Cheapest, “Normal-Tasting” Low Carb Flour Mix

 

Low carbers, gluten-free folks, Paleo peeps, and real foodies all have their favorite flour and flour combinations when it comes to baking healthier (or lower carb, or gluten-free, or real, etc). Most people who use alternative flours focus on their specific need or preference–whether they want fewer carbs, no grains at all, nothing processed, etc. Two things that are sometimes overlooked in this quest are how “normal tasting” the flour substitute is and the cost of the substitute. I know there are die hard healthy bakers who would never use a grain or never use a flour with over a dozen carbs….but there are others who are trying to navigate these new baking waters (especially those of us seeking lower carb who are not used to the unusual flavors or those who have sticker shock when they start purchasing low carb flour substitutes).

I like both of my flour mixes. And I use them for different purposes. Anyway I “slice” it, almond flour-based mixes do not yield good yeast breads for me. And sprouted flours only are still a little high for every day use when someone is trying to stay under fifty carbs or so. (Check out my two flour mixes here, or click on the image below to download a printable PDF of this chart.)

 

 

 

But I’ll be the first to admit that neither flour mix is “cheap” or inexpensive. They require numerous flours and many ingredients. (You should have seen my Amazon bills during the two years of testing them! 🙂 )

 

A reader recently asked about a comment that I made in a post about my flour mixes in which I said that you could try a combination of sprouted flour and almond flour to get a more reasonably-priced, simpler flour combination. She asked if this would work for yeast products, such as my sprouted flour crescent dough and low carb sprouted dinner rolls.

 

 

So…I give you my suggestion for the Cheapest, “Normal-Tasting” Low Carb Flour Mix–with several suggestions for using it to create lower carbed baked goods!

 

Below are links to the ingredients I use in the recipe above. I am an affiliate for Amazon.com. If you click on the links below I will earn a small commission. Thank you for your support of this blog!

 

 

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Here are the deets for this low carb flour mix:

1) This can be used in non-yeast products as is, including my biscuits, crepes, chocolate cake, and oopsie rolls.

 

2) It can be used in place of other low carb flour mixes or almond flour alone.

 

3) It is a low carb flour mix when compared to regular wheat flours (35 carbs per cup vs over 100 carbs per cup) and even when compared to coconut flour (at 24 carbs per cup). It isn’t almost no carbs (like almond flour at 12 carbs), but when you use, say, two cups of this mix spread out over 20 servings of something, you are at 3.5 carbs per serving; spread out over 10 servings, you are at 7 carbs per serving. These are low carb final products!

 

4) The taste is pretty “normal”! This would be a great starting mix for the new low carb cook.

 

 

 

 

5) Note that I use the finely-ground almond flour linked in the recipe and white sprouted wheat flour. Another almond flour that is not so finely ground will not yield the same texture. And a different sprouted flour might be higher in net carbs.

 

6) Obviously, if you are gluten-free, the sprouted flour would not be a good choice since it does contain gluten.

 

7) Finally, in answer to the reader about using a half-and-half combination like this in yeast products:

a. Half almond flour and half sprouted white flour will likely not rise in yeast baked goods. It is too heavy for yeast baking.

 

b. In my testing of diluting white sprouted flours with low carb items (gluten, sprouted wheat flour, and protein powder), there was a definite point where too much of the low carb product hindered the rise of the yeast product. I finally settled in at 80% sprouted white and wheat flour (with a 3:1 ratio of those) and 20% gluten/protein powder.

 

c. So…..if I wanted to try yeast dough using this combination rather than my Sprouted Low Carb Flour Mix, I would do something like this:

i. Start out with 2 cups white sprouted and 1/2 cup almond flour. (I would also add a TBSP or two of vital wheat gluten.) This will yield 48 net carbs per cup, which is still way under half of typical wheat flour!

ii. If that works well for you, you can keep trying to lower the white sprouted and increase the almond flour….at a 2:1 ratio (for example, 2 cups sprouted white and 1 cup almond…again, throw in two TBSP wheat gluten), your net carb count would be 41 carbs per cup. OR you can use half sprouted white and half sprouted wheat for the two cups and 1 cup almond flour….test this out with half a recipe to see what happens!

iii. Try these combinations in my sprouted crescent dough–and let me know how they work! 🙂

 

 

I know that last one is a lot of math—but I really want to help people simplify their baking while still being lower in carbs while having a normal tasting bread–if that is what they want. (And I understand the desire to save money on your baking AND the desire to bake things that others enjoy too!)

 

Happy low carb baking!