These pull-apart Keto bread rolls are made with yeast, which makes them pillowy-light and extra fluffy. They’re delicious at breakfast with some sugar free jam and work equally well as light low carb buns with lunch or dinner.
German babies are pretty much born with a bread roll in their hands, and I am no exception. When I was little, my breakfast of choice were “milk buns”. These were sweet, airy white rolls made with milk and yeast, a bit like brioche or challah. I’d devour them for breakfast!
I’ve published a whole bunch of great bread and roll recipes on this blog already. They range from extra rustic (such as this Paleo bread – omg it’s divine when sliced thinly and toasted) to extra versatile (such as my almond flour bread and this low carb bread – both are perfect for sandwiches).
Fluffy low carb rolls
The one thing I felt was missing was a healthy gluten free remake of my beloved milk buns. And after a bit of experimenting I’ve come up with a low carb, grain free recipe that is a worthy substitution!
Yeast, as we all know, is a living thing. It feeds on the sugars in the ingredients, emits carbon dioxide and thus the dough rises. Traditional milk buns contain wheat, milk and sugar. Plenty of sugars there. So how do you make a bun rise using low carb ingredients such as almond flour?
I settled on a prebiotic, soluble fibre called inulin. It is gently sweet (great in yoghurt, by the way) and has a whole bunch of amazing health benefits. Here’s an informative article. Inulin is FANTASTIC to make low carb yeast dough rise. Shall we get started?
How to make pull-apart Keto bread rolls – step by step:
1.) First, proof your yeast. We want to make sure it’s working and activated – and if it doesn’t, we can start all over again without having to throw away expensive ingredients or having to eat tiny, hard rolls!
You simply mix the yeast with warm water and inulin. Cover your bowl with a kitchen towel and put in a warm, draught-free place for 5-10 minutes. This could be above a radiator, on top of your oven or even inside your boiler cupboard.
See the froth and bubbles in the image above? That’s what needs to happen.
While you are waiting for the yeast to proof, combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside.
2.) Once the yeast is proofed, add it to your eggs, egg whites and melted butter and blend well.
The correct temperature of the ingredients is essential. Your eggs must be room temperature. Also, make sure that you give the butter time to cool down so it’s only lukewarm and not scalding hot. Yeast thrives in a warm environment. If it’s too cold or too hot, they can die off and your rolls simply won’t rise.
3.) Now add the first half of the dry ingredients – whey, almond flour, psyllium, salt, baking powder – plus the Greek yoghurt. Blend until combined, then add the second half of the dry ingredients.
The dough thickens really quickly.
4.) This is what it should look like – sticky and rather firm. Time to work rapidly now, so the dough does not cool down too much!
5.) Line a baking tray with parchment paper. I used a regular sized pie dish, but a rectangular casserole dish would work just as well.
Wet your hands so the dough doesn’t stick too much and form 8 balls, leaving space around the Keto bread rolls because they will double in size.
Cover again with your kitchen towel or, even better, with a lightly oiled piece of cling film first and then with the kitchen towel (less chance of the dough drying out). Aaaand – place the lot back in your warm place of choice for 50-60 minutes to let the dough rise.
6.) Time for the yeast rolls to go into the oven! I recommend to bake them for around 15 minutes or until lightly browned, and then add another 7-10 minutes loosely covered with aluminium foil. Total baking time should be ca 22-25 minutes.
Note – I did NOT cover the rolls in the images and find they turned just a little too dark for my liking. Covering them with a foil dome should make them just perfect.
Getting hungry? I could have a second breakfast just looking at these pics!
Tips and tricks for pillowy-light Keto bread rolls
Honestly, this is a NO SHORTCUTS recipe. You really must proof the yeast to be 100% sure it’s activated. Also, take your eggs out in time so they’re room temperature by the time you mix the dough. And leave your butter to cool down after you melt it.
Trust me on this one. I made my Keto hot cross buns (a very yummy low carb version of the British Easter staple) using the same basic recipe and my eggs were still on the cool side. The result? The buns were AH-MAZING, but did not rise as much as these fine specimen in this post.
