What Is Keto Flour? Keto Baking for Beginners
There’s nothing like baked goods that truly give us nostalgic, cozy vibes!
Grabbing a brownie as an after-school snack, the transfixing aroma of freshly baked bread wafting from a corner cafe, or a delicately frosted birthday cake adorned with candles… Lose out on those delicious moments just because you’re keto? Never!
With many people adhering to a keto diet (be sure to check out our post on keto diets explained), no one wants to miss out on partaking in their favorite baked treats and sweets. This is where alternatives come in!
But how do you know where to begin when it comes to keto baking?! Whether you are keto for health purposes or seeking to trim your waistline, keto baking and keto flours will soon be a part of your baking and snacking repertoire.
What Is the Origin of Flour?
Flour is what gives baked goods their structure — you could even say it’s the backbone of any good recipe. It’s a key component in breads, crusts, cakes, muffins, and cookies, but you might be surprised to learn its history.
Flour has been made since prehistoric times, with some of the earliest “milling” processes grinding the grain in between stones. Thankfully, we don’t have to pulverize our own flour anymore. Flour has come a long way since those caveman days, and everything from whole wheat flour to keto options can be found in your neighborhood grocery store.
What Are the Different Types of Keto Flours?
Even though keto flours are generally low-carb, low on the glycemic index, and gluten-free, not all keto flours are created equal! Some flours work best for certain baking tasks.
Curious about which keto flour will do your grandma’s chocolate chip cookie recipe proud? Let’s take a look at the various types of keto flours to see what fits the bill! Drumroll, please.
Almond Flour
Ah, the almighty almond. Almonds have been shown to help lower LDL cholesterol — and with their yummy flavor, it’s no wonder that we milk ‘em, churn ‘em into almond butter, and blend ‘em into almond flour!
How Is Almond Flour Made?
The concept of almond flour is nothing new. Almonds have long been used for flour, beginning centuries ago in the Middle East.
Almond flour is made by removing the skin off of almonds and grinding the almonds up until they reach the fine consistency of flour. The taste of almond flour is often described as slightly sweet, with a butteriness that can contribute to a rich flavor when using almond flour in keto baking!
Almond flour is a nutritional powerhouse containing vitamins and minerals such as vitamin E and magnesium. One two-tablespoon serving of almond flour offers 25% and 10% of your recommended daily intake, respectively.
Getting your vitamins in while munching on a cookie? Sign us up!
How Much Almond Flour Should I Use?
Almond flour (not to be confused with almond meal, which tends to be a lot coarser) is an easy-peasy swap for traditional all-purpose flour, and substituting almond flour for all-purpose flour can be done at a 1:1 ratio. Put away your beakers and test tubes because baking with almond flour is a cinch.
Ways to Use Almond Flour in Keto Baking
If you already have recipes that you adored before going keto, almond flour to the rescue! Almond flour works wonderfully in keto recipes for cookies, cakes, breads, and everything in between. Since almond flour has an ever so slightly sugared and satiating taste, this flour works best in sweet recipes, as opposed to savory ones.
In the mood for waffles? Our five-ingredient vegan waffle recipe can easily be made keto by using almond flour! Top with fresh berries, bananas, and a drizzle of our sugar-free maple syrup for good measure. Yum!
Flaxseed Meal
Flaxseeds have been used by humans since as early as 3,000 BC. Sure, flaxseeds have become a bit of a buzzword lately, but for good reason! Chock-full of various essential nutrients in just a single serving, flaxseed meal is a multifaceted ingredient in both keto and vegan baking.
How Is Flaxseed Meal Made?
Flaxseed meal is derived from grinding up whole flaxseeds, so you can easily make your own if you have a bag of flaxseeds handy! Flaxseed meal is also sold already ground and ready to go because our time is precious.
What does flaxseed meal taste like? A lil nutty, a lil earthy, and a whole lot of hearty. Flaxseed meal is often a go-to when it comes to keto baking.
How Much Flaxseed Meal Should I Use?
Commit this to memory: One tablespoon of flaxseed meal + three tablespoons of water + five minutes of time = replacing one egg in a vegan or keto baking recipe!
Ways to Use Flaxseed Meal in Keto Baking
Flaxseed meal works best in conjunction with other keto flours, such as almond. While flaxseed meal can replace flour in a baking recipe, it is also a great egg substitute!
When left to sit, the flaxseed meal mixes with the water and begins to form a gel-like consistency that is perfect for binding baked goods like lemon bars, cookies, brownies, and other dough-based treats.
