Iranian ‘Noon-Sangak’ (Flat Bread)

Let’s get to that Noon Sangak flatbread I mentioned in my last  post.  How I miss Iranian street bread!  They cook in on pea gravel or pebbles in huge open ovens.  Bread is called ‘noon’ in Iran and the particular 2-foot sheet-bread I recall is called ‘sangak’, as it is cooked on an open-front, kiln-like oven directly on the surface of the white hot pebbles therein.  I found a wonderful video on this bread making I will share:  https://thecaspianchef.com/2020/03/28/naan-sangak-persian-flatbread/.  He uses much larger rocks, but you get the idea from his nice video.  The Teheran bakeries used a size pebble we call pea gravel here in the U.S.  The also used long-handled wooden paddles to reach in the ovens to just flip the oiled bread dough onto the pebbles, and long tongs for flipping the sheets over to cook the second side.  They picked off the burnt-on pebbles cursorily when it came out of the oven and quickly flopped the sheet onto awaiting brown paper for carrying home.         

This recipe for bread I have been working on for quite sometime in my attempts to replicate their bread with minimal flour.  It is finally to a nice point both in texture (somewhat chewy) and flavor.   Though not true ‘noon-sangak’ by any stretch of the imagination, as a low-carber that can’t eat a lot of whole wheat flour, it is similar in flavor and texture for serving with my Middle Eastern foods.   It is excellent right off the griddle hot with butter and will work well with your favorite curry recipes.  It also works for rolling and filling with eat mixtures or just for dipping into some hummus or Syrian Za’atar herb/oil mixture well-known throughout the Middle East.  I think any way you decide to serve it, this bread, for me, comes close to a ‘noon-sangak’ experience, minus the pebble part, that is.

This recipe is not suitable until you are at the grains rung of the Atkins carb re-introduction ladder as there is some flour product in it.  But I found this little bit of flour absolutely necessary.  All trials for flat breads to dat attempting to use coconut flour alone, almond flour alone or any combination have come out just awful in my opinion.  This bread is one step closer in the right direction.   

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. low-carb CarbQuik bake mix (or some other low-carb bake mix)

1 c. almond flour

½ c. Einkorn whole wheat flour (from Jovial Foods)

3 T. psyllium husk powder

1½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. sea salt

2 T. olive oil

1¼ c. boiling water (added slowly, as all may not be needed)

1 T. olive oil for browning on griddle

DIRECTIONS:   Bring a kettle of water to boil and pour off 1¼ c. into a measuring cup (preferably one with a pour spout) and have by your work bowl.  Measure dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir well to blend ingredients evenly.  Drizzle the 2 T. olive oil over the dry ingredients.  With water in your left hand and a fork in your right, slowly pour most of the water (1 c.) over the dry ingredients whisking with your fork continuously as you do so.  All should begin to come together into a single mass of dough.  It will firm up as you work the dough.  Only add the remaining water (in small increments) if the mass of dough seems too dry to knead.  Dough will be a little sticky at first, but it dries slowly as you work it.  Use a silicone spatula to help you work the dough into a contiguous ball of dough and to scrape down the sides of the bowl to get all the dough.  Let dough sit on counter for 12-15 minutes or until you can hand knead it.

Knead the dough 8-10 times.  You can dust your hands with some low-carb flour to help you with handling if need be, but if the dough has set long enough, it should be getting dry enough extra flour dusting should not be necessary.

Set dough ball on a silicone sheet (or a piece of plastic wrap “glued” to your counter with a swipe of water), form a log shape with the dough.  Cut the log into 8 equal pieces.  Roll each into a smooth ball of dough with your palms and set on the edge  of your silicone sheet while you work.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel if you are a slow worker so it won’t dry out.  Heat a non-stick griddle to medium-high heat.  The remaining 1 T. olive is for oiling the griddle.  With your spatula, dot the griddle lightly between batches as you cook the breads, much as you do when making pancakes.

I cook 2 round flat breads (or 2 oblong one) on my griddle (spans 2 stove burners).  Using your palms and fingers, press 1 ball of dough on your silicone sheet into a 5-5½” circle.  Again, you can dust your hands with low-carb flour if need be, but I found it wasn’t necessary.  Lifting the silicone sheet, tip the flat dough round onto your free hand and transfer to hot, oiled griddle.  Brown to a golden color on both sides.   Remove to a serving platter and set near stove to keep warm while you cook the remaining sheets.  Serve at once with butter, za’atar herb/oil mix or your favorite Middle Eastern foods.  

VARIATION:  If making to use as tortillas, divide the log of dough into TEN portions and roll it out much thinner, as thinly as you can.  Each tortilla will have 126 calories, 11g fat, 13.37g carbs, 7.7g fiber, 4.8g protein and 180 mg sodium

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Spinach Cheese Bread

As we continue on down the road of Italian foods, let me just say up front this recipe is NOT an authentic Italian recipe.   But I make it often to serve with Italian fare.  It came about one day when I was thinking about having pizza for lunch and didn’t really want a heavy, multi-topped iteration of that food dream.  So I decided to start out with a bread and add  some mozzarella cheese (which makes anything Italian to me) and to add just some frozen chopped spinach to the picture.  That’s it!  Boy, was the final bread ever good!  and just look how low-carb this one is!  Even my husband said “This is really, really good, Peggy!  Be sure to upload this onto the blog!”  And its delicate flavor would lend itself to just about any Italian dinner fare.  This is so easy to put together you simply must try this one!  You can enjoy this delicious treat once you have reached Atkins Phase 2 or are beyond that point in your weight loss journey.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. whey protein powder, unflavored

¼ c. golden flax meal (or ¼ c. more whey protein)

1 tsp. baking powder

2 T. oat fiber (NOTE:  Not the same thing as carb-y oat bran!)

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 tsp. dry yeast, dissolved in 2 T. warm water

2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 c. frozen chopped spinach (I did not thaw)

VARIATION:   Remove from oven before fully done, spread a few tablespoons Alfredo sauce and some more sprinkles of spinach on top.  Dust with Parmesan and pop back into oven for more of a true spinach pizza result.  (variation not figured in the nutritional numbers below)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a medium mixing bowl, measure out all dry ingredients but the yeast.  Stir well.  Dissolve the yeast in the 2 T. water.  Add to bowl with dry ingredients.  Add in the beaten eggs, cream, vinegar and softened cream cheese.  Beat the wet ingredients into the dry a few strokes.  Add the Jack or mozzy cheese shreds and un-defrosted spinach (break up clumps as you go) and stir to form a thick batter.  Line a 9″ x 12″ pan with parchment paper.  Spread batter evenly to fill the pan.  Pop into 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top to your liking.  Is will be dry to the touch in the center when done.  Remove and cool a few minutes.   Cut into 12 pieces.  Let it cool down a few minutes or you will need a plate and fork to eat it, as it is so soft and fluffy.  It’s actually tastier and easier to handle in your hand as it begins to cool down.  Just a tip.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 12 servings, each contains:

154 cals, 12.3 g fat, 3.75 g carbs, 2.49 g fiber, 1.26 g NET CARBS, 9.5 g protein, 232 mg sodium

San Marzano Focaccia

This is what I fixed for lunch today, with the addition of some sliced olives.  I’m noticing as I get older, I’m liking many fewer ingredients on what I think of as basically, um….  pizza.   Did I tell you?  I’m trying my hand at growing San Marzano tomatoes this year!   I hope that experiment proves to be successful.  I love their ultra sweet, fruity flavor over all other tomatoes.

This is yet another great new use for my Mozzy Dough.  I’m having so much fun trialing new applications for this dough.  TIP:  I make up 10 batches of the dry ingredients pre-measured on paper plates.  Then I fold and pour each into a sandwich bag and store the bags zipped up in a shoe box in my pantry.  Very convenient…..as then all I have to do is grab a bag, melt the butter, add the beaten egg, melt the cheese and make my dough ball.  So easy that way.  I store the paper plates and baggies and re-use for making each batch of 10. 

Boy, is this focaccia ever simple to make and yummy good!  I make mine fairly thin.  If you like focaccia thicker, make a smaller sheet than shown right (using fewer tomatoes, of course) and being sure you cut it into 12 slices so the nutritional info will be accurate.  This recipe is not suitable until you get to Phase 2 grains re-introduction level of Atkins as the Carbquik does have some flour in it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Mozzy Dough

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

25-27 San Marzano mini tomatoes (10 oz. bag)

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

½ tsp. dried basil (or 1 T. fresh basil chopped)

¼ tsp. dried oregano (or 1/2 tsp. fresh)

VARIATION:   Add a few sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the Mozzy Dough per that recipe’s instructions.  Line a 13″x15″ baking sheet with parchment and using your fingers, press the ball of dough out to a 9″x12″ rectangle (smaller if you like it thicker.  With a brush baste the dough with half the olive oil.  Sprinkle the chopped garlic evenly over the top and press it down a bit.  Now sprinkle 1/2 c. mozzarella over the crust evenly.  Slice the tomatoes lengthwise into halves and place skin-side down evenly over the top of the focaccia sheet.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on next and then the shredded Parmesan.  Sprinkle on the basil and oregano last.  Add olive slices, pressing them into the dough (if using).  Pop into oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the dough is browning on the edges and the tomatoes are looking cooked on top.  Serve with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 12 3″x3″ squares of focaccia, each square contains.

