The BEST Low-Carb Bread EVER!!!

Updated 3/9/2016 to include pictures of pizza made with this dough as the crust.

I have finally posted the tutorial for this recipe. To be honest, this is the longest I have ever worked on a recipe, and I only got it where I think I want it about a month ago. As you can guess by the title of this post, the following recipe is for low-carb bread.

My quest for a good recipe for low-carb bread started two and a half years ago when my two oldest sons were diagnosed with CSID (congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency). This disease creates, in very short terms, starch and sugar intolerance. After I got over the initial period of shock and decided to start making recipes—some of which are on this blog—I realized that a really good bread would be hard to find.
The main reason for this is that bread is mostly made up of wheat flour, which is about 75% starch, which is a big no-no for my kids. Low-carb breads, for the most part, rely on almond flour or coconut flour, and wind up more like quick breads or cakes than fluffy white bread. My goal was to find/write a recipe for bread which fit the following criteria:

1. Would be low in digestible carbohydrates.
2. Would have a bite & chew similar to that of "regular" bread.
3. Would be made of easy-to-purchase ingredients.
4. Would be leavened by yeast fermentation.
5. Looked, smelled, and tasted good.
6. Could be used in all applications like wheat bread.

I scoured the internet for recipes, and even tried a few out, but I wasn't ever really happy with what I found. There were some common elements to all of the recipes, so I decided to use those to create my own recipe.

There were quite a few false starts, but eventually I came up with the recipe listed below. To be honest, this almost smells better than wheat bread when it is baking. The flavor is subtle, and not at all unpleasant. Texture-wise, this bread is chewier than wheat bread, but when toasted you can't tell a difference. I have used this bread to make everything from French Toast to zweiback (Melba Toast)to bread crumbs for meatballs. You can even use it to make a sandwich.
I use this dough (with only one or two very minor modifications) to make pizza crusts and tortillas. You could use it to make cinnamon rolls or baguettes.

For Pizza: I use between 1 and 1 1/2 pounds of dough for a 13" pizza, depending on how thick I want the crust to be. No dough modifications are necessary. After the dough has finished kneading, let it rest for 40 minutes before rolling/stretching into your desired pizza shape. Top like you would a normal crust, and bake. I recommend baking at 525°F until the cheese is starting to brown, about 5-10 minutes.
For Tortillas: I use 1 pound of dough for 10 tortillas. The only dough modification is to replace the yeast with baking powder. If you have access to a very finely ground almond flour, I would use it here. When the dough has finished kneading, let it rest for 30 minutes before splitting into ten equal portions. Roll the portions into tight balls and allow to rest a further 15 minutes. Dust the countertop with flour (or oat flour if you cannot use wheat flour) and roll into a 9-10" circle. Cook the tortillas in a hot skillet until a few brown spots appear, about 30 seconds per side.

The possibilities are—almost—endless.

By the way, this recipe is for a 2.5 lb loaf of bread, which perfectly fits my 12" long loaf pan. For a 8" or 9" loaf pan you would probably need to use a 2 lb batch. Also, 1 pound of dough makes enough dough for 1 medium-largish pizza or six 8" tortillas. For pizza, replace the egg with 3 Tbsp water. For tortillas, no changes are necessary.

Skip the tutorial and go straight to the recipe.

Show Notes Hide Notes

Step 1:

Combine the oat flour, gluten, almond flour, coconut flour, dextrose, yeast, and salt.

Use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, and blend the ingredients on low speed for 2-4 minutes, or until they are completely blended.

Step 2:

Still using the paddle, and still mixing on low speed, add the water and egg.

The dough will look like wet sand right after you add the water, but will start to come together as you continue mixing. Mix the dough with the paddle until it starts to climb up and hold itself together, about 4-5 minutes.

Step 3:

Turn the mixer off and switch to the dough hook. Knead the dough on medium-low speed for 7 minutes.

Depending on how long the dough was mixed with the paddle, you may have to "encourage" the dough to stay on the hook with a spatula. You may find that increasing the speed momentarily to medium will help keep it on the hook.
During this first kneading step it is important to keep the dough on the hook to start developing the gluten structure.
The gluten is what holds this dough together—almond flour, coconut flour, and oat flour do not contain gluten, and so are unlikely to form a cohesive dough by themselves. Gluten is acting as the glue holding the dough together.

Step 4:

Turn off the mixer and add the shortening. (You may find it helpful to "tuck" the shortening under the dough. This will help keep it from creeping up the side of the bowl.)
Return the mixer to medium-low speed and knead an additional 7 minutes.
During this time a few things will happen—As the dough starts to absorb the fat, it will lubricate the gluten strands and the dough will start to relax. As the fat mixes into the dough, the dough will start to look sticky and tacky.
Do NOT add additional flour! The stickiness will disappear as the fat mixes in more completely.
Once the dough has finished kneading, pull off a small piece and try to stretch it between your fingers. It should form a slightly translucent membrane.
If it doesn't, or starts to break before you can see light through it, knead the dough some more. It is especially important to have well developed gluten in this dough because if you don't your beautiful bread will shred as it rises.