If you don’t have inulin, you can use either honey or maple syrup instead. Yeast bacteria feed on the sugar to thrive and in theory there won’t be much of the sugar left once your dough has risen. I cannot guarantee that ALL sugar will be gone, but it’s likely that most of it would have been gobbled up!
Many people don’t like or cannot have almond flour. I have not tried this recipe with coconut flour myself yet, but normally halving the amount of flour works well – in this case, use 100g / 1 cup of coconut flour in place of the almond flour. This is because coconut flour absorbs more liquid than almond flour.
I made these Keto buns with ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you want to use extra fine almond flour, I recommend that you start off with 1 3/4 cup of almond flour. This should be sufficient to achieve the same dough consistency you can see in image 4.
You could use sour cream in place of the Greek yoghurt. Coconut yoghurt would also work – i.e., yogurt made FROM coconuts, such as by the Coconut Collaborative. If you wanted to use coconut cream, add 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar as well.
Love low carb baking? Here are some more deeeelicious Keto bread roll recipes:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Pull-Apart Keto Bread Rolls
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups / 200g almond flour or ground almonds
- 3 tbsp whey protein powder
- 3 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp inulin
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- generous pinch of salt optional
Wet Ingredients
- 2 eggs, large room temperature
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 cup / 50g butter melted
- scant 1/4 cup / 50g Greek yoghurt
- 1/3 cup / 80ml lukewarm water
Instructions
- Proof the yeast! Put the yeast and inulin into a bowl and add the warm water (40 Celsius / 105 Fahrenheit). If you don't have a thermometer, the water should be warm to the touch. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for 5-10 minutes until it starts to froth and thicken.
- In the meantime, combine the dry ingredients - almond flour, protein powder, psyllium husk powder, baking powder - in another bowl and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer or a food processor, whisk the room temperature eggs and egg whites, melted (warm, not hot!!) butter and the activated yeast mixture until well combined.
- Add the yoghurt and the first half of the dry ingredients mixture. Blend until combined, then add the second half of the flour mix. The dough will thicken quickly as the psyllium and the almond flour absorb the moisture.
- Line a pie dish or a casserole dish with parchment paper. Lightly wet your hands and form eight dough balls. Make sure you leave some space around the rolls as they will significantly increase in size.
- Cover the dish with lightly oiled cling film and a kitchen towel and return to a warm space for around 50 to 60 minutes until the rolls have substantially expanded - see the images in the post. I like to place my tray on top of the radiator.
- Towards the end of the rising time, pre-heat the oven to 175°C/350 Fahrenheit.
- Bake for around 15 minutes or until the rolls are starting to brown. Then cover loosely with aluminium foil and continue to bake for another 7-10 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Laurie says
These are in my oven at the moment. They look and smell amazing! We’re planning to have then as mini sandwiches for dinner one night this week. I’m curious if you’ve ever tried to make these into cinnamon rolls? They are one of my favorite foods so I would love a way to make them that’s low carb!
Katrin Nürnberger says
I think they would probably make great cinnamon rolls, taste-wise. They may be a little tricky to shape into swirls though. You’ve only made them yesterday and probably remember the consistency of the dough better. I do have a recipe for cinnamon rolls on my site – have you tried that one yet?
Damita Ivey says
Hi K –
Thanks for sharing, I just can’t imagine life without bread! So I was so happy to find your site.
Tried this recipe today, had to sub Konjac powder cause I had no whey, otherwise I followed the recipe. Rise is good, looks good, flavor is good, except I’ll add more salt next time. My only issue was that they came out kinda heavy, like a moist, dense muffin, instead of a light dinner roll. Any suggestions?
Blessings & thanks so much – D
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi, I have never used konjak powder so I don’t know how this would affect the recipe and if it was a contributing factor to your rolls being heavy. However, almond flour is higher in fat than wheat and therefore you’ll always have a different texture to wheat rolls. I think the only super-airy low carb bread is cloud bread, which is basically baked beaten egg whites.
Bernie says
Thank you for a great recipe.
