Let's learn how to bake/cook keto.

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Instead of me just sprinkling keto recipes and pictures all over the forum - though I will probably do that too - how about we have a thread here and I share stuff here and maybe you try some of the recipes and share your results and any ideas/tips/feedback and that way we all learn more and it makes it all more achievable and somewhere people can pop along for some encouragement and inspiration?

I'll start with the basic first keto recipe I started with and which I still use a LOT and which can be modified into cakes etc and is quick and easy in the microwave.

Microwave keto bread. (for those without a microwave - 200C standard oven/170C fan for about 15 mins)
1 portion - takes about five minutes from start to finish.
1/4 cup of almond flour (65g)
1 tablespoon of melted salted butter (15g) - 1 tablespoon of unmelted butter then melted. I use a small ceramic bowl for this step.
1 teaspoon baking powder.
1 teaspoon psyllium husk
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutritional yeast (you can leave this out it is just for flavour)
1/4 teaspoon of coconut flour (again just for flavour and can be left out)
tiny pinch of salt - very tiny again for flavour.
1 medium egg.

First melt the butter in the microwave - I have 900w and I do it for 30 seconds on full and then leave it while I get on with the next stuff.
Put the almond flour and all the other dried stuff together in small bowl and mix it carefully with a fork until you can't see any separate powders. No yellow from the yeast and no white from the baking powder - it is all one mixture then crack the egg into the melted butter and beat with a fork until you get a custard yellow mixture.
Then make a little hole in the flour mixture and pour the egg mixture into that and then mix it together with the fork until you get a nice 'puffy' mixture/light dough.
Scrape the mixture into a small square glass container - you can use a round one but it needs to be flat bottomed if you want slices for a sandwich.
Put into the microwave and cook on full for 90 seconds - if it hasn't puffed up much you can put it back in for another 10s.
Then tip it out onto a mesh surface to cool. Once it is cool enough to hold in your hands - very carefully using a bread knife - slice it through the middle to make 2 slices.

These days I crack the egg into a silicone cake mold and mix everything in there and then put it in the microwave and I don't always bother with the butter nor the psyllium husk and I add half a teaspoon of xanthan gum if I want a nicely risen sponge mixture - I tend not to use this for bread any more since I started making proper loaves in the bread machine. But this is a good basis for cakes and is very forgiving and I can make a great syrup sponge pudding that is indistinguishable from the ones you get in a plastic tub to microwave. Also it makes excellent chocolate cup cakes and a Victoria Sponge but I double the recipe and sometimes add double cream and other stuff. It is a great recipe to play with because it is so fast so you can take a chance on it and gain confidence.

If you make the bread version you can then use that as a base for stuffing to have with roast poultry or you can use it to make bread sauce very successfully or you can slice it up and use it in a bread and butter pudding.

 

[ColinUK]

I’m having great fun modifying microwave recipes for those of us who don’t happen to have one.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

All my recipes for microwave work in a standard oven.
They just take a bit longer.

 

[ColinUK]

All my recipes for microwave work in a standard oven.
They just take a bit longer.

Everything does but I get annoyed with all of the mug cake and mug bread recipes out there. Although it’s making me try recipes and tweak them as I go. I could already cook so I understand processes etc. which is a huge advantage.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

I use a lot of silicone baking trays and sheets now. I find them invaluable for keto cookery - without them I'd be going through forest worth's of baking paper. Most of the keto baking recipes work better in the oven if you have the time and patience - they rise better and you are less likely to get the dreaded rubber bullet effect of slightly over doing the timings.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Putting this link here for keto fries as I just shared it with someone on another thread and it is an excellent recipe for something that is absolutely delicious and my husband and I prefer them to the potato ones these days.

 

[ColinUK]

Putting this link here for keto fries as I just shared it with someone on another thread and it is an excellent recipe for something that is absolutely delicious and my husband and I prefer them to the potato ones these days.

Made her recipe for bread with yeast and wheat gluten and it was tasty but so ridiculously oily.
I’ll do it again but note the weight of everything used so I can work out the ratio based on the weight of the eggs.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Made her recipe for bread with yeast and wheat gluten and it was tasty but so ridiculously oily.
I’ll do it again but note the weight of everything used so I can work out the ratio based on the weight of the eggs.

I haven't tried that one which was it Colin?
I probably have a better version - I've tried so many - a few of mine use yeast and wheat gluten and they are excellent. None of them use more than a tablespoon of butter but all of them work perfectly well without added oil - the only reason the oil/butter is in the recipe is to help reduce the toughness of the crust that tends to happen with the keto wheat bread recipes.

This is a good recipe - oven one too!
You can do the rising part in a warm place with a plastic cover over the bowl instead of all that microwave palaver. I have done it and it works fine.

 

[ColinUK]

This one.

 

[ColinUK]

Going to try this one next. But going to do it in a loaf tin.

 

[Drummer]

Watch out for the arrowroot - it is 85gm of carbs in one cup.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

This one.

At first glance that is very similar to one of the recipes I use. How odd it was oily - mine aren't.
Did you grind the flax seeds yourself? I do - I suppose that could be a factor - pre-ground flaxseeds can vary so much in freshness and other aspects.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Watch out for the arrowroot - it is 85gm of carbs in one cup.

Yes, good point- it is a starch like cornflour. I don't use it at all in my kitchen.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

the flax seed recipe I use is

Flax and Oat Fibre Keto Yeast Bread

1 cup of water/240ml
1/2 cup/34g powdered egg + 52mls water or 2 eggs lightly beaten
2/3 cup/41g oat fibre
1/2 cup/70g ground flax seeds
1.25 cup/190g vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon/6g salt
1 teaspoon black treacle/syrup/honey
1/2 teaspoon/2.5g xanthan gum
2 tablespoons/30g butter/ghee/coconut oil
1 tablespoon active dry yeast.

