictions, check out some additional recipes in the article Bread for Survival & Comfort: Five Recipes You Can Make Today
Strategic Haul
Bamboo Bread Cutter for Homemade Bread: If you have struggled with slicing bread into nice, even slices, you will love this bamboo slicer.
Bread Bags: To up your breadmaking game, consider these bread bags. They make homemade bread storage a cinch.
Artisan Bread in Five: For those of you that are not concerned about carbs, this book will change the way you make bread. The way it works is that you mix up a tub of dough that is refrigerated until you need it. You take out a grapefruit-sized ball of the premade dough, dust it with flour, shape, and bake, No kneading required. Warning: eating this bread is habit-forming and may contribute to an expanding waistline.
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Low-Carb, Keto-Friendly Bread Using a Bread Machine
Equipment
- Automatic Bread Machine
- Digital Scale
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Water 1/3 cup for high altitude
- 1/2 cup Half & Half
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tablespoons Melted Butter Coconut Oil or Pure Olive Oil
Dry Ingredients:
- 38 g Oat Fiber
- 2-1/2 tablespoons Monkfruit Sugar
- 84 g Milled Flax Seed
- 192 g Vital Wheat Gluten
- 1/4 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
- 1-1/4 teaspoons Salt 1 teaspoon for high altitude
Leavening:
- 1 teaspoon Honey or Sugar
- 1 Heaping Tablespoon SAF Yeast 1 1/2 teaspoon for high altitude
Instructions
- Add water, half and half. eggs, and coconut oil or olive oil to the bread pan. Mix to break up the eggs with a mall whisk or fork.
- Weigh the dry ingredients and combine together by mixing well with whisk. Add to bread pan.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mix. Add the sugar or honey to the well of the dry mixture then top with yeast
- Close the breadmaker and press START.
- When done, remove from the pan and cool. For easier slicing, refrigerate overnight.
- To bake in the oven:
- Close the bread maker lid and press start and let the bread maker mix the dough until it stops mixing. (which is the first cycle of the bread maker)
- The dough should be in a ball and not sticky.
- Preheat the oven to 350(F)
- Bake the loaf for 25-30 minutes.
Notes
Reduce water to 1/3 cup
Reduce salt to 1 teaspoon Carbs per Slice: 6 to 10, depending on the thickness of the slice Modified from Deidre's Bread video on YouTube https://youtu.be/sFdN4tF_eCQ
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