190 calories, 15 g fat, 6.88 g carbs, 3.61 g fiber, 3.27 g NET CARBS, 12.6 g protein, 276 mg sodium

Focaccia Bread

One cannot celebrate Italian food without thinking of their iconic focaccia bread.  Oh, the sandwiches one can create with it!  It is so versatile it is used in many ways but quite honestly, is delicious buttered right out of the oven with nothing else.  My inspiration for this 8-seed garlic version of my focaccia bread recipe was a photo of a seeded bagel recipe I saw somewhere on the net.  The texture of this sheet focaccia is soft, and it is very much like real focaccia.  Not at all grainy or coarse as is the crumb of many low-carb breads.  If serving to company, I like to skip the baking pan conformity and with a rubber spatula, shape the dough thicker into a smaller, somewhat irregular-edged oblong shape for a more ‘haphazard’ thrown-on-the pan look.  That makes calculating nutritional almost impossible, as the pieces will be irregular in shape/size.  But hey, it’s for company, so I cut a few corners on such occasions.

This recipe is not suitable until you are well into Phase 2 (OWL) of Atkins due to the ingredients in the bake mix.  This recipe is OK for other Keto diets if it can fit into your daily macro number limits.  This sheet bread can be cut differently (like bread sticks for hummus or soup).  Take the “entire recipe” numbers and divide by the number of portions you get for the particular cut on the sheet to get your ‘per piece’ (estimated) nutritional numbers.

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. cream cheese

2½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 c. blanched almond flour

1 T. baking powder

½ c. my new Buttoni’s Low-Carb Bake Mix

2 large eggs, beaten

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

TOPPING:  1 T. melted butter brushed on and then sprinkle on 1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or my  8-seed blend). 

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly oil an 8″x11″ metal baking pan. Set aside for now.  Measure out onto a paper plate the almond flour, bake mix and baking powder.  Stir them together well and set aside.  In a glass or ceramic bowl, place the mozzarella and cream cheese.  Place bowl in microwave and cook on HI for about 2 minutes.  Stir, adding a few more seconds of cooking if cheese is not fully melted.  Remove from microwave, add flour mix, minced garlic, and beaten eggs.  Stir quickly with a fork (while cheese is still hot and pliable).  When it begins to form a single ball of dough, moisten hands with a bit of water or oil (as it is sticky if you don’t) and knead into a smooth ball.  Press into oiled 8×11 pan as evenly as you can.  Sprinkle on the 8-seed blend.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown (to your liking) on top. Remove and brush with the tablespoon of melted butter over the top.  Cut into 8 portions and serve at once.  This would make delicious sandwiches so I am providing numbers below for entire recipe for alternate baking pan size or slicing methods.  You will need to re-calculate nutritional “per serving” numbers if you change the indicated slicing suggestion.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 small slices.  1/8 recipe contains:

265 calories, 20g fat, 6.92g carbs, 2.21g fiber, 4.71g NET CARBS, 16.3g protein, 379mg sodium

ENTIRE RECIPE CONTAINS:  2118 cals, 161.8g fat, 55.4g carbs, 17.7g fiber, 37.63g NET CARBS, 130.1g protein, 3032 mg sodium. Dived these by the number of cut servings you get a per serving value.

Taco Shells

Right out of the oven.

For Tacos or Chalupas.

Continuing my Mexican food celebration, let’s move on to TACOS!  Of all the Mexican food I have tasted in my life, I still like tacos the best!  I  like to have them in the summertime particularly, because I don’t have to have the oven on long to make dinner.    Unfortunately, regular taco shells are too high in carbs for my diet regimen, so I developed a low-carb taco shell that are  somewhere between a cheesy pie crust, a cracker and a tortilla in texture.  Useful as a corn tortilla substitute for tacos, at least.   I found them perfect to have with a bowl of chili as well.

As you can see in the photo, they can be folded over nicely for a “taco shell” while still warm.  You can also use them flat for making chalupas!  They are ever so slightly chewy in the very center 1″(from the psyllium).   You could try browning them more for a crisper center, but be aware the edges are likely to over-brown and taste overdone accordingly.

There is just a hint of cheese taste in these.  Any more and I don’t think you could form this into a workable dough, quite frankly.  You can go down that road if you want to experiment.  FYI, cheddar is much harder to work into your dough than mozzarella in what is essentially a modification of the Fathead Pizza Dough recipe.  So if you increase cheese, my recommendation would be to increase the mozzarella and not the Cheddar.

These can also be fried, but they didn’t taste one bit better, were no crispier than the baked ones and were definitely they were greasier.  So my preference here is baked.  This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction Phase.

INGREDIENTS:

Perfect with a bowl of chili, too!

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1 T. olive oil

1 egg, beaten

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. Carbquik

1 T. oat fiber

1½ tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

We used a spoonful of this for our tacos! Yum!

Dash each onion and garlic powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.  Place mozzarella and Cheddar shreds in a large glass or ceramic bowl and microwave on HI for about 2 minutes to thoroughly melt.  The key to success with this dough is to work quickly every step of the way, while the cheese is soft and pliable.  Remove bowl from microwave and quickly blot excess grease (from Cheddar) off the top with paper towels.  Stir quickly with a fork to blend together to blend.  Add the olive oil and stir again.  Add the dry ingredients and then beaten egg last.  Quickly stir to bring the wet cheese and flours to form a ball of dough, making sure to scrape all cheese/dough off the sides of the bowl as you do so.  Knead with your hand 5-6 times right in the bowl to be sure all ingredients are uniformly mixed.  When it is a smooth ball of dough, form a large log of the dough.  Divide the log in half.  Divide each half in half once again.  And finally, those pieces into halves making a total of eight (hopefully equal) balls of dough about 1½” round.  Roll and press onto your parchment-lined pan, pressing with the butt of your palm to about a 5″ circle (you want it very thin but not tearing anywhere).  Pop pans onto two racks in a 350º oven for about 7-10 minutes or until browned as shown above in the photo.  Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 taco or chalupa shells,  each contains:

164 cals, 13g fat, 8.15g carbs, 4.92g fiber, 3.23g NET CARBS, 12g protein, 287 mg sodium

Sausage Breakfast Focaccia

To quote the bard, “a sausage biscuit by any other name……” would taste as sweet.  🙂  A tasty new way to use my wonderful gluten-free focaccia bread recipe.   You’ll be happy to know you CANNOT taste the flax meal in this bread either!

TIP:  If you are not gluten-free, I find 1 T. oat fiber improves this bread’s taste and texture greatly.  But remember, if you add it, OAT FIBER IS NOT GLUTEN FREE.

This recipe is suitable for Phase 2 Atkins, Keto diets, Primal folks if consumed only occasionally.  This bread would not be suitable for Paleo.

BREAD INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 1 T. warm water (optional, for flavor only)

1 T. oat fiber (optional)

TOPPING:   5 oz. browned sausage + 1 c. more shredded cheese of your choice

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar, both cheeses and dissolved yeast (if using).  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  You can also use a non-stick pan.  I would not recommend silicone, as this won’t brown as nicely on your Silpat.  Scrap the batter onto the prepared pan, spreading it as evenly as possible with the spatula into a rectangle that is roughly 10″x13″.  Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Sprinkle on cooked sausage and then the mozzarella shreds.  Lightly press down on the toppings so they embed slightly into the batter.  Pop pan into 350º oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until dry to the touch in center and lightly browned on the edges.  .  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 slices and enjoy!  When totally cool, store in plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Entire sheet contains:  2113 calories, 164 g fat, 30.6 g carbs, 13.8 g fiber, 16.8 g net carbs, 142 g protein, 3334 mg sodium  (divide by number of servings you cut)

If cut into 9 portions, each serving would contain:

235 calories, 18.2 g  fat, 3.4 g  carbs, 1.53 g  fiber, 1.87 g  NET CARBS, 15.73 g  protein, 370 mg sodium

Spinach Cheese Bread

Not quite wanting pizza for lunch yesterday, I turned to an old, simpler recipe created sometime back.  I had not baked it in a very long time.  This was created with my best pizza crust recipe modified it a bit.  I just added more cheese and some spinach and MAN!  Was this ever good!  And look how low-carb it is!!!!!    Even my husband said “This is really, really good, Peggy!  Be sure to upload this onto the blog!”  And it is so easy to put together.  You can enjoy this delicious treat once you have reached Atkins Phase 2 or are beyond that point in your weight loss journey.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. whey protein powder, unflavored

¼ c. golden flax meal (or more whey protein powder)

1 tsp. baking powder

2 T. oat fiber (not the same thing as oat bran!)

4 T. (2 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 tsp. dry yeast, well-dissolved in 2 T. warm water

2 c. shredded Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese

1 c. frozen chopped spinach (I did not thaw)

VARIATION:   Remove from oven before fully done, spread a few tablespoons Alfredo sauce and some more sprinkles of spinach on top.  Dust with Parmesan and pop back into oven for more of a true spinach pizza result.  (variation not figured in the nutritional numbers below)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a medium mixing bowl, measure out all dry ingredients but the yeast.  Stir well.  Dissolve the yeast in the 2 T. water.  Add to bowl with dry ingredients.  Add in the beaten eggs, cream, vinegar and softened cream cheese.  Beat the wet ingredients into the dry a few strokes.  Add the Jack or mozzy cheese shreds and un-defrosted spinach (break up clumps as you go) and stir to form a thick batter.  Line a 9″ x 12″ sheet pan with silicone or parchment.  Spread batter evenly to fill the pan.  Pop into 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and dry to the touch in the center.  Remove and cool a few minutes.   Cut into 12 pieces and serve.  If you eat it while still real hot, you will need a fork.  It gets easier to handle in your hand (and tastier) as it begins to cool a bit.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 12 servings, each contains:

154 cals, 12.3 g fat, 3.75 g carbs, 2.49 g fiber, 1.26 g NET CARBS, 9.5 g protein, 232 mg sodium

San Marzano Focaccia

This is what I think I’ll fix for lunch today, with the addition of some sliced olives.  I’m noticing in my old age I’m liking many fewer ingredients on what I think of as basically, um….  pizza.   I’m trying my hand at growing San Marzano tomatoes this year!   