1. Can you freeze this? Or better to refrigerate ?
2. I need more flavor. Do you suggest using salted butter?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Bernie, the rolls are freezable. I suggest using salt next time if you feel it needs some. I used unsalted butter and liked it, but we’re all different 🙂 I guess using salted butter would also work.
Christine says
Why the whey protein powder
Katrin Nürnberger says
I like it for a finer texture in this bread. But you can probably replace it with more almond flour.
Toni says
I’ve used the ground almonds left from making almond milk, in other recipes, quite successfully. I’m going to try them in this recipe today. Wish me luck.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hope it works out!!!
Sherry says
Made a batch of these as Thanksgiving trial run and had no trouble forming the dough into rolls. I buttered one and added salt from a shaker. Decent texture – a little heavier than a full carb yeast rolls but that’s to be expected.
I am not gluten sensitive and may add some vital wheat gluten to the next batch along with the salt. Overall, a very nice recipe!
Katrin says
Hi Sherry, thanks for your comment! You’re right, they are not as light and airy as a yeast roll made with wheat. But as close as you can get using nut flour!
diana barefoot says
I made this bread today, and it is very, very good! The rolls almost tripled in size in 30 minutes (I put them in a 110o oven and I was actually afraid they had over risen). They baked up beautifully.
They do need some added flavor, though. I cut them into vertical slices, since they were so thick, and put butter and garlic salt on each little oval-shaped slice—Yum.
Later, I sliced one of the rolls vertically into about 8 pieces, put butter and garlic salt on each piece, and toasted them. I dipped each piece into a little rosemary infused olive oil mixed with good balsamic vinegar, and they were just like something you’d get at a fancy Italian restaurant!
Katrin says
This sounds like you made a proper low carb focaccia…. sounds delicious!
Pam says
I would add a pinch of salt for sure. But in two years of keto this is the closest thing to a crunchy tasty bread with no egg taste I’ve had. I love it!
Katrin says
Result! So glad you like the rolls!!!
Pam says
Can I make this recipe into a loaf? Will it still have the texture?
Katrin says
Hi Pam, that is a good question. I have never tried it, but I think it should be possible. You may need to increase the oven time a little to ensure it is cooked through and be sure to check a knife inserted comes out clean.
Janeen says
This recipe looks promising! A couple of questions — why 2eggs and 2 whites? Could I just use 3 eggs Instead?
And what exactly does the yogurt do?
Thanks!
Katrin says
Some people don’t like the taste of eggs in bread. If you reduce the amount of egg yolks, it won’t taste “eggy”. The yoghurt makes it light in texture.
Jehna says
is the inulin used for the fiber or for the sweetness? I try to go as low carb as possible, but I don’t have any. May I use erythritol or monk’s fruit powder?
Katrin says
The inulin is actually in place of sugar/honey for the yeast to feed on. I don’t think it would work with erythritol.
Mary says
You can probably just use sugar or honey, as the yeast eat it. I have seen other years KETO recipes that just use honey.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, that’s correct 🙂
jordyn says
I just tried this recipe today 🙂 I cautiously followed each step but I’m not sure where I went wrong (ingredients were warm/room-temperature) as my batter turned out very messy, so I was unable to form dense balls as pictured. Nonetheless I still went through with it and the bread tastes delicious! 🙂 Just not pullable but that’s for another try and I’ll probably try coconut flour instead. Thank you for this yum recipe!!
Katrin says
Hi, I’m glad you made it work and that the outcome still was a success. In your case, I’d try using just a touch more psyllium or almond flour and see if that makes the dough easier to handle. Wet hands also help – the dough is a bit sticky.
Pamela Miller says
Really really good!! Only thing I would do differently next time is add some salt. The flavor was just a tad bit flat without it, otherwise its PERFECTION.
Katrin says
Glad you liked it! And yes, a pinch of salt can never harm 😉
Joan Lederhos says
I haven’t tried this recipe yet. I was wondering if I could substitute more coconut flour for the Psyllium husk powder. In the past I have had a grainy feel from the psyllium husk powder in the rolls I’ve tried before. I am using the powder, not the husk…I think. But I can’t find a recipe that uses yeast, and not psyllium powder, yours is pretty close, though. Thanks for any input.
