Whole wheat flour isn’t recommended while following a keto diet, but there are lots of options that make it easy to still enjoy baked goods while maintaining the keto lifestyle.
Making a decision to slim down through following the Ketogenic diet is about cutting down on the number of carbohydrates you consume, but eating keto doesn’t mean you have to go without having bread, baked goods, cookies, or other things made with flour that you love.
No type of flour derived from wheat, grain, or any other grain-based product is suitable for a keto diet. They are just as detrimental to your health as white sugar due to their high amount of carbohydrates that can increase your blood sugar rapidly and force your body out of ketosis.
Prior to delving into it, it is profitable to list the dietary facts regarding standard whole wheat flour…for the reason that it should be dodged for those on a keto or low-carb diet.
How much Carbs in flour?
| Wheat Flour Nutritional Values | g/100g | % |
|---|---|---|
| Fat | 2g | 2% |
| Protein | 13g | 13% |
| Dietary Fiber | 10.7g | 10.7% |
| Net Carbs | 61.3g | 61.3% |
Examining the table, it is evident that ketogenic diets are not compatible with whole wheat flour because the fat percentage is extremely low and the net carbohydrates are excessively high.
You can see that if you take in more than 20g to 35g of carbs per day, it will take you out of ketosis, and 100g of carbs is much higher than these limits.
Fortuitously, there are additional types of flour that can be used for making ketogenic baked goods. Nonetheless, one should not compare or substitute keto-friendly flours with all-purpose flours when attempting to adapt a recipe as they have disparate characteristics.
What are Keto Flours?
Keto flours are extraordinarily deficient in carbohydrates, largely composed of finely pulverized nuts, seeds, or starches like psyllium husk. The bond between the ingredients of their flour is unlike any other compared to the traditional flour used in baking.
An example of this is coconut flour, one of the favored keto flours, which has 10 times the fiber, thus you would use a minute portion to get the same cake batter. You have to include a lot more liquid in order to make the fiber active.
What Not To Do With Keto Flours
Don’t Swap Keto Flour
It is not possible to use a different kind of keto flour and keep the same proportions.
Don’t Use All-purpose Flour
It would not be possible to exchange an equivalent amount of regular all-purpose flour for keto flour in order to make a cake.
Don’t Make Them At Home
Using a blender to try and make almond flour from almonds is attractive, but this method will not provide the best results. Domestic almond flour is significantly coarser than its bought counterpart, even when utilizing blanched almonds.
For someone new to baking on a ketogenic diet, it’s best not to customize recipes or alter ingredients. Begin by utilizing a reliable, tried and true keto baking instruction, making sure the materials included in the recipe are accurately used to prevent any dissatisfaction.
The Top Keto Flours
Only a select few flours can be used for baking in the ketogenic diet, and the most common choices are the following.
Almond Flour
The most widely employed flour for keto baking is almond flour, which looks, tastes, and feels the most alike to typical flour. People who do not prefer almond flour when doing keto baking call it gritty flour. But almond flour does not have to be gritty! The secret is to know how to choose the correct almond flour for ketogenic baking and to mix it with the right liquids or to mix it with the right keto flours to obtain the ideal consistency.
Almond flour is one of the most keto-friendly flours. This food item has significantly fewer carbs than regular flour, with only 10.6 grams for every 100 grams consumed. This is a reduction of 7 times the amount of carbs found in unaltered flour. Almond flour is a great substitution for traditional flour in keto baking. The best type to use is blanched almond flour with a very fine grade for best results in both frying and air-frying meals, as well as for making bread.
Figuring out which brand of almond flour to go for when making keto baked goods can be tricky, as different countries call the same product by different names. Types of ground almonds include almond flour, almond meal, ultra-fine almond flour, ground almonds, blanched almond flour, and unblanched almond flour. These are many of the terms used to refer to almond flour which may not all be suitable for baking.
So, in choosing the best almond flour for keto baking is to look at its most important properties:
- Texture – look for ultra-fine almond flour to avoid gritty baked goods.
