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.
Toni
I made for my family Thanksgiving & everyone loved them but everyone also agreed with me that they could use a little salt. I'm making a double-batch today & adding 1/4 tsp sea salt. I'll let you know how they turn out!
Jen
Why are my folks a grayish color? I have tried twice. Taste is fine but just looks ugly. I think it might be the ingredients in using. I did not substitute anything.
Katrin Nürnberger
This may be due to the brand of Psyllium you used. in the US, the NOW brand does not change colour, and here in the UK I have used BonPom, Just Naturals and Green Origins without issues.
Terri T
This bread is the first of your recipes I've tried, and is the first low-carb bread I have made that actually tastes good! I will definitely make these again, and I will also try some of your other recipes. I noted some people have had the purple issue with the psyllium husk. In the US, Bob's Red Mill brand is one which won't turn purple.
Toni
No salt at all? All my yeast bread recipes call for salt!
Katrin Nürnberger
You can definitely add a pinch of salt if you like.
Viktoria
Can I store it in the freezer?
Katrin Nürnberger
I always freeze my bread and rolls for up to 3 months.
Elizabeth Y O'Brien
I used the Anthony brand psyllium husk powder and it turned purple even though I used the right amount of lastic acid, I also had no inulin and whey protein powder, would all this have led to pretty flat rolls?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Elizabeth, you need the inulin or another sugar to activate the yeast. So that's the reason why your rolls did not rise. The NOW brand of psyllium is a popular choice for psyllium in the US and I have heard that it does not cause a colour change.
Elizabeth Y O'Brien
Thanks K, I am going to try again with your suggestions and will let you know how I did.
Liz
Camila Bergamini
Hi Katrin.
I'm kind of new to keto and your recipes have been helping me tremendously!
I made this bread and it tastes really good, but mine ended up much darker, in a way that is not appealing. Any thoughts on how to solve this?
Thank you so much
Katrin Nürnberger
If the dough itself was darker this could be because you might have used almond meal with the skins on. Was this the issue? The ground almonds I use are blanched. Or do you mean that the rolls browned too much in the oven? This can be prevented by putting aluminium foil over the top as soon as they are golden brown. This way you can keep your bakes in the oven until they are done without burning.
Camila
Thanks for the answer. I used blanched almond flour and the color was not from the oven. It's more like whole wheat bread. The same color happened with the pizza rolls so I was wondering if it has to do with the psyllium husk
Katrin Nürnberger
Ah I see. Some psyllium husk brands change colour when baked. Normally it's a purple hue. The brands I have used that don't change colour are BonPom, Just Natural and Green Origins. The NOW brand is also supposed to be fine. There's also an explanation that it could be a chemical reaction caused by the mix of psyllium and baking powder that contains aluminium, so you could also check your baking powder.
Margo
I have pea protein that I bake with and have good results. I also have whey protein powder but it is vanilla and slightly sweet. Do you think the pea protein is okay to substitute?
Also, the small town where I live has only sugar laden fruity Greek yogurt and not plain, not even at Walmart. When a recipe calls for yogurt I use sour cream. I am going to try sour cream to substitute the yogurt and hopefully my rolls come out well.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Margo, you can also use plain full fat yoghurt instead of the Greek. As for the pea protein, I have not tried it myself. But I know that it's a common substitute to whey protein. Let me know how your rolls turn out!
Michelle
Hi, I was curious if I would be able to stuff some meat mixture in these buns? Would you suggest adding before leaving to rise?
Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, I would do exactly that. But cook the meat mixture before stuffing. I have done something similar using a different recipe - check out my keto pizza rolls
Pamela
Do these keep well?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, you can store them for a few days in the fridge or at room temperature. You can also freeze them!