Katrin says
My feeling is that psyllium is more absorbent than coconut flour. It also has a sturdier texture. If you want to sub it out, you’d have to judge the consistency of your dough and add more coconut flour if necessary. Another thought would be to blitz ground flax in a food processor to make it powdery and use that instead.
Linda says
Dear Joan, I have the same problem with psyllium husk. I put it in an electric coffee grinder reserved for baking, and pulverize it to a very fine powder. Do this well in advance and let the dust settle before opening the top of the grinder! Otherwise, you end up with a huge choking cloud of very fine flour. Then sift it through the finest sieve you can find. Works a treat to – ahem – smooth out graining psyllium husk.
Alisa Miller says
I’m confused as I’ve read that at temperatures over 135 degrees, inulins indigestible sugars are converted into regular sugars and will throw you off keto!?
Katrin says
As far as I am aware there was a study that showed this happened after a prolonged period of time. However, in our case the inulin will be fed on by the yeast during the time it rises and it will broken down by the time it even reaches the oven.
Katherine says
Hello. My fiancé cannot eat psyllium, he breaks out with allergic reactions.. Can you recommend a substitute for this? Thanks!
Katrin says
Hello Katherine, I think either ground flaxseed or ground chia seeds could be used, although I have not tried it myself and I cannot guarantee the outcome. YOu’ll probably need more flax than psyllium because psyllium powder is super absorbent.
littleleftie says
Hi–made these for the 2nd time today—followed all instructions to the letter—and for the 2nd time, the dough was so soft that there was absolutely no way it was going to form buns. Instead, I had to pour it into the lined pie plate, let it rise and bake and treat it like scones….cutting them after baking. Saved it. But any ideas on why the mix is so soft? I even added another tbsp of psyllium powder without any obvious difference from the 1st time. Taste great, thought!!
Katrin says
Are you using psyllium husk powder or psyllium husks? The psyllium husks look like powder at first glance, but they are tiny, tiny sticks. The powder is much finer and twice as absorbent. This could have been the issue.
Danielle says
Hi Katrin,
It was a pretty warm outside the day I made the rolls so I opted to sit the pre-cooked rolls in the direct sunlight but inside the house. I brushed some clingfilm with olive oil as instructed and covered the tray. I also put a dry tea towel over them. I lost track of time and the rolls were sat there for almost an hour 30 minutes, which I presumed wouldn’t do any harm. The rolls did increase in size slightly, but not as much as I had thought they would.
It looks like I need to find a better place for them to warm. How much should the dough increase in size during the proving process?
Katrin says
Hi Danielle, you can compare the 2 images in the process shots – I took pictures before and after I let the dough rise. They pretty much doubled in size. I recently made another type of yeast rolls and put them in the oven to rise at the lowest setting, about 40-50 degrees Celsius, which also worked. YOu could give that a try maybe? (Boiler cupboards also tend to be extra warm, if that would be an option in your house?)
Åsa says
By far the best low carb bread I have ever had! Thank you so much for sharing!
Love it!!
Katrin says
You’re welcome!!! Enjoy your Sunday 🙂
Sam says
HI Katrin,
Thanks for the recipe, i made these at the weekend to have with a bbq and they tasted great! my only issue was that the dough was really runny, much runnier than in your photo. i subbed in maple syrup for the inulin and mixed everything by hand as i dont have a food processor. i thought maybe the mixture seemed too eggy, any thoughts?
Sam
Katrin says
Hi Sam, I can only guess here. It’s the psyllium powder that really thickens the dough. I’ve had a reader recently who used psyllium husks (looks like little sticks) as opposed to psyllium husk powder (powder) in a different bread recipe and had a similar problem with wet dough. Maybe this could have been the issue?
Marta Cantwell says
Hello, can I use sour cream instead of yogurt?
Katrin says
Yes, you could definitely give it a go. As sour cream would add more fat, I wonder though if it would end up less light/fluffy. Maybe use only 3 tbsp pf butter instead of 4 (= 1/4 cup)?
