A soft, pillowy keto flaxseed bread that can be baked as a loaf, Focaccia-style or even as rolls. It takes just 5 minutes to prep and has 3.2g net carbs per portion!
"Absolutely my favourite keto bread recipe. It tastes so good and the texture is so much better than I have experienced with any other keto bread." (Solvor)
This keto flax bread has been getting 5-star reviews like the one above for years. For a good reason! It is a truly delicious bread. Plus, it is super easy to put together.
I have tried making flaxseed bread with just one main ingredient - ground flaxseed (also called linseed). But, I found the result just not palatable enough. This is the reason why this recipe also includes coconut flour and a few other ingredients.
The result is a keto-friendly, gluten-free bread with a pillowy and soft texture. It works with sweet or savoury toppings and it toasts well.
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Why This Recipe Works
Healthy! You don't need to be a nutritionist to see that this bread is packed with wholesome, good-for-you ingredients. Flaxseed is super-low in carbs and a brilliant source of fibre. The bread also contains a fair amount of protein from eggs and healthy fats (olive oil).
Tasty! It's the right combination of the right ingredients that makes keto bread taste like "real" bread. And this recipe delivers. I have been baking with low carb flours for almost a decade now. I have made all the mistakes, so you don't have to make them, too. It's not too flaxy, not too coconutty, not eggy. Friends, this is a keto flaxseed bread that tastes of - bread.
Ingredients
Let me talk you through the ingredients I used:
- Ground flaxseed (linseed). The recipe works with both golden flax meal and brown flax seeds. I find that golden flaxseed has a milder taste and that is why I prefer it. Brown flaxseed will make the bread darker and taste more rustic.
- Coconut flour. A grain-free, gluten-free flour.
- Eggs. You need 3 large eggs and 3 additional egg whites. The reason for omitting some of the yolks is that this way, the bread does not taste eggy. Eggs must be at room temperature. This helps the bread rise better as it bakes.
- Olive oil - I used extra virgin olive oil. It adds bread taste and improves the texture.
- Baking powder, water and sea salt. Check that the baking powder is fresh to achieve a fluffy bread.
Tip: Always store ground flaxseed in the freezer. This way, it does not go rancid. Ground flaxseed oxidises and takes on a fishy taste when it is stored too long room temperature. This does not apply for whole flax seeds, which can be stored in a kitchen cupboard without issue.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
It is very simple to make a keto flaxseed bread. Here are the basic steps.
STEP 1: Whisk the eggs and egg whites with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl or in a food processor until foamy.
STEP 2: Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until you have a smooth dough.
Let the dough sit for a few minutes so the coconut flour and golden flaxseed meal can absorb the moisture.
STEP 3: Fill the flax dough into a well-oiled pan (alternatively, line a pan with baking paper) and smooth the top with a spatula.
STEP 4: Bake the flaxseed bread in the preheated oven on the middle shelf until golden brown. It's ready when a knife inserted comes out clean without any dough sticking.
Chef Katrin's Tips
I baked my bread Focaccia-style in a 25x15 cm casserole dish. Next time, I will line it with baking paper to be able to take it out easier.
Just before I started writing this post I made the bread again. This time, I used a silicone loaf pan (yes, I do double-check these recipes work!!). If you bake in a loaf pan, the bread needs 10 minutes longer in the oven.
Variations
No coconut flour: You CAN make this flax bread with almond flour instead of coconut flour. You would have to use about three times the amount of almond flour as almond flour is less absorbent. In this case, I would also leave out one of the eggs.
Muffins: You can even make flaxseed bread muffins with this recipe! In this case, reduce the oven time to the oven time to 25-30 minutes.
Toppings: Add a handful of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or poppy seeds on top of the bread. Or, mix some into the batter.
Recipe FAQs
No. The olive oil in the recipe masks the taste of the coconut flour well, especially in combination with the salt. This way, the bread is perfect for savoury toppings.
First of all, ensure that you use room temperature ingredients and fresh baking powder. Secondly, beat the eggs several minutes until they have doubled in size. The air bubbles in the egg mixture will make the dough lighter and ensure a good rise. Optional: Beat the 3 egg whites in a separate bowl to stiff peaks. Then, fold them into the dough at the end.
I used olive oil in the recipe because I was after a "bread" taste. I think it If you wanted, you could use melted butter instead and have more of a muffin-type taste, which would be good for sweet toppings.
Make keto mayonnaise or keto coconut cream pie.
Try this egg free flaxseed bread recipe instead.
Serving Suggestion
As mentioned above, the bread is very versatile. Here are some ideas how to enjoy it:
Breakfast: Spread with butter or blended cottage cheese. Top with sugar free strawberry jam.
Sandwich: Fill with keto tuna salad, ham and cheese, keto egg salad or sliced avocado.
Bread basket: Serve with keto mushroom soup or keto butternut squash soup.
Storage
Keto flaxseed bread stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I always store it in an airtight container. You can either warm it in briefly in the microwave or pop it in the toaster.
The bread also freezes well. Freeze up to 3 months.
Las but not least, I calculated the recipe as 8 portions. These portions are GENEROUS! Flax is very filling, as is coconut flour.
