Category Archives: Breads

Breads, Recipes

Beer Bread with Stout

Image: Guinness Bread

Hey, folks, I missed posting this last week. Very busy few days for me and this week isn’t much better. But I wanted to share this recipe with you for Guinness Beer Bread. When I made this, I used CarbQuick for all the flour needed in it. You can use other low carb flour types or baking mixes. Almond flour and coconut flour may not hold together as well, but will probably require another egg to bind it.

This bread has a biscuit quality to it and is heavier which makes it great for soaking up sauces and gravies. Even though Guinness is a strong stout, the flavor is fairly mild in the bread. Beer acts as a rising agent when making bread, replacing yeast. Even at that, I would like to see a taller loaf that comes closer to one made with wheat flour.

I will be trying another version of beer bread in a few months as we get to soup season (aka late fall and winter), so look for that in October or November.

Low Carb Guinness Beer Bread

4 cups CarbQuick
2 tablespoons Gluten Flour (optional)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons  sugar substitute
12 ounces Guinness stout
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F.)

Prepare a standard (9x5x3-inch) loaf pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper or greasing. I used a copper pan that has a lift plate in it and put parchment over the top to ensure easy removal.

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar substitute, and salt. Stir together to mix before adding the Guinness and eggs. Use a wooden spoon to stir the liquid into the flour until it is just blended. The dough will be lumpy.

Pour the dough into the loaf pan and smooth it to make it even. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes until the top is golden brown and the top is firm.

Let cool a few minutes, then turn on a wire rack to cool. Serve while still warm. You can keep this in the ‘fridge for about a week.

Makes 16 to 18 slices.

Breads, Recipes

Need a Substitute for Garlic Bread?

Photo: Garlic Cheese Waffle

Here’s a nice twist on a waffle to make a delicious toast to go with your savory dinner. It’s especially nice if you have anything with a sauce so you can soak up the goodness. It’s also great with chicken, pork, steak, or soups and stews. You can use buttermilk and a bit of cornmeal for extra flavor if you wish, but they do add a few carbs to each serving. The flax meal helps to bring some of the cornmeal texture and a nutty flavor, so the waffle is quite tasty without the added ingredients.

For a low carb flour, you can use almond flour, soy flour, coconut flour, or any low carb flour mix such as Bakesquick or Carbquick. If you use coconut flour, use 3 tablespoons instead of 1/3 cup low carb flour and add 1/4 cup egg whites.

Garlic Cheese Waffle

1/3 cup Low Carb Flour
2 tablespoons Golden Flax meal, ground
1 tablespoon Yellow Cornmeal (optional)
1 Egg, fresh
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Grated Parmesan & Romano Cheese
1 tablespoon Buttermilk(optional)
1 tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella or Cheddar Cheese

Preheat your waffle iron while preparing the mix.

In a medium bowl, add low carb flour, Flax meal, egg, oil, Parmesan cheese, baking powder, and garlic powder and mix together until blended. Add buttermilk and stir it in. If the batter is too thick, thin with a little water. This should spread easily but not too quickly over the waffle iron grids.

Pour batter over the bottom plate of the waffle iron, close lid and cook the recommended time for your waffle maker. Mine takes about two minutes to cook. Watch the waffle iron for the steam coming out and when it is almost gone, try to lift the lid. If it resists, cook the waffle a little longer. Once it is done, the top will open easily.

Photo: Waffles under the broiler

Spread butter over the top and sprinkle mozzarella or cheddar cheese on top, then put under the broiler for about a minute to melt the cheese.

Delicious with any savory meal but especially good with Italian-style meals.

Makes 2 servings.

Photo: Nutrition Info

Breads, Italian Inspired Recipes, Recipes

A quick bread recipe to end the month

Photo: {an of focaccia bread

Want a quick and easy bread to make? This is a focaccia-style flat bread that can be made into sandwiches, a soup or stew bread, or just toast and butter to serve with jam and tea. Unlike focaccia, this is a flat bread made without yeast. All the rise in it comes from the eggs and a little bit of baking powder.

I used CarbQuick, a low carb flour that behaves a little like Bisquick, but with lots fewer carbohydrates. You can also make it with almond flour or any other low carb flour. I also used a little coconut flour in it, but I wouldn’t recommend making the whole thing with coconut flour.

Focaccia-style Flat Bread

2 large Eggs
1/4 cup Egg whites
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings, crushed
1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup Carbquick
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare a small baking pan (about 10×6-inches) by cutting a piece of parchment paper to fit. I used a toaster oven-sized pan.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and seasonings together. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, egg whites, and oil together. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until they are combined. Use your hands if needed. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix it into the dough.

