This Keto focaccia bread is wonderfully airy, soft and chewy, just like a good focaccia should be. The easy recipe uses yeast, which gives it a fluffy texture and a great rise. A grain free, gluten free bread with only 2.2g net carbs per square.
Focaccia used to be my absolute favourite bread. That’s why I just had to come up with a low carb version!
I’m using a mixture of almond flour and whey protein powder in this recipe, because I find it’s better suited in terms of taste than coconut flour. I am seriously thrilled about the outcome of this keto focaccia. The protein powder helps to make it extra white and fluffy in texture. And the yeast, olive oil and rosemary give it the distinctive "real Italian" focaccia flavour.
Regular readers of my blog will know that I LOVE bread. When I started eating low carb about 6 years ago, I missed it so much. Feeling great, healing inflammation in my body and losing weight just could not make up for the lack of a crusty roll for breakfast or the occasional quick sandwich for lunch! So, after a few months of total withdrawal, I started baking my own.
Over the years, I've been posting my favourite bread recipes here on this blog - don't miss this Almond Flour Keto Bread Recipe, my popular Everyday Low Carb Bread or these Keto Breakfast Buns. There's been plenty of trial and error, but I think I can say that I've become a bit of a low carb bread baking expert. In fact, I've even written a Keto bread cookbook! Hope you'll check it out 🙂
Back to this gluten free focaccia. We served it as a starter alongside a platter with roasted vegetables and cured ham. It's delicious dipped in olive oil (you can add a splash of balsamic vinegar to that if you like). You can toast it for some extra crunch, but it's equally lovely as is.
Of course, it would also make a great lunch. Simply slice it in half and serve it panini-style. I'd fill it with my go-to of parma ham, provolone cheese, tomato, lettuce and avocado.
How to make keto focaccia with yeast - step by step:
In the image above you can see all the ingredients you need. I'm using Sainsbury's ground almonds. This is made from blanched almonds (no skins) and the same as regular almond flour in the US. If you're using super-fine almond flour, you may want to reduce the amount by about 1 tbsp.
Another point worth making is that if at all possible, measure your ingredients with a digital food scale. It's much more accurate than measuring cups and will yield a better bread. Also, all tablespoons and teaspoons need to be level and not heaped.
1.) Proof the yeast by adding it to the warm water (40C/105F) together with the inulin. Cover and put in a warm place for around 7 minutes to ensure it starts to froth and bubble.
If it does not, discard and start again! It's essential that the yeast is activated.
2.) Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl – almond flour, unflavoured whey protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum - and set aside.
3.) Beat the egg and the two additional egg whites in a food processor or in a bowl with an electric mixer until frothy, about 2 minutes.
4.) Add the olive oil, water/yeast mix and the flour mix to the eggs and continue mixing until well-combined. A sticky dough will form.
5.) Line a 25 x 15 cm casserole dish with parchment paper. Dip a spatula in water to prevent sticking and spread the dough evenly. Make indentations in the dough with your fingers and spread fresh rosemary and sea salt over the dough. Cover with a tea towel and rest in a warm place (on a radiator, for example, or in the oven on the lowest setting) for 45 minutes until the dough has fluffed up and increased in size noticeably.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit and bake for 25 minutes. About 10 minutes into baking, place an aluminium foil lightly on top of the dish to avoid excessive browning. The keto focaccia is done when the top is golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow the bread to cool fully before slicing as the texture will improve. Toast if you wish, and enjoy with a drizzle of olive oil.
Gluten free focaccia tips and tricks
If you follow these tips, making a grain and gluten free focaccia is easy-peasy. It will rise like a dream and you'll end up with a wonderfully fluffy texture.
Proof the yeast
Yeast is the key ingredient in this recipe and you must cuddle it. Don't miss the step where you proof it to ensure it's activated! It likes a water temperature of 40 C / 105F (think bath water). Too hot, and the yeast cannot activate, too cold and it will die. Seriously, if the yeast does not form a generous amount of froth, discard it and start again.
Do check that your yeast is fresh! This also counts for the baking powder, by the way. You can test baking powder by putting a little in water. It should start fizzing.
