Tag Archives: gluten-free

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Oh, So Good Sweet Potato Scones

Photo: Sweet Potato SconesTrue confessions here. Recently, I had dinner at a BBQ restaurant in town and they served a “sweet potato crunch.” These are what we call Thanksgiving sweet potatoes, a puree of potatoes with brown sugar, and pecans. Very rich tasting. I brought home almost all of it and decided to use it in scones. After checking two of three recipes, I combined a couple and made these scones.

Now, the carb count on the ones I made is higher because that crunch had real sugar in it. This version is made using sugar substitutes as well as flour substitutes that are low carb. For my flour choices, I used Carbquik, DCC All Purpose Flour, and Anthony’s Gluten Flour. You can use any low carb flour combination you like, but this selection worked out well for me. For the brown sugar and confectioners (powdered) sugar, I used Swerve, which has the best taste and measures like regular sugar.

For those who want to make this with nut flours, the measurements for those will follow this recipe.

1 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1 cup Low Carb Baking Mix (Carbquik, Bakesquick)
3/4 cup Low Carb All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Gluten Flour
1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Pecans, finely chopped
5 tablespoons Butter, sliced into pieces
1/3 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Maple Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar substitute
3 tablespoons pure Sugar-free Maple Syrup
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon

If you need to make the sweet potato puree, bake or microwave a large or three small sweet potato and scoop out the flesh. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with a parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the baking mix, all purpose flour, gluten flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and finely chopped pecans and whisk together. Using a pastry cutter or your clean hands to cut the butter into the flour until mixture is like crumbles.

In a separate bowl, add the sweet potato puree, egg, milk, white sugar substitute, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a large spoon until the ingredients are completely mixed together. The mixture will be thick, so use your hands to pull it together and knead it in.

Dump the dough in the center of the baking sheet and shape it into an 8″ circle. It will be about 1″ or more thick. Using a knife or pizza cutter, slice the dough into 8 even wedges. No need to cut all the way through unless you want to separate each scone to get a crust on the sides.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the scones are golden brown and cooked all the way through. If they brown too quickly cover the top with foil to prevent burning.

Prepare the glazes while the scones are baking. In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar substitute, sugar-free maple syrup, and cinnamon. Stir together until it is smooth and completely blended. Drizzle or spread the glaze over the scones.

If you wish, sprinkle a few chopped pecans on top of each scone. Makes 8 scones.

Hint: In either recipe, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice or All Spice for the cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg.
You can also substitute Unsweetened Coconut Milk for the Almond Milk, or you can use milk or cream.

Nut flour version (Gluten-free):

1 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar Substitute
2 Eggs, plus 1 Egg White
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Pecans, finely chopped
5 tablespoons Butter, sliced into pieces
1/3 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Maple Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar substitute
3 tablespoons pure Sugar-free Maple Syrup
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon

The instructions to make are the same as above. You may have to add a tablespoon or more liquid if the dough is too dry. The extra eggs and egg white should provide enough to hydrate the coconut flour. The extra egg white will help the dough rise.

Makes 8 scones.

Breads, Recipes, Sandwiches

Can you make a good low carb yeast bread?

Image: Honey Wheat Bread

Nothing tastes as wonderful as homemade yeast bread directly out of the oven. It’s one of the things that isn’t found easily on a low carb lifestyle. So, I was excited to find a few recipes to make a loaf. While it requires some ingredients that aren’t available at your local grocery store and probably not even at a health food store, it’s worth the effort to order the special baking options to make a wonderful low carb yeast bread.

This recipe is actually a combination of two low carb ones I found – one for Carb Counters Low Carb Honey Wheat Bran Bread and one for  Keto bread. I played around with the ingredients to get the best -tasting balance and made a few rolls until I arrived at a bread I really like. Then I changed it a little to get a low-sodium version so my friend could have bread that works with her restrictions.

I’m including both recipes to make a loaf and halved it to make four sandwich rolls. I used vital wheat gluten, Carb Counters All Purpose Low Carb Flour, flax meal, and oat fiber to make the bread loaf, but I made the rolls without the all purpose flour. For the low sodium, I didn’t use any of the Carb Counters flour, but more of the wheat gluten and other flour.

If you are not eating gluten, you could substitute LC Foods Gluten-free Baking Flour or soy flour for the Vital Wheat Gluten,  but the net carbs will go up about two per slice on the latter.  I have not tried this with either almond flour or coconut flour, but I don’t think they will hold together sufficiently to work. Also, the dough might not rise as much with the substitutions.

Most all of the ingredients are available through Amazon, although better deals might be found at other online sources, such as Netrition.com, LC Foods, and other places that sell health food products.