Step 5:

Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and form it into a ball. Lightly cup the dough in your hands and move it in circles on the counter. You are trying to tighten the surface of the dough ball. This is called creating a " gluten cloak," or "cloaking."
Spray a very fine mist of nonstick spray in the mixing bowl to lightly grease it, and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic (or plastic grocery bag as I normally do when I'm not taking pictures), and allow to sit on the counter for 20 minutes.

"You are not trying to let the dough rise at this stage. Instead you are letting the gluten relax, which will make it much easier to shape the loaf later on. This dough has an intentionally high gluten content, and we have just been mixing the dough for a long time. It needs to have a rest to relax that gluten.

Step 6:

After the 20 minute rest, dump the dough out onto the counter and roll it into a long rectangle, the same width as your loaf pan and twice as long.

Roll up the dough tightly, taking care to avoid creating any air pockets that will form holes in the loaf when it bakes.

Transfer your loaf to the well-greased loaf pan. Cover again with plastic.

Step 7:

Now you need to let the dough rise until it is the desired size of the finished loaf.
This will take 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Yes, I realize this goes against most bread baking procedure, but click here to read why.

By the way, now would be a really good time to preheat your oven to 375°F.

Step 8:

Once the dough has risen to your satisfaction,
use a sharp knife or razor to score the surface of the loaf 1/4" deep.

For a really good tutorial on scoring bread, visit TheFreshLoaf

Step 9:

Bake the bread in the middle of a 375°F oven for 45-55 minutes, or until the bread is done.
I'm sorry be inexact. If you really want a better way, the internal temperature should be at least 204°F.

Or, you could thump on the bottom of the loaf—if the thump sounds hollow the bread is done.
I usually bake my bread in my oven for 48 minutes. But your oven isn't my oven, and your bread isn't my bread.

Step 10:

Immediately (or within a couple of minutes) upon taking the bread out of the oven, brush the top with buttermilk, half-and-half, cream, or butter.
This is to create a nice sheen, and to slightly soften the crust to make it easier to slice later on.

Step 11:

Remove the baked loaf to a wire rack to cool completely.
And I mean completely, or at least until the internal temperature is less than 90°F. Even better would be to let the bread sit out overnight, so that the crust can soften and to reduce the amount of crumbing during slicing.
But that is up to you.



By the way, if you are wondering if kids will like to eat this bread, let me tell you a story. Once the loaf of bread featured in these pictures had cooled to room temperature, I wrapped it in plastic and left it on the counter so that I could cut it in the morning and take more pictures.
Well, my eldest son woke me up, so I gave him his tablet and had him sit on my bed whilst I took a shower. As I am getting out of the shower, he comes into the bathroom to inform me that his younger brother stole the bread.
As you might imagine, I was a little curious what he meant, as I hadn't given them any bread because I hadn't sliced it yet. I hurried and dried off then rushed out to the kitchen, where sure enough, the beautiful loaf a bread was missing. I heard a sound and looked over at the couch to see my wonderful son, indeed eating the loaf a bread.
You know it is said, "Pics or didn't happen," well here you go.

This is apparently what happens when you take a shower instead of cooking breakfast. Lesson learned (^_^)

Here are some links for dough batch calculators. These tools will let you calculate the exact amounts of ingredients for whatever size batch you want.>
    

Low Carb Bread—Yields a 2.5-lb loaf

Volume Weight


Combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer (mix on low speed with the paddle attachment for 2-4 minutes).
Still using the paddle, add the water and egg and mix on low speed until the dough starts to become elastic, about 4 minutes.
Switch to the dough hook, and knead the dough on medium-low speed for 5-7 minutes. Make sure that the dough stays "attached" to the hook.
Add the shortening and knead for an additional 8-9 minutes, or until the window-pane test shows a good gluten structure.
Gather the dough into a ball and roll it around on the counter to develop a gluten cloak. Place back in the mixing bowl, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes to let the dough rest.
Roll the dough into a large rectangle (12" x 24"), trying to get out as many large gas bubbles as possible. Roll up the dough to form a log the same length as your pan. Place the log in a well-greased loaf pan, cover, and let rise until double (30-45 minutes).
Bake in a 375°F oven for 45-55 minutes, or until done. (internal temperature >205°F or the thumping sounds hollow).
Depan and allow to cool completely (internal temperature <90°F) before slicing or bagging.


This recipe was printed from Dinner in the Life of a Dad (samslaugh.blogspot.com)

The BEST Low-Carb Bread EVER!!! 2 1/2 lb loaf Low-carb sandwich bread recipe. This dough can be used not only for bread, but also pizza and tortillas. 260g oat flour 155g Vital Wheat gluten 135g almond flour 38g coconut flour 23g dextrose 6g instant yeast 6g salt 1 egg 440g water 20g shortening