Room temperature eggs
Again, it's all about the yeast. Bring your eggs to room temperature before whisking them. Because if you mix cold eggs into the yeast, you just won't get a good rise. Trust me. I've tried it.
To warm up fridge eggs, put them in hot water for 3 minutes.
Draughts and temperature changes
You need to find a warm place where your keto focaccia can rise in peace. This could be on top of a radiator, in an airing cupboard or even in the oven on the lowest setting. Since yeast does not like draughts, always cover the bread pan or casserole dish you're using with a tea towel.
Here's a great tip to prevent the tea towel from sticking to the dough as it rises: You oil a piece of clingfilm and place it on the dough, followed by the tea towel.
Inulin versus sugar or honey
Inulin is a prebiotic fibre which has about 30% percent of the sweetness of sugar. You can read more about it here. I use it in this recipe to activate the yeast (and it also tastes great in my morning yoghurt). However, if you don't want to invest in a bag, you can use honey or even sugar instead. Don't worry - no sugar will remain post bake. The yeast "feeds" on it.
Note - you cannot substitute the inulin with either erythritol or xylitol.
Dairy free focaccia
To make this recipe dairy free, replace the whey protein powder with either egg white protein powder or with 2 tablespoon psyllium husk (or 1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder). I used psyllium in my first attempt at this recipe. The result is a little firmer, but also very good!
Note - some psyllium brands turn bread purple. I have used Green Origins. Just Natural and Bom Pom without issues. The NOW brand in the US also works fine.
Can I replace the almond flour with coconut flour?
I do not recommend it. Not only would you need to reduce the amount to about ⅓ because coconut flour absorbs a lot more moisture, you would also need to add additional fat to the recipe. Coconut flour behaves very different from all other flours. A better substitute may be a mix of sesame seed and sunflower seed flour, which could be used as a 1:1 substitution to almond flour (you may need to add a little more if you're grinding it yourself). Of course, it would chance the flavour considerably.
How to store keto focaccia
Once the focaccia is fully cooled (which is done best on a cooling rack so the air can circulate around it and prevents moisture form forming), store it in a bread tin either at room temperature or in the fridge. It's fine for about 5 days.
Alternatively, freeze the bread for up to 3 months. If you slice it before freezing, you can toast it straight from the freezer!
More keto bread recipes with yeast:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Gluten Free Keto Focaccia Bread
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. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
- 25 x 15 cm casserole dish
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoon inulin or honey/sugar** see recipe notes
- 1 ½ cup / 150g almond flour
- 4 tbsp / 20g whey protein powder unflavoured
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- ⅓ cup / 80 ml warm water
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Topping
- Rosemary sprigs
- Sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Proof your yeast by adding it to the warm water (40C/105F) together with the inulin. Cover and put in a warm place for around 7 minutes to ensure it starts to bubble.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl – almond flour, unflavoured whey protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum and set aside.
- Beat the egg and the two additional egg whites in a food processor or in a bowl with an electric mixer until frothy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the olive oil, water/yeast mix and the flour mix to the eggs and continue mixing until well-combined. A sticky dough will form.
- Line a 25 x 15 cm casserole dish with parchment paper. Dip a spatula in water to prevent sticking and spread the dough evenly. Make indentations in the dough with your fingers and spread fresh rosemary and sea salt over the dough.
- Cover with a tea towel and rest in a warm place (on a radiator, for example, or in the oven on the lowest setting) for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the dough has fluffed up and increased in size noticeably.
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit and bake for 25 minutes. After 10 minutes place an aluminium foil lightly on top of the dish to avoid excessive browning.
- Allow to cool before slicing as the texture will improve. Toast if you wish, and enjoy with a drizzle of olive oil.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Leslie
Looks terrific! I cannot wait to try. I normally use instant yeast which does not need proofing. Can I use it for this and leave out the inulin/sugar?
Katrin Nürnberger
I'm sure you can use instant yeast but you'll still need to use inulin or sugar because it's needed to activate the yeast since we're not using wheat.
Addie
I looked at this recipe to find out how you use the yeast, but then I decided to try the focaccia itself because it looks so good! Can you tell me how much honey/sugar to use when substituting for inulin?
Katrin Nürnberger
I would use the same amount.