More Keto Flaxseed Recipes
- Flaxseed Wraps (4 Ingredients!)8 Minutes
- Flaxseed Muffins30 Minutes
- Flaxseed Crackers30 Minutes
- Keto Cornbread50 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Flaxseed Bread with Coconut Flour
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup / 80 g coconut flour
- ½ cup / 60 g ground flaxseed / flax meal
- 3 eggs large, room temperature
- 3 egg whites large
- 5 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 4.7 oz / 140 ml / water (10 tbsp)
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit.
- Whisk the eggs and egg whites with an electric mixer or in a food processor until foamy.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until you have a smooth dough.
- Let the dough sit for a few minutes so the coconut flour and flax can absorb the moisture.
- Pour the mix into a well-oiled pan (alternatively, line a pan with baking paper) and bake at 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit for 35 minutes or until browned on top. It's ready when a knife inserted comes out clean.
- If you prefer to bake as a loaf, increase the time in the oven by 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was first published in 2018 and republished with more images and tips in January 2024.
Emma C
I've been looking for a bread recipe without almond flour and tried this yesterday. Flavor was excellent. My batter did not pour and I found that the loaf was quite dense and 50 minutes of baking still left it very moist. I'm going to attempt it with 2 changes -- beating the egg whites separately and using a scale to weigh the coconut flour and the flax seed meal.
Katrin
It’s always more exact to measure with scales - I’d be interested how it turns out next time:)
Deborah
Katrin, have you had any experience using LUPIN (or lupine) FLOUR in baking? I just bought a pound of it and am searching for low carb recipes using it and there really aren't many.
Found this on a low carb site:
Bread and cake dough becomes looser and more fluffy with lupine flour.
Lupine flour can replace the soy flour in recipes that contain soy flour.
Like flaxseed, it is very very low carb.....30g has 21g of carb but 11g of that is fiber.
It sounds like it might behave more like coconut flour that almond flour.....and I though this bread recipe might be a good one to try subbing a bit of lupin flour for the coconut flour (thought I would start with 2 - Tbs and see how that goes). Was hoping if you had any experience with it you might steer me in the right direction. Thanks looking forward to your comments
Katrin
Hi Deborah, I was sent a packet of lupin flour recently and I haven't tried it yet. Thanks for the nudge, I must experiment with it. I was thinking of using it for "breading" chicken and veggies instead of almond flour, which burns so quickly. I haven't looked into using it in sweet recipes yet, time for some research 🙂
CHARLENE
I love the flavour and held up nicely. Unfortunately I am a terrible baker so it did not rise more than what the dough consisted of. Still very delicious. I was missing "bread" for breakfast and this just fits the bill. Will keep trying. Thanks.
Katrin
Using room temperature ingredients, fresh baking powder an beating the eggs to create air inside the dough should help to make your bread fluffier. 🙂
karen
Interesting about flax seeds/ linseeds. here in Ecuador flax seeds are only 060 per pound so it is worth it to cultivate a taste, which i find difficult because everything, to me, ends up tasting like, well, gummy flax seeds! However, I do grind up my own flax seeds almost by recipe because not a lot is needed.
Just a point here: If you grind more than you need please put in the fridge or freezer. Most nut and seed flours may go rancid if left out.
Katrin
Yes, that is true! Flax does have a bit of an individual taste, although I think that golden flax has a more gentle flavour than the brown flax. And you are absolutely right about leaving it in the freezer once ground so it does not oxidise.
karen
what size loaf pan - metal or silicone? thanks
Averill
Hello,
I can’t wait to try baking this tomorrow!! Been on the hunt for a gf and almond meal/flour free bread for a while!
Just a quick question - I don’t have a food processor/blender at the moment. Only a hand held stick.
Would I be okay to just beat the eggs then mix in all the ingredients really well in a mixing bowl?
Thanks xx
Katrin
Yes, that should be fine! Just make sure you're beating the eggs until they're nice and frothy to get plenty of air into the dough
Toni Leggate
My husband made this today but misread and left out the baking powder, water and salt! He said he didn't know why it was called a batter! I said the flax and coconut flour might be more absorbent! Even so it was delicious especially with cream cheese and smoked salmon for tea.
This will be made again - properly with all ingredients and I will re-report what I fully expect to be a triumph, Thank you for another wonderful recipe.
Katrin
Glad you all liked it!!!
Ioana
Hi Katrin,
Thank you for your reply. For some reason I couldn't reply directly to your comment, sorry. I will definitely try the fathead pizza dough now that I made your cinnamon rolls (awesome, btw!) and I saw how easy it is to work with a dough made mainly of cheese. I guess I was just not ready to process this information, lol.
Thanks for all the yummy recipes and the information you offer in there, I'm glad I discovered your page.
Ioana
Ioana
Hi Katrin,
After reading your recipe and by the look of the bread (which I can't wait to try tomorrow morning! 🙂 ), I'm wondering if the dough/ batter would work for a pizza base? I've been on Keto for a couple of months now and I kinda miss pizza - and for some reason, I'm not ready yet to jump in the fathead pizza dough boat. Everywhere I look online that seems to be the only thing people are using for pizza, but I'd rather have a more "real" feel/ texture/ crumb to it.
So, have you ever tried using it as a pizza base, please?
Thank you!
Katrin
I have never tried it, but I guess it could work. However, the fathead pizza dough is AMAZING and you REALLY should try it - it comes close to an actual pizza base. I have a super easy recipe on my site, you should check it out - low carb pizza.
James
Mine's just come out of the oven. Should I leave to cool in the tin or take it out?
Katrin
Definitely let it cool completely in the tin, unless you used parchment paper.