This is yet another great new use for my Mozzy Dough.  I’m having so much fun trialing new applications for this dough.  TIP:  I make up 10 batches of the dry ingredients pre-measured on paper plates.  Then I fold and pour each into a sandwich bag and store the bags zipped up in a shoe box in my pantry.  Very convenient…..as then all I have to do is grab a bag, melt the butter, add the beaten egg, melt the cheese and make my dough ball.  So easy that way.  I store the paper plates and baggies and re-use for making each batch of 10. 

Boy, is this focaccia ever simple to make and yummy good!  I make mine fairly thin.  If you like focaccia thicker, make a smaller sheet than shown right (using fewer tomatoes, of course) and being sure you cut it into 12 slices so the nutritional info will be accurate.  This recipe is not suitable until you get to Phase 2 grains re-introduction level of Atkins as the Carbquik does have some flour in it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Mozzy Dough

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

25-27 San Marzano mini tomatoes (10 oz. bag)

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

½ tsp. dried basil (or 1 T. fresh basil chopped)

¼ tsp. dried oregano (or 1/2 tsp. fresh)

VARIATION:   Add a few sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the Mozzy Dough per that recipe’s instructions.  Line a 13″x15″ baking sheet with parchment and using your fingers, press the ball of dough out to a 9″x12″ rectangle (smaller if you like it thicker.  With a brush baste the dough with half the olive oil.  Sprinkle the chopped garlic evenly over the top and press it down a bit.  Now sprinkle 1/2 c. mozzarella over the crust evenly.  Slice the tomatoes lengthwise into halves and place skin-side down evenly over the top of the focaccia sheet.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on next and then the shredded Parmesan.  Sprinkle on the basil and oregano last.  Add olive slices, pressing them into the dough (if using).  Pop into oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the dough is browning on the edges and the tomatoes are looking cooked on top.  Serve with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 12 3″x3″ squares of focaccia, each square contains.

190 calories, 15 g fat, 6.88 g carbs, 3.61 g fiber, 3.27 g NET CARBS, 12.6 g protein, 276 mg sodium

Taco Shells

Right out of the oven.

For Tacos or Chalupas.

I like tacos in the summertime because I don’t have to have the oven on so long to make dinner.  My low-carb taco shells are somewhere between a browned pie crust, a cracker and a tortilla in texture.  Useful as a corn tortilla substitute.  They are quite tasty with chili as well.  As you can see in the photo, they can be folded over nicely for a “taco shell” while still warm.  You can also use them flat for making chalupas!  They are ever so slightly chewy in the very center 1″(from the psyllium, no doubt).   You could try browning them more for a crisper center, but be aware the edges are likely to over-brown and taste overdone accordingly.  I plan to do some further experimenting with this recipe.

There is just a hint of cheese taste in these.  Any more and I don’t think you could form this into a workable dough, quite frankly.  You can go down that experiment road if you feel inspired.  FYI, cheddar is much harder to work into your dough than mozzy in what is essentially a modification of the Fathead Pizza Dough recipe.  So if you increase cheese, my recommendation would be to increase the mozzy and not the Cheddar.

FYI, these can be fried, but when I fried some in oil they didn’t taste one bit better, were no crisper and were definitely greasier.  So my preference is to bake these.  This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction Phase.

INGREDIENTS:

Perfect with chili, too!

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1 T. olive oil

1 egg, beaten

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. Carbquik

1 T. oat fiber

1½ tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

We used a spoonful of this for our tacos! Yum!

Dash each onion and garlic powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.  Place mozzarella and Cheddar shreds in a large glass or ceramic bowl and microwave on HI for about 2 minutes to thoroughly melt.  The key to success with this dough is to work quickly every step of the way, while the cheese is soft and pliable.  Remove bowl from microwave and quickly blot excess grease (from Cheddar) off the top with paper towels.  Stir quickly with a fork to blend together to blend.  Add the olive oil and stir again.  Add the dry ingredients and then beaten egg last.  Quickly stir to bring the wet cheese and flours to form a ball of dough, making sure to scrape all cheese/dough off the sides of the bowl as you do so.  Knead with your hand 5-6 times right in the bowl to be sure all ingredients are uniformly mixed.  When it is a smooth ball of dough, form a large log of the dough.  Divide the log in half.  Divide each half in half once again.  And finally, those pieces into halves making a total of eight (hopefully equal) balls of dough about 1½” round.  Roll and press onto your parchment-lined pan, pressing with the butt of your palm to about a 5″ circle (you want it very thin but not tearing anywhere).  Pop pans onto two racks in a 350º oven for about 7-10 minutes or until browned as shown above in the photo.  Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 taco or chalupa shells,  each contains:

164 cals, 13g fat, 8.15g carbs, 4.92g fiber, 3.23g NET CARBS, 12g protein, 287 mg sodium

Taco Shells

Right out of the oven.

      Makes great Tacos or Chalupas.

Taco Shells that are somewhere between a browned pie crust, a cracker and a tortilla in texture.  Useful as a corn tortilla substitute.  They were quite tasty with our chili at lunch today, as well as those eaten alone with a smear of butter on top.   As you can see in the photo, they can be folded over nicely for a “taco shell” while still warm.  But you can also use them flat for making chalupas!  They are ever so slightly chewy in the very center 1″(from the psyllium, no doubt).   You could try browning them more for a crisper center, but be aware the edges are likely to over-brown and taste burned if you cook too long.

FYI, these can be fried, but when I fried some in oil they didn’t taste one bit better, were no crisper and were definitely greasier.  So my preference is to bake them and not have to stand over a hot skillet of oil.  This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction.

INGREDIENTS:

Perfect with chili, too!

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1 T. olive oil

1 egg, beaten

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. Carbquik

1 T. oat fiber

1½ tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

We used a spoonful of this for our tacos! Yum!

Dash each onion and garlic powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.  Place mozzarella and Cheddar shreds in a large glass or ceramic bowl and microwave on HI for about 2 minutes to thoroughly melt.  The key to success with this dough is to work quickly every step of the way, while the cheese is soft and pliable.  Remove bowl from microwave and quickly blot excess grease (from Cheddar) off the top with paper towels.  Stir quickly with a fork to blend together to blend.  Add the olive oil and stir again.  Add the dry ingredients and then beaten egg last.  Quickly stir to bring the wet cheese and flours to form a ball of dough, making sure to scrape all cheese/dough off the sides of the bowl as you do so.  Knead with your hand 5-6 times right in the bowl to be sure all ingredients are uniformly mixed.  When it is a smooth ball of dough, form a large log of the dough.  Divide the log in half.  Divide each half in half once again.  And finally, those pieces into halves making a total of eight (hopefully equal) balls of dough about 1½” round.  Roll and press onto your parchment-lined pan, pressing with the butt of your palm to about a 5″ circle (you want it very thin but not tearing anywhere).  Pop pans onto two racks in a 350º oven for about 7-10 minutes or until browned as shown above in the photo.  Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes.  These were great with chili at lunch today.  Just a hint of cheese taste, but any more and I don’t think you could form this into a workable dough, quite frankly.  You can go down that experiment road if you feel inspired.  FYI, cheddar is much harder to work with than mozzy in what is essentially a modification of the Fathead Pizza Dough recipe.  So if you increase cheese, my recommendation would be to increase the mozzy and not the Cheddar.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 taco or chalupa shells,  each contains:

164 cals, 13g fat, 8.15g carbs, 4.92g fiber, 3.23g NET CARBS, 12g protein, 287 mg sodium

Focaccia Bread

One cannot celebrate Italian food without thinking of their iconic focaccia bread.  Oh, the sandwiches one can create with it!  It is so versatile it is used in many ways but quite honestly, is delicious buttered right out of the oven with nothing else.  My inspiration for this 8-seed garlic version of my focaccia bread recipe was a photo of a seeded bagel recipe I saw somewhere on the net recently.  The texture of this sheet focaccia is soft, and it is very much like real focaccia.  Not at all grainy or coarse as is the crumb of many low-carb breads.  If serving to company, I like to skip the baking pan conformity and with a rubber spatula, shape the dough thicker into a smaller, somewhat irregular-edged oblong shape for a more ‘haphazard’ thrown-on-the pan look.  That makes calculating nutritional almost impossible, as the pieces will be irregular in shape/size.  But hey, it’s for company, so I cut a few corners on such occasions.