Catiuscia
OMG! Just tasted it, it's truly amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you like it!
Pam
Hello Katrin, I am now to your website. I am currently on a low card diet and have been cravings for bread.
The focaccia looks really delicious, and I want to make it for valentines day! If I can't get hold of whey protein, what can I use instead (milk powder)?
Thank you.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Pam, whey and milk powder is not the same. You can get whey in any health food store and even in large supermarkets.
Solange
I made this focaccia twice already, it's so soft and tasty, my, daughter loves it, she's 11 and she eats mostly low carb, but being 11 she's also very honest, if she gives the thumbs up then the recipe is truly good! Thumbs up for you and you focaccia.
Katrin Nürnberger
I feel honoured. I know all about critical kids!
Amanda Poppleton
Hi Katrin
Could you tell me what brand of casserole dish you used for this recipe. I’ve made it twice now and it’s delicious but my tin is way too big!
Thanks
Amanda
Katrin Nürnberger
I used a 25 x 15 cm casserole dish 🙂
Amanda Poppleton
I can’t find a casserole dish which is exactly those dimensions. Could I ask is it Pyrex or another brand?
I want to get this perfect as it is so tasty!!
Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
It's an Ikea casserole 🙂
Kelly
Thank you for the recipes you share. I was so excited to get your bread book this week and looking forward to baking this weekend! Would you have any general rules of thumb for trying to substitute for eggs? I try to avoid eggs and I can tell some of the recipes probably won't work well without them. But wondering if you have any recommendations for experimenting? Whey or plant protein powder? Thank you in advance if so.
Katrin Nürnberger
I think substituting eggs in this particular recipe may be tricky. You need something to hold the dough together. Normally, that could be flax or psyllium husk plus xanthan gum, plus you can try bumping up the baking powder or add apple cider vinegar for more rise. I would try the egg free sourdough in the book and start experimenting with that recipe, giving it a focaccia taste by adding rosemary etc. You will always lose a bit of that fluffiness that eggs give.
FRANCISCO X. PEREZ
I told Katrin that this recipe was the Bomb!!! It'd so easy It came out Great. I didn't have almond milk so I cheated and used heavy whipping cream .
I'll be making this one again.
Katrin Nürnberger
Thanks for letting us know your tweaks! So glad you like the focaccia 🙂
Sue
Katrin...I really like the simplicity and the taste of the recipes you offer
Do you offer a keto meal plan? And Thank you for making me miss bread less. Sue
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Sue, a meal plan is on my to do list. Join my email list and I'll let you know when it's ready! 🙂
Jean
This looks awesome! Finally, a foccacia bread that looks like focaccia! My question though can I use instant yeast? Active dry yeast is very hard to find in our shops here.
Thanks in advance!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Jean, I have not used instant yeast so I'm not sure how it works. My understanding is that it must be stronger because it's instant? Maybe it'll reduce the rising time... I think give it a try and see.
Elaine
You've managed to do it yet again! This bread is amazing! Definitely a keeper. Thanks for all your great recipes.
Katrin Nürnberger
That's so good to hear! So glad you like the bread 🙂
Deborah
Be still my heart....OMG. This looks fabulous, and if its half as good as your other breads I have made, I will be in heaven.
Plan to be making spaghetti (a la zucchini noodles) and meatballs this week....this will put dinner over the top. You have such a gift for low carb breads....the kind of gift that "keeps on giving".
Thank you so much for all your hard work. Yum!
Katrin Nürnberger
Can't wait to hear how you'll like it Deborah!
Sarah
Although I have made many of your recipes, this was the first time I have made bread...... and it was amazing! Thank you so much for the work you put into creating these recipes!
Genet E Harris
What brand of egg protein do you use ?
Denise
Any substitute for whey protein? Coconut flour? Flax meal?
Katrin Nürnberger
You can replace the whey protein powder with either egg white protein powder or with 2 tbsp psyllium husk (or 1 tbsp psyllium husk powder). I used psyllium in my first attempt at this recipe. The result is a little firmer, but also very good!
JO
Been waiting for a good focaccia recipe. This looks incredible Katrin!
Katrin Nürnberger
Thank you so much!