If consuming eggs isn’t your thing, you can simply replace the eggs in your mom’s classic lemon bar recipe with flaxseed meal. Plus, there’s no cholesterol! Now that’s a win-win.
Coconut Flour
The birth of coconut flour is a bit of a mystery, although it’s clear that this keto flour alternative is here to stay.
How Is Coconut Flour Made?
Coconut flour is derived from grinding up dried coconut meat during coconut milk production. Like its predecessors, coconut flour offers many of our recommended nutrients and vitamins, and it has significantly more protein than its non-keto counterparts. Coconut flour does contain more carbohydrates than almond flour, so that is something to keep in mind!
The consistency of coconut flour is somewhat powdery and pretty absorbent. Coconut flour has an ever-so-subtle taste of coconut, which may take a little getting used to in your keto baking.
How Much Coconut Flour Should I Use?
Because coconut flour is a highly absorbent keto flour, care must be taken when using it to replace traditional flour in a recipe. An easy rule of thumb is to replace every cup of traditional flour with ¼ to ⅓ cup of coconut flour.
Still, you may find that you need more binders when baking with coconut flour (hello, flaxseed meal!), and coconut flour frequently calls for the use of more liquids in general when being utilized during keto baking. Think a 1:1 ratio of liquids to coconut flour — like one tablespoon of water for every tablespoon of coconut flour, for example.
Ways to Use Coconut Flour in Keto Baking
Since coconut flour is very thick, a great use for it is as a thickener in sauces and soups or even as a breading on tofu. Thinking about making your own pizza crust? Coconut flour! Seriously, what can’t this little wonder do?
Savory recipes, meet coconut flour: a match made in keto heaven.
Psyllium Husk
Psyllium husk is helpful during keto baking by giving baked goods elasticity and a chewy texture, something that can frequently be missed in gluten-free food. We aren’t here to deprive ourselves of that chewy goodness, so in comes psyllium! The taste of psyllium husk alone may not be much to write home about, but add it to keto baked goods and watch the magic happen.
How Is Psyllium Husk Made?
Psyllium husk is derived from the Plantago Ovata plant’s seeds, and it originated in areas of North Africa and the Mediterranean. Remember when we talked about how flaxseed meal acts as a binder? Here’s another one for you!
Psyllium husk provides our bodies with fiber and is a prebiotic, which can help maintain healthy gut flora. With so many keto bakers swearing on psyllium husk giving life into gluten-free breads and pastries, we couldn’t overlook this powerful force in the keto baking world!
How Much Psyllium Husk Should I Use?
Psyllium husk also works in a gel form, similar to flaxseed meal when mixed with water. The ideal ratio is 10 parts water for every one part psyllium husk to make that perfect gel consistency. You can also think of it as 2.5 teaspoons of psyllium husk for every cup of flour your recipe requires.
Don’t forget to look for “blond” psyllium husk, as other shades tend to mix with baking agents in your recipes, lending an unwanted green or purplish hue to your keto dough.
Ways to Use Psyllium Husk in Keto Baking
Psyllium husk assists with binding in keto baking and prevents the texture of your keto desserts or breads from being too crumbly. No one likes a cake that falls apart before you’ve even dug in!
Psyllium husk really shines in bread baking, and simply adding a small amount of psyllium husk powder to a recipe can give the extra bit of chew that is normally imparted by traditional flour.
Keto Flours: Something for Everyone!
In the same way that you might use assorted spices when making different meals, there is a keto flour for every kind of bread, pastry, crust, or dessert.
Coconut flour lends a hand to pizza crust, ready for your favorite toppings. Flaxseed meal turns any recipe keto or vegan when it’s used in place of eggs. Almond flour makes baking cookies you could dream about a no-brainer as an easy replacement for all-purpose flour. Psyllium husk can achieve that delectable boule that can make any baker proud!
Thankfully, keto flours aren’t as elusive as one might think: you can usually find almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed meal, and psyllium husk either in the baking section or natural food section of your local grocery store.
Keto-friendly flours can yield deliciously mouthwatering results, just as tasty as traditional bakes. Picture this: a buttery, almond flour chocolate cookie, studded with MiiRO’s peanut butter baking chips… yes, please!
If you’re ready to tackle some keto baking, here are 39 Easy Vegan Keto Dessert Recipes to get you started. Don’t forget to save us a piece!
Sources:
Effects of Almond Consumption on the Reduction of LDL Cholesterol | PMC
Almond Flour Nutrition Facts | USDA.gov
Flaxseed Nutrition Facts | USDA.gov
