One of the first things that gets thrown out when starting to eat low carb is bread—bread of all kinds: sliced bread, dinner rolls, sub rolls (hoagie rolls in Philly), Kaiser rolls, English muffins, and biscuits (oh, no, not the biscuits!)
Wasn’t it bad enough that the pasta and rice also got banished and don’t get me started on the pizza! I think just about everyone who has begun a low-carb diet has eventually begun the search for the Holy Grail soon after starting and I’m not talking about the grail from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
It’s the search for substitutes for the great-tasting, carb-laden foods that most of us continue to crave after giving them up. It’s these cravings that never seem to subside and are often the ruin of many a low-carb diet despite the best of intentions (cue House of the New Rising Sun). The low-carb, and even gluten-free versions of these items, especially bread, almost always leave you disappointed. The ingredients in a lot of these breads run the gamut from nut and seed flours such as almond, coconut, and flaxseed to even chia seeds. I think I’d only want chia seeds on my retro Chia Pets and even that’s a stretch.
I’ve never tried any of the commercially available low-carb breads and really have no desire to at this point. The outrageous prices of most are more than enough to ward me off and if they turn out to taste like, well, flaxseed, then I’m really going to feel dumb. The homemade versions, though commendable for the attempt, often involve way too many ingredients and steps. And judging from the flour substitutes, it doesn’t look like something I’d want to attempt baking. I could be wrong, but instead, wondered if I could perform a “food makeover” that involved a “nutritional compromise.” It’s a fairly large one at first glance after you learn what one of the ingredients is.
My Challenge: would it be possible to make a dilute version of a high-carb, highly-refined food item such as a biscuit or roll that would taste very close to the full-on version, but be compatible with my way of eating while not incurring too much of a unhealthy dose of things like trans-fat, sugar, and refined white flour?
It’s an outrage I tell, ya!
I began by studying a lot of the low-carb and gluten-free bread and biscuit recipes. A version that caught my eye used eggs and cheddar cheese as the foundation for the “dough.” Batter would be a more apt description. It also employed baking powder and a few other ingredients to give it a bread-like quality when baked. It then occurred to me that I could leverage Bisquick for both its leavening as well as its gluten content. Yes, sorry, this recipe is far from gluten-free, so my apologies to readers with celiac disease or are otherwise gluten-sensitive. I was just thinking about myself on this one.
The resulting recipe so far has met my needs perfectly. I use a half-and-half mixture of Bisquick and almond flour and the net carbs work out to 6g per roll/biscuit/muffin—however you’d like to call them. The trans-fat is less than 1g which qualifies for 0g with respect to nutritional labeling requirements for commercial food products. Now, I certainly understand that this sort of thing qualifies as low-carb, Paleo, etc. sacrilege and you’re free to skip this one. But you’ll never know what you’re missing!
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup Bisquick (oh noooos!!)
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tsbp whole milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use extra sharp New York style)
Servings: 6
Utensils:
- 6 English muffin rings
- 1 non-stick baking pan
- 1 large mixing bowl
Directions:
- Grease English muffin tins with coconut oil or butter – don’t use Pam! Arrange evenly on non-stick baking pan.
- Add Bisquick, almond flour, cheese, eggs, and milk to large mixing bowl and whisk. Should be the consistency of thick pancake batter.
- Pour or spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin ring. This will be well short of the top of the ring, but the bread will rise during baking. This does make for a pretty thin roll, so can use more if cutting quantity back to 5 or 4 rings. Bear in mind that this ups the carbs and all other nutrients proportionally. Don’t worry if some of the batter seeps out under the rings. It shouldn’t be much.
Batter only comes up part way in ring
- Bake at 400F for 12 minutes.
- Remove baking pan from oven and let cool. Carefully release rolls by scoring around the inside of the ring with a butter knife.
Some battered leaked out – no biggie, simply trim!
- Allow to thoroughly cool before slicing. Store in cookie tin or plastic container. Since these don’t have extra preservatives, they won’t keep long unrefrigerated. I leave them out for about 3 days before refrigerating.