This recipe is not suitable until you are well into Phase 2 (OWL) of Atkins due to the ingredients in the bake mix.  This recipe is OK for other Keto diets if it can fit into your daily macro number limits.  This sheet bread can be cut differently (like bread sticks for hummus or to have with soup.  Take the “entire recipe” numbers and divide by the number of portions you get for the particular cut on the sheet to get your ‘per piece’ (estimated) nutritional numbers.

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. cream cheese

2½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 c. blanched almond flour

1 T. baking powder

½ c. my new Buttoni’s Low-Carb Bake Mix

2 large eggs, beaten

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

TOPPING:  1 T. melted butter brushed on and then sprinkle on 1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or my  8-seed blend). 

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly oil an 8″x11″ metal baking pan. Set aside for now.  Measure out onto a paper plate the almond flour, bake mix and baking powder.  Stir them together well and set aside.  In a glass or ceramic bowl, place the mozzarella and cream cheese.  Place bowl in microwave and cook on HI for about 2 minutes.  Stir, adding a few more seconds of cooking if cheese is not fully melted.  Remove from microwave, add flour mix, minced garlic, and beaten eggs.  Stir quickly with a fork (while cheese is still hot and pliable).  When it begins to form a single ball of dough, moisten hands with a bit of water or oil (as it is sticky if you don’t) and knead into a smooth ball.  Press into oiled 8×11 pan as evenly as you can.  Sprinkle on the 8-seed blend.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown (to your liking) on top. Remove and brush with the tablespoon of melted butter over the top.  Cut into 8 portions and serve at once.  This would make delicious sandwiches so I am providing numbers below for entire recipe for alternate baking pan size or slicing methods.  You will need to re-calculate nutritional “per serving” numbers if you change the indicated slicing suggestion.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 small slices.  1/8 recipe contains:

265 calories, 20g fat, 6.92g carbs, 2.21g fiber, 4.71g NET CARBS, 16.3g protein, 379mg sodium

ENTIRE RECIPE CONTAINS:  2118 cals, 161.8g fat, 55.4g carbs, 17.7g fiber, 37.63g NET CARBS, 130.1g protein, 3032 mg sodium. Dived these by the number of cut servings you get a per serving value.

Taco Shells

Right out of the oven.

For Tacos or Chalupas.

I like tacos in the summertime because I don’t have to have the oven on so long to make dinner.  My low-carb taco shells are somewhere between a browned pie crust, a cracker and a tortilla in texture.  Useful as a corn tortilla substitute.  They are quite tasty with chili as well.  As you can see in the photo, they can be folded over nicely for a “taco shell” while still warm.  You can also use them flat for making chalupas!  They are ever so slightly chewy in the very center 1″(from the psyllium, no doubt).   You could try browning them more for a crisper center, but be aware the edges are likely to over-brown and taste overdone accordingly.  I plan to do some further experimenting with this recipe when I get to goal weight.  Adding a bit of crude corn bran (difficult to obtain now unless you already have some, as Honeyville Grains stopped supplying it.).  A little Fresh Corn flavoring, or a bit of real cornmeal would enhance also.  I personally think the cornmeal will jack up the carb count too much and will probably not be enough flavor impact to be worth the higher carb price.

FYI, these can be fried, but when I fried some in oil they didn’t taste one bit better, were no crisper and were definitely greasier.  So my preference is always to bake and not have to stand over a hot skillet of oil.  This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction.

INGREDIENTS:

Perfect with chili, too!

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1 T. olive oil

1 egg, beaten

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. Carbquik

1 T. oat fiber

1½ tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

We used a spoonful of this for our tacos! Yum!

Dash each onion and garlic powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.  Place mozzarella and Cheddar shreds in a large glass or ceramic bowl and microwave on HI for about 2 minutes to thoroughly melt.  The key to success with this dough is to work quickly every step of the way, while the cheese is soft and pliable.  Remove bowl from microwave and quickly blot excess grease (from Cheddar) off the top with paper towels.  Stir quickly with a fork to blend together to blend.  Add the olive oil and stir again.  Add the dry ingredients and then beaten egg last.  Quickly stir to bring the wet cheese and flours to form a ball of dough, making sure to scrape all cheese/dough off the sides of the bowl as you do so.  Knead with your hand 5-6 times right in the bowl to be sure all ingredients are uniformly mixed.  When it is a smooth ball of dough, form a large log of the dough.  Divide the log in half.  Divide each half in half once again.  And finally, those pieces into halves making a total of eight (hopefully equal) balls of dough about 1½” round.  Roll and press onto your parchment-lined pan, pressing with the butt of your palm to about a 5″ circle (you want it very thin but not tearing anywhere).  Pop pans onto two racks in a 350º oven for about 7-10 minutes or until browned as shown above in the photo.  Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes.  These were great with chili at lunch today.  Just a hint of cheese taste, but any more and I don’t think you could form this into a workable dough, quite frankly.  You can go down that experiment road if you feel inspired.  FYI, cheddar is much harder to work with than mozzy in what is essentially a modification of the Fathead Pizza Dough recipe.  So if you increase cheese, my recommendation would be to increase the mozzy and not the Cheddar.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 taco or chalupa shells,  each contains:

164 cals, 13g fat, 8.15g carbs, 4.92g fiber, 3.23g NET CARBS, 12g protein, 287 mg sodium

White Bread Sandwich Rounds

This recipe is a slight modification of my new Toasting Bread recipe.  I merely added some psyllium to the original batter.  They came out soft, neutral in flavor and resilient to handling.  Made GREAT roast beef sandwiches for our lunch today.  The husband really liked this one!  So a thumbs up on this one from both of us.  This recipe is not suitable until you are in Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance on the Atkins plan.

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

1 c. my Einkorn Bake Mix or Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. CarbQuik Bake Mix

½ tsp. each baking powder & baking soda

1½ tsp. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

1 T. olive oil

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.  Set aside.  Prepare the batter. Soften cream cheese in a medium glass mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat with a whisk until smooth.  Add in eggs and olive oil and whisk until smooth.  Add in the rest of the dry ingredients listed and whisk smooth.  Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.  I didn’t use a measuring cup, but used my spatula to spoon up about into 4 well-spaced piles on the papered pans.   If more batter left, evenly distribute into the 8 piles total.  Smooth out fairly thin with your spatula or back of a spoon.  Aim for roughly 4″ rounds with 3/4″ space between them.  Pop into 350º oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.  I intentionally under-browned one pan of mine so that I could re-heat them without overly drying them out or over-browning.  Ovens vary, so keep an eye out!  When as golden as you like, remove pans from oven and cool.  Enjoy with your favorite sandwich fillings.  Store extras in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 thin round breads.  Each bread round contains:  Takes two to make a sandwich as I find them too thin to slice, so each person is eating 8.3 net carbs plus your sandwich fillings.

195 cals, 15g fat, 11.02g carbs, 6.87g fiber, 4.15g NET CARBS, 11.7g protein, 219 mg sodium

Iranian ‘Noon-Sangak’ (Flat Bread)

I miss Iranian flat bread they cook on pebbles in huge open ovens.  Bread is called ‘noon’ in Iran and the particular 2-foot sheet-bread I recall is called ‘sangak’, as it is cooked on an open-front, kiln-like oven directly on the surface of blazing hot pebbles therein.  I found a wonderful video on this bread making I will share:  https://thecaspianchef.com/2020/03/28/naan-sangak-persian-flatbread/.  They used much smaller pebbles in the Teheran bakeries and also used a long-handled wooden paddle to reach in the ovens to flop the oiled bread dough onto the pebbles, and long tongs for flipping the sheets over to cook the second side.  They picked off the burnt-on pebbles cursorily and quickly flopped it onto a sheet of brown paper for carrying home.         

This recipe for bread I have been working on for quite sometime.  It is finally where I want it both in texture (somewhat chewy) and flavor.   Though not true ‘noon-sangak’ by any stretch of the imagination, as a low-carber can’t eat a lot of whole wheat flour.  But it is similar in flavor and texture for serving with my Middle Eastern foods.   It is excellent right off the griddle hot with butter and will work well with your favorite curry recipes.  It also works for rolling and filling with eat mixtures or just for dipping into some hummus or Syrian Za’atar herb/oil mixture well-known throughout the Middle East.  I think any way you decide to serve it, this bread, for me, comes close to a ‘noon-sangak’ experience, minus the pebble part, that is.

This recipe is not suitable until you are at the grains rung of the Atkins carb re-introduction ladder as there is some flour product in it.  But I found this little bit of flour absolutely necessary.  All trials for flat breads to dat attempting to use coconut flour alone, almond flour alone or any combination have come out just awful in my opinion.  This bread is one step closer in the right direction.   

