These pull-apart Keto bread rolls are made with yeast, which makes them pillowy-light and extra fluffy. They're delicious at breakfast with sugar free jam and work equally well as keto dinner rolls.
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).
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 recipe that is a worthy substitution!
These buns are soft, airy and taste delicious. No, they don't taste exactly like traditional white buns. But they come pretty close. And even better, they are only 2.1g net carbs per bun.
Ingredients
To make low carb rolls with yeast, we need certain, slightly unusual, ingredients. Why?
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?
Here are the ingredients I used:
Dry Ingredients
- Almond flour - I used 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 with 1 ¾ cups of almond flour as it is more absorbent.
- Whey protein powder - This gives the low carb rolls a fluffy and light texture.
- Psyllium husk powder - Also helps create a soft bread texture.
- Baking powder and yeast - For a good rise.
- Inulin - A prebiotic, soluble fibre. It is gently sweet and has amazing health benefits. Here's an informative article. Inulin is FANTASTIC to make low carb yeast dough rise.
- A generous pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients
- Eggs - We are using eggs and additional egg whites. Beat them until fluffy. This adds air and lightness to the buns.
- Butter - Melted and cooled
- Greek yogurt - Should be room temperature. The yogurt makes the rolls rise more and gives it that milk bun taste.
- Water - Should be lukewarm.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
Let me show you how to make keto yeast rolls. Here are the basic steps. For detailed instructions and nutrition details, scroll down to the recipe card.
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.
STEP 2
Blend the eggs, egg whites and melted butter in a food processor until fluffy. You can also use a large mixing bowl and a handheld electric mixer.
Once the yeast is activated, add it to the mixture and blend to combine.
Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
STEP 3
Now add the first half of the dry ingredients - whey, almond flour, psyllium, salt, baking powder - plus the Greek yoghurt. Blend until combined.
STEP 4
Add the second half of the dry ingredients. The dough thickens quickly. 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!
STEP 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 bread rolls because they will double in size.
STEP 6
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).
Place the lot back in your warm place of choice for 50-60 minutes to let the dough rise.
STEP 7
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 around 22-25 minutes.
Note - I did NOT cover the rolls in the images and found they turned just a little too dark for my liking. Covering them with a foil dome should make them just perfect.
Katrin's Expert Tips
Honestly, this is a NO SHORTCUTS recipe. 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.
Trust me on this one. I made my Keto hot cross buns using the same basic recipe and my eggs were still on the cool side. The result? The buns tasted great, but did not rise as much as these keto yeast rolls.
Substitutions
If you don't have inulin, 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 most of it would likely 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 using around â…“ the amount of flour works well. This is because coconut flour absorbs more liquid than almond flour.
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 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar as well.
Recipe FAQs
The best substitute is egg white protein powder.
Some psyllium husk powder brands turn pruple when baked. This does not affect the taste. I have used Green Origins and Just Natural without issues. The NOW brand is also supposed to be fine.
The egg taste is in the yolks and with 4 egg yolks, the rolls taste "eggy". I hate food waste as much as you do and use the leftover egg yolks for keto mayonnaise.
Storage
I like to store these rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Gently reheat them in the microwave or pop them in the toaster.
You can also freeze them for up to 3 months! If I do this, I always slice them in half first. This way, I can pop them in the toaster straight from frozen.
More Keto Bread Rolls And Buns
- Keto Dinner Rolls
- Keto Buns Recipe30 Minutes
- Keto Biscuits (Sugar Free, Fluffy, Cheesy)30 Minutes
- Best Keto Hot Dogs (Homemade Buns!)40 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Pull-Apart Keto Bread Rolls
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
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups / 200g almond flour or ground almonds
- 3 tablespoon whey protein powder
- 3 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon inulin
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- generous pinch of salt optional
Wet Ingredients
- 2 eggs, large room temperature
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- ¼ cup / 50g butter melted
- scant ¼ cup / 50g Greek yoghurt
- â…“ 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
First published April 2019. Republished with more information in February 2024.
