Not all gluten free breads are created equal.
Sure, they may taste amazing, but are they much “healthier” than buying whole grain breads?
Not if you have celiac disease…BUT if you are just gluten sensitive or attempting to lose weight by cutting the dough, you may be shocked to find what ingredients are lurking in your gluten free goodies.
1. TONS of fillers. Don’t get me wrong, I occasionally use a food grade additive in my baked goods to give them texture. The levels that they are added to *some* of these pre-packaged foods can sometimes be alarming.
2. Boatloads of Sugar. The only difference between homemade pancake batter and gluten free is the gluten. Oh, and did I mention the amounts of sugar, preservatives, and fast digesting rice starch? Because that’s in there, too.
3. Less fiber. Everybody poops, until you stop eating fiber and start living on rice starch and tapioca starch with a few veggies thrown in the mix.
There has to be a better way, right?
I’d like to think that these protein buns do a pretty good job of giving me a stand-in bread treat without the major digestive issues or massive amounts of guilt.
Plus, they are pretty simple once you get the hang of it.
Protein Breads
Make it a flat bread or a bun. Either choice is delightful.
5 Eggs, separated (we are using 1/4 cup of the yolks)
1/3 cup Unsweetened Protein Powder
Add ins: 2 TBSP Shredded Parmesan OR 2 TBSP Garlic Hummus
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum- OPTIONAL- this gives it more of a “bread like” consistency
1 Cookie sheet covered with foil and cooking spray
Preaheat oven to 350° and have the xanthan gum and protein powder ready and portioned out before beginning. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks and reserve 1 /4 cup yolk (beaten) for later in the process. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer, starting at a low speed and gradually increasing until foamy. Continue to beat until STIFF. Slowly fold in protein powder
Next, the egg yolks you reserved can now be mixed well and slowly added to the egg white foam. Fold in gently (not with your mixer) as to keep the foam intact. You can fold in any of your “add ins” too.
Scoop mixture onto cookie sheet in small mounds for buns. For flat bread, pour evenly onto cookie sheet to make a 1/2 in layer of “batter”. Place in the bottom third of the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the bread in. The bread will still be fragile for a little bit so NO TOUCHING. It’s best if it stays in the oven for about 20 minutes.
This isn’t bread. Don’t rush to the kitchen and make this expecting it to taste like the french bread you get at Jimmy John’s. It’s not. BUT it is great for those of us who are trying to steer clear of those things and still want some hot, fresh buns to sink our teeth into…
OMG! I used to make something similar to this called an oopsie!!! These sound awesome – especially with the flavor from the parmesan or garlic hummus!
That’s a great name for them! LOL Were they sweet? Like a popover? I’m curious!
The ones I made were savory! Kind of tangy because they had cream cheese! They were just made with eggs, cream cheese, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt!!
I think I’ve seen a recipe like that! I have to omit the cream cheese because too much dairy kills me. I can imagine those taste even better than mine lol
I need to try your recipe because I bet the parmesan is super flavorful and I like that you omitted the dairy! Love sharing these homemade concoctions!!!!
Everytime I come on your blog I ALWAYS end up bookmarking as yours is one of the few sites I read that actually helps me in everyday life- I am serious! xxx
Ahh that makes me sooo happy!!! And I know how you feel. I routinely search out your blog to catch up on reading and to marvel at your pretty pictures 🙂 <3<3<3
A lot of the commercial gluten-free breads are really expensive and taste horrible. Over the past couple of years I’ve been trying to find g-f hamburger buns that aren’t revolting – most of them are either dry and crumbly, or become wet and mushy – neither of which are appealing.
I’m not celiac, but have some kind of a gluten sensitivity / intolerance that manifests as gastro-intestinal (IBS-like symptoms). I can however eat kamut without triggering symptoms.
Luckily, I had already been cooking most things from scratch in an effort to eat healthier and eliminate processed foods, because making the switch to eating gluten-free wasn’t too difficult for me. One of the first things that I learned how to make was gf thin crust pizza.
It is so hard to find a gf quality product! There are a few that I enjoy but I just can’t get past the carb count. I love making my own products, too. I know exactly what goes into them 🙂 And it is a struggle for me personally because even the gf products I make on my own tend to get high in calories unless I use egg whites and protein powder as I did in this recipe. Some of the variations that call for almond flour or coconut flour can be easier to digest but they still seem SO heavy! Eck.