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. low-carb CarbQuik bake mix (or other low-carb mix)

1 c. almond flour

½ c. Einkorn whole wheat flour (from Jovial Foods)

3 T. psyllium husk powder

1½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. sea salt

2 T. olive oil

1¼ c. boiling water (added slowly, as all may not be needed)

1 T. olive oil for browning on griddle

DIRECTIONS:   Bring a kettle of water to boil and pour off 1¼ c. into a measuring cup (preferably one with a pour spout) and have by your work bowl.  Measure dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir well to blend ingredients evenly.  Drizzle the 2 T. olive oil over the dry ingredients.  With water in your left hand and a fork in your right, slowly pour most of the water (1 c.) over the dry ingredients whisking with your fork continuously as you do so.  All should begin to come together into a single mass of dough.  It will firm up as you work the dough.  Only add the remaining water (in small increments) if the mass of dough seems too dry to knead.  Dough will be a little sticky at first, but it dries slowly as you work it.  Use a silicone spatula to help you work the dough into a contiguous ball of dough and to scrape down the sides of the bowl to get all the dough.  Let dough sit on counter for 12-15 minutes or until you can hand knead it.

Knead the dough 8-10 times.  You can dust your hands with some low-carb flour to help you with handling if need be, but if the dough has set long enough, it should be getting dry enough extra flour dusting should not be necessary.

Set dough ball on a silicone sheet (or a piece of plastic wrap “glued” to your counter with a swipe of water), form a log shape with the dough.  Cut the log into 8 equal pieces.  Roll each into a smooth ball of dough with your palms and set on the edge  of your silicone sheet while you work.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel if you are a slow worker so it won’t dry out.  Heat a non-stick griddle to medium-high heat.  The remaining 1 T. olive is for oiling the griddle.  With your spatula, dot the griddle lightly between batches as you cook the breads, much as you do when making pancakes.

I cook 2 round flat breads (or 2 oblong one) on my griddle (spans 2 stove burners).  Using your palms and fingers, press 1 ball of dough on your silicone sheet into a 5-5½” circle.  Again, you can dust your hands with low-carb flour if need be, but I found it wasn’t necessary.  Lifting the silicone sheet, tip the flat dough round onto your free hand and transfer to hot, oiled griddle.  Brown to a golden color on both sides.   Remove to a serving platter and set near stove to keep warm while you cook the remaining sheets.  Serve at once with butter, za’atar herb/oil mix or your favorite Middle Eastern foods.  

VARIATION:  If making to use as tortillas, divide the log of dough into TEN portions and roll it out much thinner, as thinly as you can.  Each tortilla will have 126 calories, 11g fat, 13.37g carbs, 7.7g fiber, 4.8g protein and 180 mg sodium

San Marzano Focaccia

This is what I’m fixing for lunch today.  I’m noticing in my old age I’m liking many fewer ingredients on what I think of as basically, um….  pizza.   I think I’ll add a few sliced black olives today.  I have some San Marzano smaller tomatoes to use up.  This is yet anotsher great use of my Mozzy Dough.  I’m having so much fun trialing new applications for this dough.  TIP:  As a general rule, I make up 10 batches of the dry ingredients pre-measured on paper plates.  Then I fold and pour each into a sandwich bag and store the bags in a shoe box in my pantry.  Very convenient…..as then all I have to do is grab a bag, melt the butter, add the beaten egg, melt the cheese and make my dough ball.  So easy that way.  I store the paper plates and baggies and re-use for the next batch. 🙂 

Boy, is this focaccia ever simple to make and so delicious!  I make mine fairly thin.  If you like focaccia thicker, make a smaller sheet (using fewer tomatoes, of course) and recalculate the nutritional info accordingly.  This recipe is not suitable until you get to Phase 2 grains reintroduction level of Atkins as the Carbquik has some flour in it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Mozzy Dough

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

25-27 San Marzano mini tomatoes (10 oz. bag)

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

½ tsp. dried basil (or 1 T. fresh basil chopped)

¼ tsp. dried oregano

VARIATION:   Add a few sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the Mozzy Dough per that recipe’s instructions.  Line a baking sheet with parchment and press the ball of dough out to a 9″x12″ rectangle.  With a brush baste the dough with half the olive oil.  Sprinkle the chopped garlic evenly over the top and press it down a bit.  Now sprinkle 1/2 c. mozzarella over the crust evenly.  Slice the tomatoes lengthwise into halves and place skin-side down evenly over the top of the focaccia sheet.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on next and then the shredded Parmesan.  Sprinkle on the basil and oregano last.  Pop into oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the dough is browning on the edges and the tomatoes are looking cooked on top.  Serve with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 12 3″x3″ squares of focaccia, each square contains.

190 calories, 15 g fat, 6.88 g carbs, 3.61 g fiber, 3.27 g NET CARBS, 12.6 g protein, 276 mg sodium

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Focaccia

Now that I don’t use Carbquik much anymore, this new gluten-free bread has become my go to bread for sandwiches.  It has blown away all my previous sandwich bread recipes (but maybe one)!  It has a lovely bottom and top crust and is not crumbly like so many low-carb breads.   A piece hot from the oven with butter is amazingly good!  It toasts OK, but not great. But then what low-carb bread does?  It makes great deli-style or grilled cheese sandwiches!  No flax taste at all!  I will definitely explore other uses, both savory and sweet.  Already found out it makes a wonderful pizza crust  and great sandwich buns as well.   It makes wonderful “bagels”, muffin top buns and muffins, as seen below.  You can even make sweet things with this batter, like blueberry bagels and cinnamon donuts!

TIP:  If you are not gluten-free, I find 1 T. oat fiber improves this bread’s texture greatly.  But remember, if you add it, OAT FIBER IS NOT GLUTEN FREE.

  Before Slicing

Made as slider buns, cinnamon donuts and herb muffins

This recipe is suitable for Phase 2 Atkins, Keto diets, Primal folks if consumed only occasionally.  This bread would not be suitable for Paleo.

Many more delicious gluten-free bread recipes for bread and baked goods await you in Jennifer Eloff’s latest cookbook series:  Low Carbing Among Friends.  You can have your very own set (or individual volumes) of this fast-selling 5-volume collection of recipes by some of the most talented low-carb cooks on the internet.  Order at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 1 T. warm water (optional, for flavor only)

Spices or seeds of your choosing sprinkled on top before baking.  I often use this mixture:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/peggys-8-seed-spice-blend/

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar, both cheeses and dissolved yeast (if using).  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan either with parchment paper or silicone sheet.  Scrap the batter onto the prepared pan, spreading it as evenly as possible with the spatula into a rectangle that is roughly 10″x13″.  Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Sprinkle on spices if using any.  Pop bread into 350º oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until done to the touch in the center and lightly browned around the edges.  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 “slices.  When totally cool, store in plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NOTE:  This can also be baked in a small 8×4 loaf, which will take about 30 minutes to cook:

   Baked as a Loaf

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 large slices, each contains:

149 calories, 11.5 g  fat, 3.5 g  carbs, 2.1 g  fiber, 1.4 g  NET CARBS, 10.1 g  protein, 204 mg sodium

Sausage Breakfast Focaccia

To quote the bard, “a sausage biscuit by any other name……” would taste as sweet.  🙂  A tasty new way to use my wonderful gluten-free focaccia bread recipe.   You’ll be happy to know you CANNOT taste the flax meal in this bread either!

TIP:  If you are not gluten-free, I find 1 T. oat fiber improves this bread’s taste and texture greatly.  But remember, if you add it, OAT FIBER IS NOT GLUTEN FREE.

This recipe is suitable for Phase 2 Atkins, Keto diets, Primal folks if consumed only occasionally.  This bread would not be suitable for Paleo.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends. Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love! Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

BREAD INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 1 T. warm water (optional, for flavor only)

1 T. oat fiber (optional)

TOPPING:   5 oz. browned sausage + 1 c. more shredded cheese of your choice

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar, both cheeses and dissolved yeast (if using).  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  You can also use a non-stick pan.  I would not recommend silicone, as this won’t brown as nicely on your Silpat.  Scrap the batter onto the prepared pan, spreading it as evenly as possible with the spatula into a rectangle that is roughly 10″x13″.  Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Sprinkle on cooked sausage and then the mozzarella shreds.  Lightly press down on the toppings so they embed slightly into the batter.  Pop pan into 350º oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until dry to the touch in center and lightly browned on the edges.  .  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 slices and enjoy!  When totally cool, store in plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Entire sheet contains:  2113 calories, 164 g fat, 30.6 g carbs, 13.8 g fiber, 16.8 g net carbs, 142 g protein, 3334 mg sodium  (divide by number of servings you cut)

If cut into 9 portions, each serving would contain:

235 calories, 18.2 g  fat, 3.4 g  carbs, 1.53 g  fiber, 1.87 g  NET CARBS, 15.73 g  protein, 370 mg sodium

Peggy’s Sliced Bread

The day I decided to make my Focaccia Sheet Bread recipe without the shredded cheese was a good day.  It is still one of my favorite bread recipes, after 9 years of low-carbing!  I love a soft crust atop each slice.  Warm and buttered, it reminds me of a British crumpet, just no yeast taste (although you could add a little for that flavor).  An added bonus, this bread is somewhat elastic, in that it DID NOT break apart in my hands even with a piping hot hamburger patty between two very thin pieces that were sliced laterally out of one whole slice.