Jameelah says
That is so great! I make it to eat with some chicken liver peri pero Portuguese style and rock on the table. Thanks a lots! XOXO from Brum
Katrin says
Awesome!!! That sounds delicious 🙂
Sherry says
What can i substitute the whey powder for
Katrin says
You could try using more almond flour instead
Carol Bedford says
would this recipe work with coconut flour if I halved the amount
Katrin says
Hi Carol, I have not tried this myself, but that’s the amount I go for when I sub in coconut flour. Make sure you wait a few minutes until the flour has absorbed all the liquid and check the consistency is good.
Carol Bedford says
Thanks for your help will be attempting this recipe today will let you know how I get on
Carol
Sharon says
I have never heard of inulin. What can I substitute for it?
Katrin says
Hi Sharon, if you don’t want to use inulin, you can use either honey or maple syrup.
gjeanieg says
Is the collagen mentioned above a substitute for the inulin? I would like to make these and I have everything except the inulin. Thank you!
Katrin says
No, it was substituting the whey protein powder. If you don’t want to use inulin, you can use either honey or maple syrup.
Linda says
Do the egg whites get beaten first before adding them to the other wet ingredients?
Thanks!
Katrin says
I have made the recipe twice – once I added the eggs together with the yeast water and butter and beat all together, as in the images, the next time I beat the eggs (including the yolks) first, then added the other wet ingredients and beat again. Both end results were the same. I have not tried beating the egg whites on their own.
Sonya says
I have tried many low carb and keto breads and
They were just horrible. But I have to say this recipe is delicious!!!! It’s just like having homemade regular bread.
This makes doing keto doable! Thank you so much for
Putting your time and effort into coming up with this
recipe.
Katrin says
I’m so glad you like the recipe Sonya!!!!
Annabelle says
I rated them 5 star cuz it came out as the closest thing to “real” bread that i have come across in a year of keto. I think the taste wasn’t exact match of course but I figure once I make into a sandwich or whatever, it will be great. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I used 1 tbsp of collagen powder (non-flavored) and 2 tbsps of protein whey powder.
Katrin says
Awesome! Good to know that the substitution with collagen powder worked well! Love the idea of adding some health benefits to this recipe 😉
Kristine says
This looks great but what could I replace the WheyProtein powder with please
Katrin says
I cannot guarantee that any substitution will work, because I have not tried it myself. You could try replacing with egg white powder or an additional 1-2 egg whites. If you try the egg whites, I’d beat them until stiff and mix them in last. That way, the dough will be less runny. Also, extra fine almond flour may be a better option than regular almond flour/ground almonds. I’d be very interested to hear how you get on if you try.
Annette says
Hi, these look delicious! I’m on my 3rd week of Keto & 4lbs down… 3 Tablespoon of Yeast? Seems like a lot? Or did I read this wrong? Love your Lemon Sponge pudding by the way; I add blueberries to the batter. Delish!
Katrin says
Oh yes, I bet blueberries in the lemon cake would be great. I’ve been meaning to turn it into a Victoria sponge cake and add some strawberries. It’s 2 tsp of yeast for this recipe 🙂
Kelly says
Hi there!
This looks AMAZING! I plan on making them this week. I’m in my second full week of Keto and down 5 lbs already. I’m hoping that I can add these to my diet. Can you tel me how many carbs each roll yields? I didn’t see that info in this post. Also, when you call for Greek yogurt I assume it’s just plain full fat. Is this correct? Thanks so much.
Katrin says
Hi Kelly, glad you like the look of the recipe. The fibre count in this recipe is actually higher than the total carbs, because of the psyllium and the inulin (the nutrition panel is below the recipe card). When this happens, I always look at the sugar content, which comes in at 1.8 g per roll.
heather ray Ray says
Good to see inulin in them..helps with the texture too..how are you K..hope alls well/happy for you… x
Katrin says
Hi Heather, good to see you here. I’m really impressed with the inulin. It’s not cheap, but works so well in this recipe and I like its gently sweet taste.