Most low-carb bread recipes contain eggs, but this one is vegan (no milk or eggs) and can easily be made without gluten or soy. It is both tasty and highly nutritious. The recipe makes two thick slices of bread, which correspond to at least four slices of normal bread because it is much more filling.
Using these ingredients (with unsweetened soy milk), the whole batch contains about 490 kcal, 38 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates and 30 g fat. However, by using the suggestions below the recipe, the carb count can be reduced further, even below 10 grams.
This bread can be baked in the oven using six muffin tins (15 minutes at 200 C) - but the texture is much better if made in the microwave, and there is no reason to avoid the microwave oven. However, if one is not available, the bread can also be "baked" on a frying pan.
Vegan Microwave Low-Carb Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp oil (e.g. coconut, olive or canola) - or more, if you want
- 1/2 cup/1.2 dl cup low-carb non-dairy milk* (soy, hemp, almond or nut milk)
- 1/4 cup/0.6 dl hemp flour
- 1/4 cup/0.6 dl ground flax seed
- 1/4 cup/0.6 dl wheat bran (or rye bran)
- 1/4 cup/0.6 dl soy flour
- 1 tbsp sesame seed or poppy seed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
* Note that many store-bought non-dairy milks contain added sugar.
Directions:
- If using coconut oil, melt it first in a small microwave-safe bowl or plastic container (a small plastic container meant for freezing works best).
- Combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
- Microwave on either full or almost full power for about two minutes or slightly less. The exact time depends on the oven, but the bowl should be removed as soon as the dough appears to have solidified (don't peek too often, though). It will dry up a bit after removing.
- Turn the bowl over to remove the bread. Let cool for 10-20 minutes before cutting. (Be careful, it is somewhat more fragile than normal bread.) Using a small container, you should get two slices of bread out of it.
- Serve as you would serve bread. It keeps for 1-2 days in room temperature in a tightly sealed bag or container and can also be frozen.
Substitutions and Variations
Hemp flour is milled hemp seed. It is very high in fiber and nutrients and contains about 20% carbs. Hemp protein powder can be substituted, though it is more expensive. Both are somewhat strong in flavour, which complements the other ingredients nicely, but if you find the hemp flavour too strong, you can use less of it and more of the other flours.
If some ingredients are unavailable or cannot be used, the amount of other flours can be increased or other low-carb flours (e.g. almond flour or other nut flours) used to make up a total of 1 cup/2.4 dl of flour. Nut and seed flours can be made at home with a powerful blender or food processor. Just be careful not to process the nuts into nut butter.
Hemp flour, wheat bran and soy flour are all about 20% carbohydrates, depending on the brand (wheat flour is 60-70% carbs). Wheat bran contains over 50% fiber but is low on protein and fat.
Flax seed is only about 6% carbs. For a lower carb version, use more flax seed in place of the other flours. Even flax seed alone can be used for a very low-carb version, but it is not as tasty. Almond flour, coconut flour (both also about 6-7% carbs) or soy or rice protein powder can also be used to substitute the higher-carb flours.
For a gluten-free version, omit wheat bran and increase the total amount of other flours by 1/4 cup. Oat bran is gluten-free, but it is not as low in carbs as wheat or rye bran.
Always use a total of 1 cup/2.4 dl of flours/meals, except if you use more bran - then you may want to use slightly less.