Due to it’s fairly plain “white-bread” flavor, I have also used this basic batter in dessert/sweet applications.  Due to the Carbquick, this bread is not be suitable until the grains rung of the OWL phase of Atkins.  The Carbquick makes this bread NOT gluten-free.  See gluten-free recommendation in recipe below.

To make bread sticks, take one slice and cut as desired, baste in 2 tsp. butter, sprinkle of garlic powder and a smidge of oregano and Parm.  Toast lightly in broiler just until surface slightly begins to brown.  Entire slice is 1 serving for 2.9 net carbs.  Great with  soup or for dipping in hummus made from cauliflower.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes appear in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

1 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. Carbquik bake mix (use ½c. more Jennifer’s mix for gluten-free version, but it will not render the smooth crust you see above.  Will taste just fine however.)

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium bowl and beat in the eggs.  Add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Line a 12 x 16½”  or 11 x 16 baking pan with parchment or silicone/Silpat sheet.  Dip batter onto pan in evenly spaced globs.  Using fork or rubber spatula, evenly spread out the batter to the edges of the pan, trying to see that it is uniformly thick throughout, especially at the edges of the pan.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and done int he center.  Remove and slightly cool.  Cut into 12 “slices”.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 slices, each contains:

144 calories, 12.6 g  fat, 6.08 g  carbs, 3.25 g  fiber, 2.83 g  NET CARBS, 8.9 g  protein, 235 mg sodium

Peggy’s Sliced Bread

I decided to make my Focaccia Sheet Bread recipe without the shredded cheese this time to see how that would bake up.  Well, I’m totally astounded at how good this came out.  Only difference between this and commercial sliced white bread is it isn’t as white and it has, of course, a full soft crust atop each slice.  Not a bad thing in my book. Warm and buttered, it reminds me of a British crumpet, just no yeast taste (that may be my next experiment).  I have to admit, both flavor and texture were outstanding!  An added bonus, this bread is somewhat elastic, in that it DID NOT break apart in my hands even with a piping hot hamburger patty between two very thin pieces that were sliced laterally out of one whole slice.

Due to it’s fairly plain “white-bread” flavor, I also see potential for this basic batter in dessert/sweet applications.  Due to the Carbquik, this bread would not be suitable until the grains rung of the OWL phase of Atkins.  If you use Carbquik, it will not be gluten-free, either.  See gluten-free recommendation in recipe below.

To make bread sticks, take one slice and cut as desired, baste in 2 tsp. butter, sprinkle of garlic powder and a smidgeon of oregano and Parm.  Toast lightly in broiler just until surface slightly begins to brown.  Entire slice is 1 serving for 2.83 net carbs.  Great with  soup or for dipping in hummus made from cauliflower.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.phpDISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

1 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. Carbquik bake mix (use ½c. more Jennifer’s mix for 100% gluten-free version.)

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium bowl and beat in the eggs.  Add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Line a 12 x 16½”  or 11 x 16 baking pan with parchment or silicone/Silpat sheet.  Use a smaller pan if you are wanting thicker pieces than shown.  Spoon the batter onto pan in evenly spaced globs.  Using fork or rubber spatula, evenly spread out the batter to the edges of the pan, trying to see that it is uniformly thick throughout, especially at the edges of the pan.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch in the center.  Remove and slightly cool.  Cut into 12 “slices”.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 slices, each contains:

144 calories, 12.6 g  fat, 6.08 g  carbs, 3.25 g  fiber, 2.83 g  NET CARBS, 8.9 g  protein, 235 mg sodium

Flax-Whey Protein Bread

Sprinkled with 8-Seed Crust blend

This bread is my previous Low-Carb Flax Bread that is evolving for the better.  I’m not so fond of the taste of flax and have made some further changes to my first Atkins Induction-friendly recipe.  Those changes are reflected below.  The result has a lovely taste and texture, although not as good as my gluten-free focaccia recipe…….but I can’t have that right now as I’ve returned to an ULTRA low-carb regimen.  Just replace 1/2 cup of the golden flax with the dark flax and sprinkle some caraway seed on top for a rye version.  Although not particularly low-calorie, this bread has only 1.05 net carbs per slice!  Better yet, a slice is thick enough to laterally slice into two thin slices for toasting at breakfast!

If you’re not familiar with oat fiber (please don’t confuse with its carbier cousin oat bran!) it has 26 grams carbs per serving and nearly 26 grams fiber, so it’s a wash on the carbs after subtracting the indigestible fiber.  Technically it comes from the oat grain’s husk, and grains aren’t allowed during Induction.  You CAN omit it here, but it adds much flavor and texture to this bread.  Oat fiber comes from the outer husk of the oat.  I have never gained eating small amounts of it, so I include it in most all of my baked goods.  Your mileage may vary, so tread carefully the first time you consume oat fiber. If you gain or find it stirs carb cravings, then by all means, do not eat it again until you get to the grains rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.

I prefer baking this bread in a large sheet pan, because I can easily cut into 16 uniform slices, with more crust, too!  It also is pretty easy to slice each portion laterally if you wish even thinner slices for toasting.  I just can’t slice real thin slices with a loaf of most low-carb breads…….I just can’t, without botching the slice totally.

Here’s one happy customer’s reaction to this bread:

Connie N

June 2, 2012 @ 5:59 pm Edit

I am so happy I found your site. I have made this recipe 3 times. and it is so good. My pan is 10X13, but it works find for me. We both think it taste like cornbread.
So I have added some stevia to make it a little sweet. And I use coconut oil instead of olive oil and increased it to 1/4 cup.
I have not had any bread for the last few years. And I can’t seem to get enough of this since I have been making it.
I really like that it slices, and stays together.
I will have to try the Low-Salt Sandwich Bread and see how it is with out cheese. I bet it is just as good.
I like it because it is Low Carb and have alot of protein.
Thank You

 

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends (me included).  Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon  or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php. DISCLAIMER: I do not accept payment for this book promotion. I promote the books because they are great cookbooks anyone would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. golden flax meal

1/3 c. oat fiber

2 T. glucomannan (konjac) powder

1 tsp. dry yeast dissolved in 1/3 c. warm water

1½ c. plain whey protein

¼ tsp. salt

1T + 1 tsp. baking powder

7 eggs

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack

4 T. olive oil

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix all dry ingredients and cheese in large bowl.  Add eggs, water and oil, beating eggs well until batter is well blended.  Line 11×17 sheet pan with parchment.  With a rubber spatula, scrape batter onto parchment.  Using the back of a dinner fork, spread batter from the center out to the edges of the pan, as evenly as possible.   I sprinkle caraway or other spices seed over half the sheet bread.  Bake for around 18 minutes until center is dry and springs back when touched.  Avoid over browning.  Cool and cut into 16 equal slices.  I store this bread in a gallon plastic bag in the fridge until ready to use.  It keeps about 2-3 weeks.  Can be toasted or rewarmed in a low oven.  This recipe rises enough (3/4″ thick) that you can actually slice it laterally and get a sandwich (2 slices) out of each 1/16th slice of this bread!  That really helps keep you within your daily carb limits!  This bread freezes well but remember to never freeze bread longer than a month, ANY bread, low carb or otherwise, as it dried out beyond edibility.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 16 portions, each contains:

195 calories, 14.77 g  fat, 7.27 g  carbs, 6.22 g  fiber, 1.05 g  NET CARBS, 14.6 g  protein, 237 mg sodium

Spinach Cheese Bread

Not quite wanting pizza for lunch, I turned to an old, simpler approach yesterday.  This was created with my best pizza crust recipe, modified it a wee bit, added more cheese and some spinach and MAN!  Was this ever good!  And look how low-carb it is!!!!!    Even my husband said “This is really, really good, Peggy!  Be sure to upload this onto the blog!”  And it is so easy to put together.  You can enjoy this delicious treat once you are at Atkins Phase 2 and beyond.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. whey protein powder, unflavored

¼ c. golden flax meal (or more whey protein powder)

1 tsp. baking powder

2 T. oat fiber (not the same thing as oat bran!)

4 T. (2 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 tsp. dry yeast, well-dissolved in 2 T. warm water

2 c. shredded Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese

1 c. frozen chopped spinach (I did not thaw)

VARIATION:   Remove from oven before fully done, spread a few tablespoons Alfredo sauce and some more sprinkles of spinach on top.  Dust with Parmesan and pop back into oven for more of a true spinach pizza result.  (variation not figured in the nutritional numbers below)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a medium mixing bowl, measure out all dry ingredients but the yeast.  Stir well.  Dissolve the yeast in the 2 T. water.  Add to bowl with dry ingredients.  Add in the beaten eggs, cream, vinegar and softened cream cheese.  Beat the wet ingredients into the dry a few strokes.  Add the Jack or mozzy cheese shreds and un-defrosted spinach (break up clumps as you go) and stir to form a thick batter.  Line a 9″ x 12″ sheet pan with silicone or parchment.  Spread batter evenly to fill the pan.  Pop into 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and dry to the touch in the center.  Remove and cool a few minutes.   Cut into 12 pieces and serve.  If you eat it while still real hot, you will need a fork.  It gets easier to handle in your hand (and tastier) as it begins to cool a bit.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 12 servings, each contains:

154 cals, 12.3 g fat, 3.75 g carbs, 2.49 g fiber, 1.26 g NET CARBS, 9.5 g protein, 232 mg sodium

Sausage Breakfast Focaccia

To quote the bard, “a sausage biscuit by any other name……” would taste as sweet.  🙂  A tasty new way to use my wonderful gluten-free focaccia bread recipe.   You’ll be happy to know you CANNOT taste the flax meal in this bread either!

