Recipe: Coconut Cream/Milk Flatbread or Pancakes, Pizza Crust

Updated 1-27-20  What if you are keto and want to eat a sandwich? I used to use Healthy Life brand 'low-carb' breads but they were about 6 grams of carbs per slice and contained grains. So eating 1 slice lead to eating more and going off low-carb.

This is a recipe for low carb flatbreads that are good for making sandwiches. I shared this recipe on my other blog before, but I keep working on it and, hopefully, improving it. It's gluten free, and dairy free unless you add the cheese mentioned below or the whey protein powder instead of the egg white protein powder. I now also add ground nuts (nut meal, nut flour) to cut down on the protein amount--- if you are nut-sensitive, just omit that and use 1/4 cup of the protein powder.

1 Tbsp EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil (0 g carbs, 0 grams fiber, 0 grams net carbs)

3 (large) eggs (each: trace carbs, no fiber, trace net carbs)

3/4 cup coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk (cream: 12 g carbs, fiber 4 g, net carbs 8 g: milk: 4.8 g carbs, 0 fiber, 4.8 grams net carbs)

1/8  cup [1 and 1/2 Tablespoons] ground pecans or ground walnuts  (pecans: 1.9 g carbs, 1.3 g fiber, 0.6 net carbs; walnuts: 1.4 g carbs, 0.7 g fiber, 0.7 g net carbs)

1/8 cup unflavored egg white protein powder or whey protein powder (mine was 0 carbs, check label)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Vege-Sal or Herbamare (sea salt seasoned with veggies)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Add ingredients to a mixing bowl and use electric egg beater to beat it for 2 minutes. 

Use olive oil pan spray on your Yorkshire pudding or muffin top pan. Then, add about a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to each depression in your pan. Pour 2 Tbsp of batter in each depression in the pan.

OR use a 6.5 inch cast iron frying pan--- use the pan spray and olive oil as above. Use about 1/2 cup batter to make something in the shape of a low-carb tortilla.

Bake about 10 minutes in a metal YP pan and 12 minutes in a ceramic YP pan. Metal pans are better as they brown both sides. For a cast iron frying pan, try 12-14 minutes. Keep an eye on them and don't let them get too brown.

Let them cool down in the pan. If you own/are owned by cats, find a place for them to cool down where the cats can't get to it--- I use the metal racks in a disused oven or a shelf in a cabinet. 

If you are using a small oven and can only get 1 muffin top pan in, DON'T pour the second pan until just ready to bake. 

I mostly use these flatbreads warm, so I make sure not to let them get browned in the baking--- I prefer them a touch under-done, and I also eat the flatbreads cold as a sandwich sometime.

YIELD: will vary based on the size of your eggs (farm-fresh eggs can range from peewee to bigger-than-jumbo in size.) I got 26 Tbsp of batter last time I made it.

SERVINGS: 2 pieces of the bread from a YP or muffin-top pan, 1 of the larger tortilla-sized flatbreads (fold in 1/2 for sandwiches.) 

STORAGE: put in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, or a freezer bag in the freezer. Write the DATE on your bags!!! Heat the flatbreads for eating in a 325 F degree oven for about 5 minutes or until the butter melts. Or heat a minute or so in a George Foreman grill. Yes, you can heat them from frozen quickly--- they are thin. (And delicate. Which is why you will want to MELT the butter on to it and not try to spread it.)

EQUIPMENT: 

For the small flatbreads you will need a Yorkshire pudding or muffin-top pan. I like the Tala brand, which at the moment I can only get from Amazon . uk. They delivered it to the US okay, though.

For the large flatbreads you will need one or more cast iron frying pans of about 6 and 1/2 inches in size. Since the flatbreads need to cool in the pan you will need multiple frying pans in the desired size. Since I only have the one, I will have to get more cast iron frying pans soon.

I also bought a 2 Tbsp measure from Amazon. I think it was meant for measuring coffee into a coffee maker? Anyway, it's great for measuring batter into the YP pans. 

VARIATIONS:

CHEESE BREAD: I put about 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese in each depression in my muffin top pan, and then pour in the batter. This is a tasty version of the bread and one I like--- I just shredded the cheese for a batch this morning. (I also buy pre-shredded cheese for this purpose.) But of course if you don't eat dairy you should avoid this option. You can also add the cheese after you have made some flatbreads, add a bit of butter and heat in the oven or George Foreman grill. You can make a grilled cheese sandwich that way--- with bacon bits or bits of cooked ham if you like (and aren't keeping kosher or halal.)

MARKING THE FLATBREADS: if you make some salt-free or dairy-free and some with salt/dairy, sprinkle some sesame seeds, poppy seeds or caraway seeds on the top of the flatbreads before baking to mark the different kinds.

PANCAKES: Heat your flatbreads with butter or coconut oil, and a bit of sugar-free maple syrup or else cinnamon and stevia powder or Swerve. 

PIZZA CRUST: Add the low-carb pizza toppings of your choice and heat. If the toppings need some extra cooking you may need to cook them before adding them as toppings so you won't get the crust too brown.

PASTA: An old Atkins recipe book used a similar recipe, cut up to serve as pasta. I made 'mac and cheese' this way once.

NUT BUTTER SWEET ROLL: I add about 1 Tbsp nut butter or peanut butter, a bit of butter, sprinkle with cinnamon, and add Swerve, usually brown-sugar Swerve. Heat in 325 F degree oven until butter & nut butter melt, fold in 1/2 and eat. 

WARNING: If you are addicted to the carbs in 'real' bread, this will not satisfy your carb cravings. Just stick to your strict Keto * Low-Carb for a while--- that's the way to stop your addiction and the cravings.