Stephanie Sisson
I don't have yogurt. Can I use sour cream instead?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that should work, too. Maybe use 10g / 1 tbsp less butter (so 3 tbsp only) because you're adding more fat to the recipe.
Janice Ping
The rolls look delicious. I do not have whey protein powder. Can I omit it or substitute for something else? I'm very new to low carb baking. Thanks.
Katrin Nürnberger
I haven't tried it, but you could probably use more almond flour instead.
Krista
I got ready to make these and realized my psyllium husk powder is expired. Is there something I could use instead? I have different things available, coconut flour, oat fiber, vital wheat gluten.
Krista
Also, I don’t have insulin. I have seen on other low carb bread recipes that use yeast that , since it is such a small amount, they use either sugar or honey, that the yeast eats the sugar and it’s ok to use.
Katrin Nürnberger
That's correct - you can use honey instead, if you have that
keith e varcoe
It is inulin a sweet fiber not insulin which is a drug for diabetics.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Krista, I wouldn't use coconut flour because I find it's not a good binder. I think ground flax may be a good substitution, if you have that. I don't have any experience with oat fibre, so I can't really help with that one. Keep in mind that psyllium is VERY absorbent so if you substitute it with anything else you may need to increase the amount accordingly.
Debbie
This recipe sounds marvelous! I've just restarted Keto and am still in the adjustment phase - so I don't go off the rails too soon.
My question is regarding the egg whites. I have a bag of egg white powder and wonder if I could use that in place of the egg whites here and will still incorporate the whole eggs.
I was thinking of baking them in a muffin top pan instead of "pull apart" so I could then slice them in half and warm in the toaster, as needed. Would need to adjust baking time since they would be separate rolls. Suggestion on time if I do this?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Debbie, I really have no idea how egg white powder works. Do you add water? The idea with the egg whites is to trap air in them by whisking them which the makes the batter light and fluffy. If you add water and it ends up looking the same as real egg white, it should be fine.
As for baking it in muffin cases - no problem! My guess is you'll probably need to reduce the oven time by a little because you have the hot air circulating all around them. Probably around 5 minutes less, 18-20 in total. But this is just my best guess. Definitely keep an eye on them!
Maureen Vallance
Hi
I've made these rolls twice and both times I've had to add extra dry ingredients to be able to handle the dough but reading other comments nobody else seems to have had this issue so I'm wondering what I'm doing differently. Any ideas? The rolls are delicious though even with extra quantities.
Katrin Nürnberger
My guess is that it could have something to do with the psyllium husk? I'm using psyllium husk powder in the recipe and it it much finer (and therefore twice as much fits into the spoon) than "whole" psyllium husk, which looks like powder at first glance, but is in fact tiny sticks.
Almond flour can also have different levels of coarseness, but the one I use tends to be coarse (regular ground almonds), so my bets are on the psyllium.
I'm glad that you managed to get the consistency right though by adding additional ingredients. Sounds like you've worked it all out without me 😉 It's a time-consuming recipe, so I would hate for anyone to produce a bread that's disappointing.
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Maureen Vallance
I made it again and doubled the psyllium I'm using as you suggested and you're absolutely right, the consistency was as it should be. Love these rolls and trying your recipes. Thank you.
Katrin Nürnberger
Perfect! So glad they turned out well after all 🙂
Linda O'Neal
Can I put psyllium husk in a grinder to make a finer powder?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that would work.
robin Cariveau
don't like breads made with almond flour or coconut flour. How can I use vital wheat gluten or oat fiber in place of the almond flour to make these?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Robin, I wouldn't know the exact measurements because I don't bake with either. Sorry I can't help!
Stacey B.
An exceptional grain free recipe. They’re delicious, have an excellent texture, and are better than anything you can buy in the store. I added a 1/2 tsp of kosher salt to the dry ingredients the second time I made it, and liked it with the added salt.
Maricruz Gonzalez
They look delicious. Can I use any other whey protein? or has to be the one you use. Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
i've only ever used whey protein, but I guess any unflavoured protein powder should work.
Laurie
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
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
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
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.