TIP:  If you are not gluten-free, I find 1 T. oat fiber improves this bread’s taste and texture greatly.  But remember, if you add it, OAT FIBER IS NOT GLUTEN FREE.

This recipe is suitable for Phase 2 Atkins, Keto diets, Primal folks if consumed only occasionally.  This bread would not be suitable for Paleo.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends. Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love! Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not accept payment for book promotions. I do so because they are GREAT cookbooks anyone would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

BREAD INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 1 T. warm water (optional, for flavor only)

1 T. oat fiber (optional)

TOPPING:   5 oz. browned sausage + 1 c. more shredded cheese of your choice

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar, both cheeses and dissolved yeast (if using).  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  You can also use a non-stick pan.  I would not recommend silicone, as this won’t brown as nicely on your Silpat.  Scrap the batter onto the prepared pan, spreading it as evenly as possible with the spatula into a rectangle that is roughly 10″x13″.  Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Sprinkle on cooked sausage and then the mozzarella shreds.  Lightly press down on the toppings so they embed slightly into the batter.  Pop pan into 350º oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until dry to the touch in center and lightly browned on the edges.  .  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 slices and enjoy!  When totally cool, store in plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Entire sheet contains:  2113 calories, 164 g fat, 30.6 g carbs, 13.8 g fiber, 16.8 g net carbs, 142 g protein, 3334 mg sodium  (divide by number of servings you cut)

If cut into 9 portions, each serving would contain:

235 calories

18.2 g  fat

3.4 g  carbs, 1.53 g  fiber, 1.87 g  NET CARBS

15.73 g  protein

370 mg sodium

Einkorn Focaccia

Einkorn Focaccia

This is basically just my Einkorn-Arrowroot Sandwich Bun recipe baked in a focaccia style sheet, cut into more portions.  The original psyllium/hot water technique was inspired by Maria Emerich’s bread recipe so many have experimented with.  I like a lot of crust on sandwiches, so I’m fond of making sheet bread for my sammies.   I did add my 8-Seed Spice Blend on top, but you can use whatever herb/spices you like, or none at all, if that’s your pleasure.  This doesn’t rise up very much, but if sliced carefully, you can slice it laterally/horizontally for a real thin bread, thus using only one portion for a sandwich. Men may want to use TWO portions/slices for their sandwiches.  This bread, with its psyllium, is extremely filling, so women may want to only use one slice and slice it horizontally for a real thin layer of bread on their sandwiches.   This bread has a wonderful flavor and elasticity I think you’ll like.  This bread is not suitable until you are nearly to goal weight as it has 3 T. REAL wheat flour in it. Not a lot per serving, but still not allowed until the last level of the Atkins OWL carb reintroduction ladder. Save this recipe for Pre-Maintenance or the Maintenance phase of your diet.

Note:  Most any brand of psyllium husk powder will work, but do NOT use Konsyl brand unless you want disastrous results. Been there; done that.  That one just doesn’t work right.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 tsp. dry yeast

1/3 tsp. real sugar (consumed by the yeast)

¼ c very warm tap water

1½ c. almond flour

3 T. Einkorn flour

1 T. coconut flour

4 T. psyllium powder (I use NOW brand)

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. sea salt

1 T. arrowroot powder

3 egg whites (whole or from carton)

2½ T. apple cider vinegar

½ c. boiling water (in addition tot he 1/4 c. above)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to  350º.  Line a 9×13 cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.  Put a kettle of water on to boil while you make your bread dough.

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast, sugar and warm tap water.  Allow to sit and develop while you mix the other bread ingredients.  In a large mixing bowl, measure out and mix all the dry ingredients.  Stir well until uniformly mixed.  In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and vinegar together.

Combine the yeast mixture with the egg mixture and stir gently.  Add this egg-yeast mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and quickly with a fork, stir it briskly into a uniform thick mixture.  Immediately measure out and pour the ½ cup boiling water over the top of the dough and with your fork, stir very quickly until it comes together into a uniform dough.  Switch to a rubber spatula and continue to stir and fold the dough, scraping the sides of the bowl as it thickens up to form a single ball of dough.  Scrape the dough onto the parchment-lined pan and with the rubber spatula or plastic-gloved hands, press it out to the edges fo the pan.  You must work quickly as the psyllium will continue to swell/thicken, making the dough more difficult to spread out.  If using spices, sprinkle now with 1-2 tsp. of any herbs/seed mixture you like and slightly press it into the dough with your hands.  Pop pan into preheated 350º oven and bake for 30-33 minutes (ovens vary) until the edges are just beginning to brown a wee bit.   Remove and cool slightly before slicing into 8 equal portions/slices.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 servings/slices of bread, each slice/serving contains:

156. calories

10.8 g  fat

12.48 g  carbs, 6.32 g  fiber, 6.16 g  NET CARBS

6.53 g  protein

193 mg sodium

Gluten-Free Grain-Free Focaccia

Gluten-Free Focaccia

Now that I don’t use Carbquik much anymore, this new gluten-free bread has become my go to bread for sandwiches.  It has blown away all my previous sandwich bread recipes (but maybe one)!  It has a lovely bottom and top crust and is not crumbly like so many low-carb breads.   A piece hot from the oven with butter is amazingly good!  It toasts OK, but not great. But then what low-carb bread does?  It makes great deli-style or grilled cheese sandwiches!  No flax taste at all!  I will definitely explore other uses, both savory and sweet.  Already found out it makes a wonderful pizza crust  and great sandwich buns as well.   It makes wonderful “bagels”, muffin top buns and muffins, as seen below.  You can even make sweet things with this batter, like blueberry bagels and cinnamon donuts!

TIP:  If you are not gluten-free, I find 1 T. oat fiber improves this bread’s texture greatly.  But remember, if you add it, OAT FIBER IS NOT GLUTEN FREE.

Before Slicing

Made as slider buns, cinnamon donuts and herb muffins

This recipe is suitable for Phase 2 Atkins, Keto diets, Primal folks if consumed only occasionally.  This bread would not be suitable for Paleo.

Many more delicious gluten-free bread recipes for bread and baked goods await you in Jennifer Eloff’s latest cookbook series:  Low Carbing Among Friends.  You can have your very own set (or individual volumes) of this fast-selling 5-volume collection of recipes by some of the most talented low-carb cooks on the internet.  Order at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 T. water

1 tsp. yeast dissolved in 1 T. warm water (optional, for flavor only)

Spices or seeds of your choosing sprinkled on top before baking.  I often use this mixture:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/peggys-8-seed-spice-blend/

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl in microwave.  Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar, both cheeses and dissolved yeast (if using).  Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well with a rubber spatula. Line a sheet pan either with parchment paper or silicone sheet.  Scrap the batter onto the prepared pan, spreading it as evenly as possible with the spatula into a rectangle that is roughly 10″x13″.  Batter will be about ¼” thick.  Sprinkle on spices if using any.  Pop bread into 350º oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until done to the touch in the center and lightly browned around the edges.  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 “slices.  When totally cool, store in plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NOTE:  This can also be baked in a small 8×4 loaf, which will take about 30 minutes to cook: 

Baked as a Loaf

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 large slices, each contains:

149 calories

11.5 g  fat

3.5 g  carbs, 2.1 g  fiber, 1.4 g  NET CARBS

10.1 g  protein

204 mg sodium

Peggy’s Sliced Bread

I decided to make my Focaccia Sheet Bread recipe without the shredded cheese this time to see how that would bake up.  Well, I’m totally astounded at how good this came out.  Only difference between this and commercial sliced white bread is it isn’t as white and it has, of course, a full soft crust atop each slice.  Not a bad thing in my book. Warm and buttered, it reminds me of a British crumpet, just no yeast taste (that may be my next experiment).  I have to admit, both flavor and texture were outstanding!  An added bonus, this bread is somewhat elastic, in that it DID NOT break apart in my hands even with a piping hot hamburger patty between two very thin pieces that were sliced laterally out of one whole slice.

Due to it’s fairly plain “white-bread” flavor, I also see potential for this basic batter in dessert/sweet applications.  Due to the Carbquik, this bread would not be suitable until the grains rung of the OWL phase of Atkins.  If you use Carbquik, it will not be gluten-free, either.  See gluten-free recommendation in recipe below.

To make bread sticks, take one slice and cut as desired, baste in 2 tsp. butter, sprinkle of garlic powder and a smidgeon of oregano and Parm.  Toast lightly in broiler just until surface slightly begins to brown.  Entire slice is 1 serving for 2.9 net carbs.  Great with  soup or for dipping in hummus made from cauliflower.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

1 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

½ c. Carbquik bake mix (use ½c. more Jennifer’s mix for gluten-free version, but it will not render the smooth crust you see above.  Will taste just fine however.)