Honey Wheat Bread and Rolls

Bread Ingredients

2 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons Sugar-Free Honey
2 Eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons melted Butter
1/4 cup Oat Flour
1/4 cup Wheat Bran
3/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten Flour
1 cup DCC All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Flax Meal
1/2 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar Substitute

Prepare a small bread loaf pan by putting parchment paper on the bottom, then spray the bottom and sides with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, add warm water, yeast, and honey and stir. Let sit about five minutes for the yeast to bloom. If it doesn’t look frothy, then your yeast is dead. Get more yeast and start over.

In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and whisk together. If you want to add garlic powder, or other seasoning to the bread, add it with the dry ingredients. If you want a sweet bread, add more sugar substitute and cinnamon.

Add the yeast mixture, eggs, and oil to the flour and stir to mix it in. If the dough is too dry to absorb all the flour, add a little more warm water. Once you mix in all the flour, knead the dough for two to three minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a loaf and place in the bread pan. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed on one side with baking spray and put the spray side facing the dough. Put in a warm place to rise. Let rise from 40 minutes to an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

Bake bread for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and the bread is firm when you press on the middle. Let cool a few minutes before removing from the pan.

Makes 10 slices.

For the Sandwich Rolls:

1/4 cup Carb Counters™ All Purpose Low Carb Flour
1 cup Gluten Flour
2 tablespoons Flax Meal
1/4 cup Oat Fiber
1 tablespoon Xanthum Gum
1 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons Sugar-Free Honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning (optional)

Follow the instructions above for the bread, except omit the eggs.

Prepare four wells of a muffin-top pan by covering each round with parchment paper, then spray the bottom and edges. Or you can also use pot pie tins to make the rolls or free shape them on a parchment-paper-covered baking sheet.

Mix the bread and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Separate the dough into four equal-sized pieces. Shape the first piece into a round for the roll and put in the middle of one of the pan wells or on the baking sheet. Repeat with the other four pieces. Set in a warm place to rise, cover the dough with plastic film that has been sprayed with baking spray.

Let dough rise about one hour until doubled. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F.) Bake rolls for 12 to 15 minutes until they are browned and firm in the middle. Let cool about five minutes, then remove the rolls from the pan.

Picture: Wheat bun for sandwich

If you want to make hot dog buns, then shape the rolls into 1-1/2 inch wide logs about 5 inches long. Let rise as above, then bake.

Makes 4 rolls or buns.

Nutrition Info: Honey Wheat Bread & Buns

Photo: Low-sodium yeast buns

Low-Sodium Honey Wheat Bread

This is the same basic bread recipe without the salt and the eggs. Add more water to make up for the egg.

2 teaspoons Sugar-Free Honey
2 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup Oat Flour
1/4 cup Wheat Bran
1 1/2 cup Vital Wheat Gluten Flour
1/4 cup Flax Meal
1/2 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
1 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
2 tablespoons melted Butter
1 Egg

Prepare a small bread loaf pan by putting parchment paper on the bottom, then spray the bottom and sides with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, add warm water, yeast, and honey and stir. Let sit about five minutes for the yeast to bloom. If it doesn’t look frothy, then your yeast is dead. Get more yeast and start over.

In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and whisk together. If you want to add garlic powder, or other seasoning to the bread, add it with the dry ingredients. If you want a sweet bread, add more sugar substitute and cinnamon.

Add the yeast mixture, egg, and oil to the flour and stir to mix it in. If the dough is too dry to absorb all the flour, add a little more warm water. Once you mix in all the flour, knead the dough for two to three minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a loaf and place in the bread pan. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed on one side with baking spray and put the spray side facing the dough. Put in a warm place to rise. Let rise from 40 minutes to an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Bake bread for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and the bread is firm when you press on the middle. Let cool a few minutes before removing from the pan.

Makes 10 slices.

Low Sodium Wheat Rolls

3/4 cup Warm Water
1 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
1 teaspoon Sugar-Free Honey
3/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten Flour
2 tablespoons Ground Flax Meal
1/4 cup Oat Fiber
2 teaspoons Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
2 teaspoons sugar substitute
1/2 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning (optional)

Prepare four wells of a muffin-top pan by covering each round with parchment paper, then spray the bottom and edges. Or you can also use pot pie tins to make the rolls or free shape them on a parchment-paper-covered baking sheet.

Mix the bread and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Separate the dough into four equal-sized pieces. Shape the first piece into a round for the roll and put in the middle of one of the pan wells or on the baking sheet. Repeat with the other four pieces. Set in a warm place to rise, cover the dough with plastic film that has been sprayed with baking spray.

Let dough rise about one hour until doubled. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F.) Bake rolls for 12 to 15 minutes until they are browned and firm in the middle. Let cool about five minutes, then remove the rolls from the pan.

If you want to make hot dog buns, then shape the rolls into 1-1/2 inch logs about 5 inches long. Let rise as above, then bake.

Makes 4 rolls or buns.

Information: Low Sodium Bread and Rolls