I use these rolls in various ways:
- Have half a toasted roll with breakfast (the heated cheddar smells great!). The natural nooks and crannies (thanks to the eggs, cheese, and of course Bisquick) resemble actual English muffins.
- Use for sandwiches. A turkey and cheese pictured below simulates a club sandwich.
- Use when I feel like having a “real” hamburger.
- Makes a killer sausage/ham, egg, and cheese biscuit a la Hardee’s!
The important thing to note is I don’t make these all the time. They are just a part of my “carb rotation” now that I’m working more carbs back into my diet. And since they involve a bit more work, it’s something that naturally limits consumption.
A note about toasting: I like to toast a roll especially when making a turkey club, but just be aware that due to their thinness and cheese content, that they tend to curl up at the edges. Therefore, set your toaster lower than you normally would for regular bread and don’t freak out if they still curl up a bit. If you’re really careful, you can “smooth” the curls down a bit.
These look promising. I’m going to give them a try.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Let me know how they turn out for you. I’m still experimenting with the recipe. If the Bisquick is a problem, can skip it and make up the difference with coconut flour. Also discovered that almond meal makes for a fluffier biscuit than almond flour. Almond flour works better as a low-carb breading – more like breadcrumbs in texture.
Don’t you mean almond meal which is coarser, makes a better coating, and almond flour (finer crumb) makes a fluffier biscuit?
Hi Sheila,
Thanks for pointing that out! Actually, for the recipe in this post I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour which is quite fine. Then I switched to a brand of Almond Flour from Swanson Vitamins which is quite coarse. That made me think that flour was coarser than meal, but of course as you point out, it’s the other way around!
I’ve found that the coarser grind (meal) is perfect for breading fish fillets — almost crunchy in texture.
I don’t know why there aren’t more reviews on this bread. I just made it and it was DELICIOUS! I’ve tried several low carb ‘bread’ recipes that were just disgusting and not even a teeny bit breadlike. This one here is a winner! I’m so glad I found it and so glad you shared it!?
Hey!
Glad you tried these and reported back on your experience. There’s a lot of room for experimentation with this recipe and I plan to try a version that doesn’t use the Bisquick. It really comes down to what you carb tolerance is and if you can handle gluten. Some folks can’t. I’m a bit sensitive to gluten, but do OK in small doses.
These look really good and it actually has only ingredients, that I know what they are! I appreciate your vlog, because I don’t like going to a lot of work to make a bread recipe that I don’t care for. I’m eager to try it!! Thanks!!
Hey Rich!
This recipe looks great- thank you for sharing. Since I’m new to keto and low carb, I’m going to sub the Bisquick for Carbquik and half-n-half for the whole milk. Hopefully they turn out well. *fingerscrossed* I’m so sick of LC bread recipes that taste gross! I miss my tuna melt sandwiches! LOL
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts on the LC bread recipe! Your substitutions sound good. I’ve found the key with any recipe is to not be afraid to experiment. Even if things don’t turn out quite like you hoped. LC recipes are particularly challenging since you’re also dealing with nutritional values. I’m still tweaking this recipe myself and have begun substituting coconut flour for the Bisquick. Good luck with your version and please let us know how it turns out!
I love this bread. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Jennifer,
Thanks for the comment and really glad you enjoyed the bread!
-Rich
Hi there everyone, I used pioneer just like bisquick and oat fiber..sour cream and heavy cream and coconut oil and cheese.
These are awesome,,, now have to tweak down the bisquick amount….
I might try my recipe with the carb quick and oat flour.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Debbie,
Great to hear that you’ve been experimenting with the recipe! That was actually my intent when putting it together. I know wheat is shunned in most low-carb circles and it does cause problems for a lot of people both for those with gluten sensitivity and also highly insulin resistant folks. But I’ve taken a “titration” approach to carbs and other macro-nutrients and have found that I can tolerate wheat in small amounts. It does require some experimentation to find just the right portions, but it sure beats denying yourself something that you were raised on and continue to crave. And please don’t get me started on cauliflower pizza dough LOL!
thanks,for,the,recipe. great,for,those,who,want,to,cut,carbs.
some not,drastically.will,use,home,made,biscuick,because of the
hydrogenated,shortening.