Turn the dough into the baking pan and spread it evenly across the pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 6 slices of bread.

Image: Nutrition Facts

 

Breads, Recipes

Cream Cheese Bread checks out

Photo: Cream Cheese Bread from Coconut Flour

Recently, a photo with the ingredients for a cream cheese bread loaf was posted, but it lacked mixing instructions, and the carbohydrate information on it was way off since it claimed it had only 6 carbs in the whole loaf. Nonetheless, the recipe is valid, and the slices are pretty low in carbs. So, I decided to give it a try and let everyone know how it works.

First, I cut the recipe in half and made about three-quarters of a small loaf pan. From that, I can deduce that the full recipe below won’t make a large loaf of bread. The one I made is about 2 to 2-1/2 inch tall and about three inches across. It looks great in the photos. I also made it two ways– once with coconut flour and once with almond flour. I added 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar substitute to the recipe.

Both of them work pretty well although the almond flour needs to be adjusted to replace the coconut flour since the latter expands by two to three times in the liquid ingredients. Both of them taste pretty good. The coconut one is a little sweeter, but the coarseness of the flour comes through. The almond flour one is less sweet and lends itself to a more conventional bread. For my own use, I would pair the coconut flour version with fruit or make it into a fruit bread. The almond flour could stand up to adding herbs in it and pairing it with meat and cheese. I will be experimenting more with this recipe and will let you know if I come up with something wonderful.

Both are close to the same carb count per slice and both are fairly sturdy bread that can be thinly sliced if needed. A full loaf would make about 10 slices of 3/8″ thick slices The carb count is based on 10 slices.

Photo: Almond Flour Cream Cheese Bread
A 3/4 loaf of almond flour cream cheese bread.

Cream Cheese Bread Loaf

8 ounces Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Butter
1 tablespoon granulated Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
8 large Eggs
6 tablespoons Coconut Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom and long sides of a small loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, butter, and sugar and cream together using a mixer until smooth.

Add the cinnamon, vanilla, and eggs and mix until combined.

Add the flour and baking powder and mix together thoroughly. Wipe the sides with a spatula to get all the mix blended together.

Spray the parchment-lined baking pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter mix into the pan and smooth.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, then run a knife around any edge touching the pan and lift the loaf out using the overlapped parchment paper, then slide it onto a serving plate.

Makes about ten slices.

For the almond flour version, add 1-1/4 cup Almond Flour to replace the 6 tablespoons of Coconut Flour. I used a less processed almond flour, but the higher quality ones will yield a finer grained bread.

Taste test with both the coconut flour (left) and almond flour (right) slices smeared with butter. The almond flour is a little taller.

Nutrition Coconut flour

Breads, Desserts, Recipes

Goes with Coffee: Apple and Pecan Muffins with Streusel

Photo: Apple Muffins

I had an apple that needed using so I decided to try this delicious-sounding recipe from AllRecipes.com user NMARIEA, but I adapted it to a low carb version. The result is delectable, especially when heated up before eating. It works well for a quick breakfast and also for a light dessert.

I put a light streusel topping made with almond flour and brown sugar mix on top, just enough to give it a little sweetness. For the flour, I used a combination of different brands, such as Carbolose, Bakesquick, and Carbquick in it. Each one has a different texture and taste so together, you get a nice mixture.

Apple and Pecan Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel

1 cup Low Carb Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup white Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
1 Egg White
1 teaspoon Vanilla or Almond Extract
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped Apples
1/3 cup Pecans pieces

Topping
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoon Almond Flour
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon Butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F.) Prepare 10 muffin tins by spraying them with cooking spray or put paper liners and spray those.

In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar substitute and mix together until creamy. Add the egg, egg white, vanilla or almond extract and cinnamon. Mix until combined.

In a smaller bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Mix into the butter and egg in small batches until combined. This will be a fairly stiff dough. Stir in the apples and pecans.

Put about two tablespoons of the dough in each muffin cup. Because of the apples, they will nearly fill the cup.

In a small bowl, put in the brown sugar substitute (I used the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, or you could use Sweet Brown from LC Foods and add a little more butter.) Add butter and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut together until it is crumbly. Sprinkle a little over the top of each muffin.

Bake 11 to 14 minutes. Use a toothpick to test if they are done. Let sit for about 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.

Makes ten average-sized muffins.