I’m sure a lot of you love baked goods and swear by chips and tortillas. But, what if I told you that just one cup of flour contains almost 100 grams of carbs? Think about that the next time you bite into a donut or devour a cupcake! The first thing you need to give up when you pick up a keto lifestyle is carbs. The entire diet revolves around you restricting your intake of carbs, and forcing your body to go into ketosis. The ketosis induces burning of fats to produce energy, thereby helping you lose weight. So, how do you have baked goods while on a keto diet? That’s where keto flour comes into the picture, and to help you with it, here’s a look at why keto flour is so useful.
What are Keto-Flours?
While we have always studied that you can’t have your cake and eat it as well, you literally can eat it while on a keto diet, if you use the right kind of flour. Keto-flour is any combination of low-carb flour that allows you to bake your favorite goodies with ease. These keto-friendly baking goods come in many flavors and will enable you to recreate your favorite recipes with ease. However, make sure you keep an eye on the ingredients and labels to ensure that you don’t buy anything too processed or unhealthy. Keto flour is generally made using natural ingredients like coconuts, almonds and chickpeas.
Why you Need Keto Flour
The very fact that just one cup of regular flour contains over 100 grams of carbs helps us see why we need keto-friendly flours. These low-carb baking products help us enjoy the snacks that we love, without having to worry too much about the calories. It allows you to have the best of both worlds in all ways. You get to stay in ketosis and reap the benefits of the keto diet while indulging in your desserts occasionally.
However, unlike with sugar replacements, you can’t just swap wheat, corn and rice flour with more natural types of flour. Due to differences in texture and composition, you will have to alter the way you make certain dishes for you to get it exactly right. Also, you might have to use combinations of low-carb flours to get the perfect batter. Sometimes, people also used natural additives to get a better texture or taste. Some healthy and keto-friendly additives which you might have to buy include protein powder, psyllium husk and xanthan gum. Therefore, when you start, make sure you stick to recipes on the internet so that you get the best batter possible. Once you have baked a few times, you can try and find the best combination that works for you by experimentation.
Best Keto Flour
Keto-Friendly Flour 1
Almond Flour
Almond flour is often considered the best replacement for all-purpose flour when you are on a keto diet. It is low when it comes to carbs, and provides just the right amount of other macros, making it a favorite for most keto-bakers. That is why you will find almond flour in most keto-friendly baking recipes. A quarter cup of almond flour contains 2 grams of net carbs, 12 grams of fat and over 5 grams of protein. However, since it includes a large amount of fat and less gluten, you will need to add more baking powder and eggs to ensure that your baked goods retain their structure. However, since it is already high in fat, you can reduce the amount of butter and oil that you add. Almond flour is notorious for turning rancid quickly, so make sure you always store it in a dry container inside the fridge.
- Almond flour comes from blanched almonds, which, after skinning, are ground into a fine powder.
- Since it comes from a nut, almond flour has a slightly sweet flavor, which makes it ideal for cakes, bread, cookies and crusts.
- Also, since it is wildly popular, almond flour is easy to get your hands on, as it is present in most grocery stores and supermarkets.
- Almond meals do cost less than more finely ground almond flour, and they work well in cookies and muffins, wherein you don’t need a fine texture.
- Make sure you always make the low-carb batter a little thicker than your regular batter, as they contain more moisture. Also, while baking, set the oven to 25°F lower than usual.
Best Keto Almond Flour
- Honeyville Farms Almond Meal Flour
- Anthony’s Blanched Almond Flour
- Anthony’s Natural Almond Meal
Keto-Friendly Flour 2
Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is one of the healthiest keto flours out there, as it comes from a superfood. This healthy alternative to flour is made from dehydrated coconut scrap after all the fat has been extracted from it. Each quarter cup of coconut flour has within it 6 grams of protein, 60 calories, 2.5 grams of fat and 7 grams of net carbs. Though it is slightly higher in carbs, it is also rich in fiber, making it great for people who want a digestive boost.
- Just like with almond flour, coconut flour cannot be directly substituted as it soaks up moisture. Therefore, for every one cup of regular flour, you should add only 1/4th or 1/3rd cup of coconut flour.
- As it is low in fat content, for every one cup, you should add 6 eggs and one cup of any liquid for moisture.
- Coconut flour does well under high temperatures and can be baked at the same temperature as regular flour.
- Batters made from this flour will thicken when they sit for a while, so make sure you adjust it accordingly with enough water.
- If you wish to combine both these keto flours, do so in a 3:1 ration using more almond flour than coconut.
- This combination will very closely mirror all-purpose flour, helping you bake without using too many extra eggs.
- As the flour is highly absorbent, make sure you store in an airtight container, inside your pantry, rather than your fridge.
- In case you don’t like the taste of coconut, mask it using cocoa, coffee, vanilla and fresh fruits.
Best Keto Coconut Flour
- Anthony’s Coconut Flour
- Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour
Other Nut-Based Keto Flours
- Walnut Meal can be used in place of almond flour, as it too comes from a nut, and hence, has a similar flavor. You can also try out other nut-based keto flours such as hazelnut meal, pistachio meal and pecan meal, which all have distinct flavors.
- However, since these nut-based keto flours are not as popular, you won’t find many recipes which use them. Therefore, you will have to figure out the proportions through experimentation.
- Make sure you store these nut-based keto flours in an airtight bag inside the freezer or fridge.
- If you don’t want to buy processed nut-based flour, you can make them at home, by roasting and then grounding these nuts.
- Ground flaxseed meal is also another popular keto flour that is very nutritious. It has reasonable amounts of Copper, ALA, Lignans and Vitamin B1. As it has a very earthy taste, it is great for making muffins, pie crusts, cookies and scones.
- Other seed-based keto flours include sunflower seed meal, pumpkin seed flour and Soy Flour.
Ever since the keto diet became a huge hit with the masses, a large number of low-carb food products have been hitting the marking lately. However, not all of these are organic and healthy. Therefore, make sure you always check the label before buying anything. Whenever you can, try to make these at home so that you know exactly what you are putting into your body. With these handy keto flours at hand, bake away towards a healthier lifestyle!