Hey Linda,
Thanks for your comment! Yes, the shortening in Bisquick isn’t exactly healthy. That’s why I tried to use the least possible amount of the stuff in this recipe. Reducing it also keeps net carbs for each biscuit in a generally acceptable range.
My strategy when first concocting this recipe was that it wasn’t an everyday food item, but an occasional treat when I was really craving bread. Love your plan for homemade Bisquick! Hope you’ll come back at some point and share it with us.
Hey,i,forgot;,google,pissa,crust,with,pork,rinds.
more like real crust because rinds are gelatinous.
Um, think I’ll pass on the pork rind pizza crust, LOL. Certainly would be low carb — even keto, but my Italian heritage would not permit it. Gonna stick with my slightly higher carb, tortilla crust pizza recipe. Realized that I never got around to posting the recipe here on the blog.
You can view my YT video https://youtu.be/GRcd3Ifhnl8. The recipe has evolved since I recorded this — I now fry the tortilla in butter and EVOO prior to baking. Makes for crispier and tastier crust!
just make a few biscuits usually this recipe I did 1/4 bisquick and 1/2 almond flour and stuck with the originally recipe for everything came out amazing I’m meal prepping this for breakfast this week thanks for posting
Glad you like the bread, Meka! It’s a bit more work using the muffin rings, but I think the runnier batter makes for fluffier biscuits. Enjoy for breakfast! I love to make sausage or ham, egg, and cheese biscuits with them. Makes me forget (or remember) McDonald’s!
can you put it in a loaf pan?
Hi Jacklyn,
Thanks for your comment! I suppose you could attempt using a loaf pan, but I imagine that would require making a much larger batch in order to properly fill the pan. There would also be the risk that the center of the loaf would be mushy and undercooked. I think you’re much safer going with the muffin tins, but feel free to experiment. That’s where the best ideas usually come from!
I do my own version of low carbs and I was watching videos for the oopsie bread and others. Yours looked flavorful and promising, so decided to try yours first. Changed some things. Used Pioneer Mix instead of Bisquick, and since I didn’t have Eng Muffin molds, Made 4 in cup cake pan and three free form on a sheet.
Didn’t have Sharp Cheddar, so used Medium. Also decided to add another 1/4 tsp of Baking Soda and 3 drops of Liquid Stevia. Then in hopes of it rising even more I beat an additional egg white and gentle folded and stirred in. Came out great! Ate some with a little butter while still warm. Yum.
I think using the Sharp cheese would definitely enhance. I also may try an extra egg white folded in for additional height. (Looks are important too!) Do you think it may be too dry?
Hey Christine,
Apologies for the delayed reply. Congrats on experimenting with the recipe! That’s the key to making this stuff work. The cheese substitution sounds great and fluffing things up with the additional egg white is a good way to get some height on things. I wouldn’t think it would get too dry, but go with your instincts and give it a whirl and let us know how it turns out!
Rich
i have to watch my sodium as well as carbs I wonder what I can do to lower the sodium?
Hi Debra,
Apologies for the delayed reply. You raise a great concern regarding sodium, which is a known contributor to high blood pressure. As a first step, I’d recommend substituting your table salt for Morton’s salt substitute. It’s potassium chloride rather than sodium chloride. Ditching processed foods is always a good step as they contain not extra sodium but also added sugar (carbs) and chemicals in the way of preservatives. This also includes lunch meats, which unfortunately for me, are some of my favorite goto low carb lunch and snack options, but if hypertension is an issue, then there are plenty of lower sodium options. Help this helps a little!
Rich
wonderful recipe! thanks so very much for posting. I’m searching for the english muffin molds so i can make theses.
So glad you like the bread recipe, Tami! Here are the English muffin rings I use. Just be sure to grease them a bit either with cooking oil spray or butter. Enjoy!
English Muffin Rings on Amazon.com