Rakhilya IMANZADE reveals the secret of making low-carb buns with crispy crust and spongy crumby filling

Gurus of dietology like to tell that you can lose weight if you eat buns “to the limited extent”. I am not aware of such extent for high-carb gluten food. That’s why I will just say that I can make a low-carb gluten-free bun. This baked product suits those who follow the principles of the LCHF/keto diet – it is made of natural components and contains no artificial thickeners, yeast and sweeteners that are harmful to your microbiota.

The buns can be made very fast – it takes 5-10 minutes to knead dough. You can keep them in a fridge for up to three days if, of course, you won’t eat them earlier. They are perfect for sandwiches and burgers.

I had to struggle to make the buns perfect. On the other hand, now you have clear directions regarding what you shouldn’t do.

• Go easy on kneading dough – you need to bring it up to uniform consistency within not more than 30-60 seconds. Otherwise, the texture will be modified.
• One time I decided to beat up the egg whites before adding them to the dough. Don’t ever do that.
• Make sure you use Psyllium Husk Powder and not Psyllium Husk (or grind it in a coffee grinder).
• Use the remaining yolks for homemade mayonnaise, béarnaise sauce and so on. Don’t add a whole egg to the dough. Otherwise your bread will have distinct egg flavor.
• If you change the proportions the dough texture will become completely different.

KETO BUNS

Time to make: 5 minutes
Time in oven: 50-60 minutes
Nutrition value of one bun:
113 calories
fats 10 g
proteins 2 g
carbs 6.4 g
fiber 3.2 g

Ingredients (for 9-10 buns):

• 150 g almond flour
• 45 g psyllium husk powder
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons apple vinegar
• 200 ml (very hot) boiling water
• 1 teaspoon butter, ghee or coconut oil

Step 1

Mix the dry ingredients (almond flour, psyllium husk powder, salt and baking powder) in a dish.

Step 2

Add egg whites and apple vinegar and mix again.

Step 3

Pour the hot boiling water and mix everything very quickly for not longer than 1 minute. Bring the dough up to uniform consistency and start shaping buns with wet hands.

Step 4

Lay the buns on oiled baking paper and bake them for 40-50 minutes. We need to tap the lower side of the bun to see if it is ready. If we hear a dull sound we can take the buns out. If we hear “Who’s there?” that is a sign of trouble.

We can follow the same principle to bake baguette – lay the dough inside an oiled bread pan and bake it a bit longer – for 60-70 minutes.

Store it in a fridge inside a sealed container.