- Color – it must be golden/whiteish, not brown. Brown almond flour, usually known as almond meal or ground almonds, contains almonds skin. The skin from almonds gives a darker color to the flour. It makes a coarse and gritty flour that will not absorb liquid in keto baking recipes, resulting in moist cakes or bread with a gritty texture.
- Ingredient list – you should only see blanched almonds listed. Blanched means that the skin of the almonds has been removed before the grinding process.
The most common name of keto almond flours suitable for keto baking are:
- Blanched almond flour
- Ultra-fine almond flour
Generally, when trying to bake something with a keto diet in mind, replacing ground almonds or almond meal will likely not be successful.
When baking with keto, you should hunt for an almond flour that has been blanched and has an extremely fine consistency.
Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is the second most usual flour utilized in ketogenic baking. It has a mild sugary taste, and a substantial amount of dietary fiber per portion which can be hard to deal with initially.
Coconut flour does not typically show up by itself in keto baking dishes as it needs a large number of eggs to neutralize the vast quantity of fiber present in the dish. Hence, certain individuals recognize that recipes cooked with just coconut flour have an egg-like taste.
There is only 21 grams of carbohydrates in every 100 grams of this flour, 3.5 times less than what is found in regular flour. It might appear to be a large amount, but bear in mind that the quantity of flour used in recipes is pretty small!
The justification for this lies in the fact that many recipes incorporate coconut flour and almond flour, in addition to psyllium husk, so as to reduce the amount of eggs required to create a dish with the perfect consistency and flavor.
Coconut flour has an abundant amount of fiber, which allows it to quickly take on moisture from the air. The addition of a silica gel packet is why many bags of coconut flour have one. It is important to store coconut flour in a sealed, airtight container with the accompanying silica gel packet. This will stop moisture from entering and causing the flour to clump.
The ideal way to keep coconut flour fresh is to place it in a place where it will not get wet, and to use it up within a period of three months in order to make sure it does not experience any alterations in its composition. In the future, the chemistry of the ingredients used may be significantly altered, causing a dissimilarity in the consistency of bread, cake, and pancakes.
Coconut flour necessitates an abundance of moisture, especially eggs, to be baked in the correct way.
Psyllium Husk
This is the fourth most popular flour for keto baking. It is the most difficult to select and utilize for your low carbohydrate baking endeavor due to the fact that it consists of 70 percent fiber. Compared with all-purpose flour and its 3% of fiber! Psyllium husk has the capacity to take in 23 times more moisture than regular flour. Using too much of this ingredient would make your dish very dry and tough to chew.
Psyllium husk has almost 10 grams of carbohydrates with fewer than 10 grams being net carbs when 100 grams of it is measured. A primary purpose of this substance is to act as a dietary fiber and help with constipation as well as serve as a thickener in dishes prepared as part of the keto diet. A number of companies, such as Metamucil, make psyllium husk powders available as dietary supplements instead of for baking. This is NOT suitable for keto baking.
If you are baking on the keto diet, you should use whole psyllium husk. It has a coarseness to it and can take in a lot of moisture while baking, which helps it act as a binding agent. It gives keto bread and wraps more flexibility and holds food together.
Sesame Flour
Sesame flour is a grain-free alternative that boasts a good quantity of protein, and is made with low-fat sesame seeds.
Sesame flour is becoming increasingly common in keto baking installations, and is reminiscent of whole wheat flour in the way that it appears – bright white.
Often mixed together with other sorts of flours that are low in carbs, like coconut flour or almond flour, for a taste that is deep and a feel which is a bit thicker.
Sesame seeds have a low-carbohydrate and high-fat composition, as well as a considerable amount of protein, making them an ideal choice for low-carb diets such as the Keto diet.
Chia Flour
Chia Meal and Chia Flour, much like Sesame Flour, is created by finely grinding seeds and is naturally gluten-free.