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Soften cream cheese in medium bowl and beat in the eggs.  Add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Line a 12 x 16½”  or 11 x 16 baking pan with parchment or silicone/Silpat sheet.  Dip batter onto pan in evenly spaced globs.  Using fork or rubber spatula, evenly spread out the batter to the edges of the pan, trying to see that it is uniformly thick throughout, especially at the edges of the pan.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and done int he center.  Remove and slightly cool.  Cut into 12 “slices”.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 slices, each contains:

144 calories

12.6 g  fat

6.08 g  carbs, 3.25 g  fiber, 2.83 g  NET CARBS

8.9 g  protein

235 mg sodium

Focaccia

Focaccia

I must give credit to Sherrielee on LowCarb Friends for her Artisan Flatbread recipe that I discovered over on Linda Sue’s Recipes site.  I must also give credit to Jennifer Eloff over on her blog, Splendid Low Carbing, for testing her wonderful gluten-free bake mix in this recipe.  Both were my inspiration for this version of flatbread.  It comes out wonderful every time I make it!  My added touch to this recipe is eliminating the bulk of the almond flour (which I’m not that fond of used by itself), and substituting Carbquick.  This brings it closest to flour-based focaccia for me.   This bread has a very nice, soft white bread texture and is delicious right out of the oven with just butter!!  I’ve also toasted it and cut it into bread sticks to serve with soup or salad.  Most often I just use it for sandwich bread, cutting the pan into 12 regular size slices.  If I’m using the pan of bread primarily this way, I usually omit the Italian herbs and garlic powder.  Or just sprinkle those on top of the batter on one end of the pan before baking. You can brush the finished top with olive oil if desired, but I usually do not do this as I find this bread oily enough on its own merits (probably from all the cheese).  This recipe is not suitable until the grains rung of OWL.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-very-excited-to-unveil-my-splendid.html

½ c. CarbQuick bake mix (or more of the GF mix above)

2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 c. Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 tsp. Italian seasoning (mixture of oregano, basil, rosemary)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Soften cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat in the eggs.  Add Parmesan and jack cheese and stir well.  Now add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Dip batter onto cut-to-fit parchment lined 12½x17½” sheet pan and using a rubber spatula, spread to the edges carefully, trying to avoid holes or any thin spots.  Fairly uniform thickness is desired.      Pop into 350º oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove and cut into 12 equal slices.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 slices, each contains:

185 calories

16 g  fat

6.26 g  carbs, 3.66 g fiber, 3.1 NET CARBS

10.31 g. protein

201 mg sodium

Low-Carb Flour Tortillas

I modified several recipes on the net to develop this recipe.  It has undergone several metamorphoses over time.   These are quite tasty, have no funny taste, and are remarkably like a flour tortilla in texture and flavor!   Check out the Chicken Quesadillas I made with these:  I’ve also made chicken and beef shawarma sandwiches with these.  It makes a great dipping bread for hummus as well.  You can actually pick them up and eat without them falling apart!

I have even used these as a substitute for Indian Naan Bread.  🙂

Naan variations, just add (as they cook) one of the items below

1) a sprinkle of ground cardamom or garam masala

2) a bit of toasted minced onion bits

3) chopped cilantro and nigella seeds

I have a non-stick grilling skillet with holes that is a perfect vessel to warm these over the back side of a charcoal fire while we’re doing steaks or kebabs, so they actually taste like tandoori naan!  They get a little crisp that way, too!

Best of all for me, these tortillas/wraps have no flax or coconut flour taste!  I just haven’t found a recipe yet that doesn’t seem to have those tastes and I just don’t want that taste in a wrap.  These are quite thin, too!  If you need them to be 100% gluten free, be sure you are using 100% gluten-free oats and omit the oat fiber.  You can just increase the oat flour by 1T. to compensate for omitting the oat fiber.  Please bear in mind, that this change will increase the carbs a bit, as you lost that fiber deduction when the oat fiber is removed from the equation. You should get eight 7″ pieces from this recipe.

After several experiments, I have found the easiest method of cooking these is to microwave them on a flat cake plate that I have that doesn’t have a stand (see pic below).  I rinse and lightly re-oil the plate between each tortilla.  Any flat, round plate or platter large enough to rotate in your microwave will work.

Flat cake plate I use

These also make great flour tortillas for grilled quesadillas or stuffed burritos!  Due to the oat flour, these are not acceptable until the grains rung of Atkins Phase 2 OWL.  They are not suitable for Paleo-Primal followers.

For many more delicious low-carb bread recipes, get your very own copies of Low Carbing Among Friends, by international author Jennifer Eloff and a group of other incredibly talented low-carb chefs.  They have collaborated to bring you some of their tastiest creations.    Order yours in regular or coil-binding at Amazon or here:  http://amongfriends.us/order.php

Disclaimer:  I receive no remuneration for this promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so simply because they are WONDERFUL recipes you are going to want to incorporate in your menu rotations.

Shown griddled on one side, holding tasty Mediterranean Meat Patties.  DELICIOUS!

 

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1/3 c. unsweetened, unflavored whey protein

3 T. oat flour, ground from rolled oats (grind from 100% certified gluten-free rolled oats if you require gluten-free)

2 T. flax meal

1 T. oat fiber (omit for a 100% gluten-free version)

¼ tsp. psyllium powder

1/8 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. baking powder (increase to 1½ tsp. for Indian Naan bread)

2 T. heavy cream

2 T. water (1 T. more if your batter is too thick to spread out to 7″ diameter)

DIRECTIONS:  In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Add eggs and beat with immersion or electric hand mixer until smooth as possible.  Add remaining ingredients and beat well. The mixture will be about like pancake batter.  Lightly oil your flat plate.  You can also cook these directly on the turntable glass or on a silicone sheet on the turntable.  Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup, scoop the batter onto the plate, spreading with a rubber spatula to about 7″ diameter.  My cake plate has concentric lines in the cutwork decoration that make this much easier for me.  Microwave on HI for 70 seconds or until dry to the touch int he center.  Remove and gently fun a thin metal spatula under the edges to loosen.  Lift off plate with your hands and place on paper towels.  Tip:  next time you buy in-store handmade tortillas that have plastic separators, don’t throw them away!  I save them as they are wonderful for such uses.  Make the remaining tortillas (you should get 8 total) in a similar manner, rinsing batter residue off plate and re-oiling it between each baking.  Use a paper towel or plastic sheet between them as you stack them to finish cooling.  This will prevent them from sticking together.

Optional, you can slightly brown these a bit on both sides (as in my picture) in a dry non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  I prefer them browned myself.  This step enhances both appearance, flavor and handle-ability, but is not absolutely necessary if you’re in a hurry to eat. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes eight 7″ wraps or tortillas, each contains:

171 cals, 14.5g fat, 4.55g carbs, 1.39g fiber, 3.16g NET CARBS, 8.41g protein, 120 mg sodium

Gluten-Free Wraps

 

Shown as a chicken quesadilla

 

This is a recipe I found on Active Low-Carber forums, created by a member named LCstudent.  I made two minor changes to his recipe.  I doubled the recipe, as I don’t want to go to the trouble for just two wraps!  Also the original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp. honey or molasses and I substituted  that amount of granular Splenda.  I used these today for Chicken Quesadillas and plan to try a grilled cheese with these next!  I also plan on experimenting with this recipe for dessert crepes as well.  I can see cherries jubilee or a strawberry filling in these in my near future 🙂  These are very fragile, so I found it tricky to pick up and eat in my hands.  So I ate the quesadilla on a plate and used a fork.  I’m going to play around with this recipe and see if I can get it to be a bit less fragile so it can live up to its name,  a true sandwich WRAP!

This is what they looked like after cooking.

Right out of the oven!

Note the lower left one I tried to get off the pan too soon.  It wrinkled up a bit.  Let them cool a few minutes and then slide a metal spatula under each of the four quadrants and then they will come up just fine.  If you have a no-stick sheet, I’d recommend using that (I don’t have one and keep meaning to get one).  This recipe is not acceptable for Induction.

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. flax seed meal

2 T. sesame seed meal (or 2 T. more flax meal if on Induction)

4 T. almond flour

2 T. oat flour (or 2 T. more almond meal)

1 tsp. protein powder

1 tsp. xanthan gum, guar gum (or psyllium powder)

¼ tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. vinegar

2 T. cream

½ tsp. granular Splenda

1/2 c. water

OPTIONAL: Herbs & spices of your choosing (I used none)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 375º.  Line a 13×15 sheet pan with parchment or grease a sheet pan well.  A non-stick pan will work if you have one.  Mix dry ingredients in small bowl.  Add in wet ingredients one at a time and whisk after each addition.  Using a spoon, scoop the batter onto the baking sheet in four equal piles.  Wearing a plastic glove or putting your hand into a sandwich baggie, carefully pat the dough down to 1/8″ thickness, trying to get it as even and smooth as possible, to avoid “hills and gullies” that will brown unevenly. 🙂  I found frequent moistening the plastic glove with water helped a lot with this step.  Be patient as this takes a while.  I shaped mine rectangular as you can see; you may prefer round.  Bake at 375º for 10 minutes (time will vary with ovens.  You don’t want to over bake or they’ll get brittle.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 wraps, each containing:

166 calories

12.4 g  fat

8.4 g  carbs, 4.2 g  fiber, 4.2 NET CARBS

57 mg. sodium

7.3 g  protein