The best way to make this mix together is to warm the water slightly and melt the butter/ghee/coconut oil and mix it with the warm water and yeast and egg water/beaten eggs and then mix all the powdered stuff together thoroughly and then mix the treacle/syrup/honey with the water and then add the powders to the mix of liquids and then knead like crazy and do loads of raising according to your usual bread making routine.

Mix until you have a good homogenous ball.
Let it stand in a warm place for about half an hour.
Knead for as long as you can manage.
Let it prove with a tea towel over it until it doubles in size.
Knead it using the stretch and fold method to get a nice shape.
Let it prove again. This time in a loaf tin if using it - I like a pullman tin because I have a halogen oven and the lid protects the bread from burning on the top.
After proving fold it into a nice shape to fit your cooking process if you aren't using a loaf tin and cook using your usual method. I use 200C for 40 minutes and tip it out and let it cook a bit longer upside down but as I say I use a halogen oven.

 

[Perfect10]

Would your microwave keto bread make flatbreads? I do make a keto flatbread but this recipe may work better?
Always good with a curry!

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Would your microwave keto bread make flatbreads? I do make a keto flatbread but this recipe may work better?
Always good with a curry!

Give it a try and see. I don't think I've used it for that but if you allow it to spread on a wider flatter space? It might work.

 

[ColinUK]

At first glance that is very similar to one of the recipes I use. How odd it was oily - mine aren't.
Did you grind the flax seeds yourself? I do - I suppose that could be a factor - pre-ground flaxseeds can vary so much in freshness and other aspects.

I always grind my own seeds etc.
I think the oiliness was just that mystery of baking as I’ve made it since and it was much less so.

 

[ColinUK]

Chicken pot pie (with a very lazy fathead type dough top) and seriously good lemon tart.


Chicken pot pie was from Sugar Free Londoner but I didn’t meltthe cheese in the fathead dough but just set the mixer at it for ages. Much quicker and just as tasty.

Can’t remember where and lemon tart came from will post the recipe anyway.
worth noting I didn’t conventionally blind bake the pastry but used the Delia method instead. Just prick the bottom of the tart case with a fork all over, egg wash, bake. Works just fine and saves all the faff worth baking beans etc.
Also the nutrition details are off as I’ll get at least 16 slices out of this.
Custard took far longer to cook than the recipe suggests but that may be my oven. I ended up tenting the whole thing so as to stop any colouration of the filling but it was baked for about 45 mins.

https://sugarfreelondoner.com/wprm_print/14224

KETO LEMON TART
NUTRITION INFO
[ Total Servings = 12 ]


Per serving ;


Total Carb = 3.8 g


Dietary Fiber = 1.6 g


Net Carb = 2.2 g


Calories = 177


Total Fat = 16.4 g


Protein = 5.6 g





INGREDIENTS


FOR CRUST


Almond Flour = 180 g / 1 1/2 cup


Unsalted Cold Butter (cubed) = 60 g / 1/4 cup


Lakanto Powdered Sweetener = 30 g / 1/4 cup (OR any keto friendly sweetener)


Whole egg = 1 large


Salt = 1/2 tsp





FOR FILLING


Lakanto Powdered Sweetener = 125 g / 1 cup


Whole Eggs = 2 large


Egg Yolks = 3 large


Salt = 1/4 tsp


Whipping Cream = 120 ml / 1/2 cup


Fresh Lemon Juice = 120 ml / 1/2 cup


Zest from 2 lemons





DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl or food processor, add the almond flour, powdered sweetener, salt and mix until well combined.

2. Add the cold cubed butter and use either food processor, pastry blender or hand to mash the butter until small pieces. It's done when the mixture looks like crumbles.





3. Add the egg and mix until a dough is formed.


4. Place the dough onto a greased 8" non-stick pie pan with a removable bottom. Spread evenly with hands until the entire pan is covered. Prick some holes with a fork.





5. Chill the dough for 15 mins.





6. Once the dough is chilled, do a blind bake. Cover the dough with a parchment paper and fill with anything suitable to weigh down the dough.





7. Bake at 350F or 180C for about 10 to 15 mins. Then remove the weights and paper and make a tent foil to cover the pan to prevent over browning. Then bake for another 10 to 15 mins until lightly browned.





8. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a bowl, add the sweetener, eggs, egg yolks, salt and whisk until well combined.





9. Add the lemon juice, zest and whisk until well combined.





10. Add the whipping cream and whisk until well combined.





11. When the crust is ready, pour the filling onto the crust.





12. Bake at a lower heat at 300F or 150C for about 20 mins or just until the filling is set. You can touch the filling and if it feels set or firm, then it is ready. Do not overbake as it will cause browning on the top of filling.





13. After baking, remove the foil and let it cool to room temperature. Then chill for at least 1 hour before slicing.





14. The lemon tart can be refrigerated up to a week and it tastes so refreshing and delicious when chilled.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Chicken pot pie (with a very lazy fathead type dough top) and seriously good lemon tart.

View attachment 15973View attachment 15974

Oo yum

Glad to hear your breads turned out better on subsequent goes. I am off to look up the pot pie recipe now.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

I found the recipe for pot pie at SugarFree Londoner's website and also discovered her pretzel recipe.
Which inspired me to have a go at making keto croissants this morning.

I used her recipe for pretzels and used melted butter to brush the rolled out pastry and cut it into triangles and rolled it up and brushed more butter onto them and then baked in my halogen oven on a non stick sheet.

It smelled exactly right. The texture wasn't flaky but it had the atmosphere of croissant and took much less effort to make than the real thing and was nicer than the Pillsbury ones my parents used to make.
I will continue to tweak this and see if I can get a flakier texture.