Chia seeds are bursting with beneficial components such as nutrients, antioxidants, minerals, fiber, and Omega-3s, making them a sound alternative to wheat flour when concocting Keto-friendly baked goods. There are also many health benefits of chia seeds
Evidence that chia seeds can help maintain healthy blood glucose levels, support the cardiovascular system, and increase calcium absorption for better bone development has been well established.
Chia seeds are highly nutritious. This flour, which is high in fiber and healthy fats, is ideal for any health-conscious person as a replacement for regular wheat flour.
Flaxseed Meal
Flaxseed meal may also be referred to as ground flax, ground flaxseeds, or linseed. Flaxseed flour contains a great deal of fiber and Omega 3. It has an enjoyable nutty flavor that is similar to many other flours.
If flaxseed flour is combined with water or other moist elements, it will likely form a jelly-like consistency. It is advisable to blend flaxseed flour with other keto flours at a ratio of 1:4, meaning one-fourth of the mixture should be comprised of flaxseed flour while the remaining three-fourths should be almond flour.
Flaxseed meal is 100% gluten free and will add several beneficial nutrients to the recipe.
Omega-3 fatty acids, which are abundant in dietary fiber, are known to have a wide range of medical advantages. Such advantages include a decrease in cholesterol levels, stabilized blood pressure, reduced blood sugar levels, and even a defense against cancer.
Flaxseed meal or flour has a considerable amount of oil, so it is advised to be mixed with another ketogenic flour when being used. Flaxseed should not make up more than 10% of the total amount of flour being used and is mainly for replacing either eggs or fat.
Oat fiber
Oat fiber has the same amount of fiber as carbs, meaning that it has zero net carbohydrates since fiber is not taken into consideration.
It is not meant to be a 1:1 replacement for flour, instead, just a small amount should be put in your recipes to add more texture and flavor.
It’s a good choice for keto-friendly baking since it has a slight floury taste and adds a softer consistency to cakes, muffins or cupcakes. Mixed with almond flour, you can whip up scrumptious pancakes that are low in carbohydrates.
Lupin flour
Lupin flour is an attractive option for people following the Ketogenic diet due to its wide range of benefits for health and its multifunctional purpose. This flour has virtually no starch and its entire carbohydrate content is dietary fiber, making it an ideal choice.
Flour made from the Lupin bean, a plant endemic to the Mediterranean area, is available as a product. This diet plan is extremely restricted in carbohydrates, provides plenty of protein, does not contain gluten, and is completely made of plant protein, making it completely vegan.
Lupini beans, although a recent development as a flour alternative in Keto diets, have been eaten in places like Europe, North Africa, and South America for many years.
You can use Lupin flour as a substitute for traditional wheat flour in any recipe. The majority of people will combine the flour with other suitable keto flours or add more seasonings or sweeteners in order to prevent it from having a sour taste.
This food has an incredibly small quantity of carbohydrates, and is also devoid of any starch and gluten.
This food item is full of protein as well as carotenoids, phytoestrogens, and antioxidants, which are beneficial for your health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Almond flour is the most commonly used flour among people who follow the keto diet, although coconut flour can also be used for low-carb baking.
The superior choice depends on the type of baked good you are making.
Best For bread…
One could use Almond flour, but they are able to mix it with the remaining alternatives to form a unique outcome and have an assortment of options.
Best For Muffins…
One could use either coconut or chia flour as these options offer a slightly sweeter taste. The most desirable outcome can be achieved by combining ingredients and tinkering a bit to discover the ideal balance of taste and consistency.
Best For Cookies…
Trying out almond flour or chia flour is your best bet, but you could experiment with adding some oat fiber to get the desired texture and taste.
Summary
Although they are not exactly the same as wheat flour, some excellent alternatives to make things like bread and batters, which can be difficult to forgo, can be found in abundance. This allows you to still indulge in low-carb versions of yummy high-carb meals.
Give it a shot with a few of the no-cook recipes we mentioned… they’re really easy!
