Ever tried a keto waffle that was *totally* crisp without a gimmick? (Yeah, me neither). Introducing my gluten free and keto sourdough waffles! Perfect for a fabulous breakfast treat or even as an easy bread hack… with actual yeast!
Gluten Free & Keto Sourdough Waffles 🙃
Crisp, yes *actually* crisp (!!)
After baking keto for years there are things you come to grasp (and accept): baked goods brown too quickly, minty aftertastes are sometimes inevitable (ahem, crisp cookies…), and breads never seem to quite crisp up. At least not without gimmicky cheats with cheese, iykwim.
Say like my previous, and much beloved by y’all, o.g. waffle recipe. Using a choux pastry method, it legit results in *the fluffiest* waffles you’ll ever make. And they’re also utterly delicious, even accounting for the most discerning of palates (you know, kids!). But they’re simply just not crisp, or at least not without seriously coaxing them in the toaster.
So you can imagine my surprise when testing for these guys, already a year ago in fact, when they came out totally crisp from the get go. Whoa right?!
*begins testing for crisp ‘sourdough’ style breads immediately*
The neat thing too? Unlike my other yeasted breads (say the sandwich loaf or the cinnamon rolls), you can actually leave the sourdough waffle batter to hang out in the fridge overnight. So you let it rise in a warm spot for an hour or so, then you cover it and pop it in the fridge for a terrific breakfast treat.
Oh, and be sure to serve them up with grass-fed butter and sugar free syrup (this allulose maple syrup is def my current favorite). Though I must say, that these guys also make for a pretty awesome ‘sandwich bread’ hack.
p.s. this is me attempting to show you the crisp texture of these keto sourdough waffles… but the real proof is the little video in the recipe card (sound on!).
The Flours
I have a feeling that my flours of choice will excite you guys, as you’ve been asking for more… you guessed it, lupin flour recipes! And in terms of brands, this is the *only* one I recommend as (correct me if I’m wrong?) it’s the singular one I’ve found to not leave an unpleasant lingering bitter aftertaste. So pretty please do stick to the recommended brand for best results!
Otherwise you’ll just be adding a touch of super fine almond flour, golden flaxseed meal (I use Bob’s), baking powder and xanthan gum. Yup, that’s it!
The possible subs
I must have made this recipe over 50 times by now (it’s my favorite breakfast for dinner!), so do try and stick to the original combo. Still, since they’re waffles and ‘structure’ isn’t really an issue, you can even get away with using just lupin and almond flour- thought the golden flaxseed does give the a slight better texture imho.
The one thing I would say, is to not use psyllium husk as your sourdough waffles will stick horribly and the batter seems to require sooo much liquid that they stay kinda wet and raw inside. Though they do still crisp up, funny enough.
Before rise
After rise
*gasps in utter amazement*
Ever seen that in a keto yeast bread? Yeah, me neither!
The Tips ‘N Tricks
I literally like to think of yeast breads as a tamagotchi (remember?! you gotta keep those things alive). Still, these keto sourdough waffles definitely aren’t as finicky as other yeasted breads; but it’s still important to keep these suggestions in mind as we’re dealing with a live organism.
Weigh your ingredients. This will forever be a staple recommendation for any sort of gluten free baking here at gnom-gnom… but frankly? You can also get away with cups here as they really aren’t that finicky (did I just contradict myself?).
Ingredients at room temperature. Self explanatory really, but incredibly important (particularly for the eggs). If you add cold eggs to the mix your bread simply won’t rise much (if at all). Remember your tamagotchi won’t thrive if its not nice ‘n warm.
Proof the yeast. This involves mixing dry active yeast with water that’s just warm to touch (between 105-110°F to be precise) and inulin or an actual sugar (think maple syrup) for 7 minutes until foamy. And before you scream sugar (!!) remember that the yeast will feed on such sugar to emit carbon dioxide, so it doesn’t affect the carb count. And yes, this is a scientific fact.
Avoid abrupt temperature changes and air drafts. Like with any yeast bread, you need to cuddle your dough. Make sure it’s able to rest undisturbed in a warm space. I like to turn on my oven briefly (briefly!), ensuring that it feels like a warm summer day at the beach, and just let it hang for an hour.
Crisp (!!) Gluten Free & Keto Sourdough Waffles
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon inulin or 2 teaspoons maple syrup (to feed the yeast!)
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream or 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 more egg (and skip the water)*
- 1/4 cup water
- 40 g lupin flour
- 15 g golden flaxseed meal or more almond flour
- 10 g almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 14 g melted butter coconut oil or ghee
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Serving suggestions
- (allulose) 'maple syrup' this stuff is the best (trust me!)
Instructions
- Add yeast and inulin (or maple syrup) to feed the yeast to a large bowl. Heat up heavy whipping cream with water to 105-110°F, and if you don't have a thermometer it should only feel lightly warm to touch. Pour water over yeast mixture, cover bowl with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 7 minutes. The mixture should be bubbly, if it isn't start again (too cold water won't activate the yeast and too hot will kill it).
- Mix your flours while the yeast is proofing. Whisk thoroughly together lupin flour, golden flaxseed meal, almond flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Once your yeast is proofed, whisk in the eggs, room temp melted butter (you don't want to scramble the eggs or kill the yeast!) and vinegar. Add the flour mixture in two batchesr. Your batter will be thick, but 'elastic'.
- Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm draft-free space for 1 hour. I like to turn on my oven until *just* warm (think a summer day at the beach!), and let it hang in there. Note that after it has doubled in size, you can cover it and pop it in the fridge overnight.
- Heat up your waffle iron (if available use a lower heat setting, as keto batters prefer a slower 'cook'). Butter it super duper well and spoon a couple tablespoons or so of the batter. It will be thick, so spread it out a bit using a wet spatula (or wet the back of a spoon). Close waffle iron and cook for 7-11 minutes until fully golden and cooked through. I've found that cook time varies a lot here (takes longer in a Belgian-style iron, for e.g.), so I def suggest doing a test run here.
- Serve right away! Though I've found that these can be stored for a couple days in an airtight container, and crisp up quite well once again. But nothing quite beats a fresh waffle, iykwim. 🙂
Hi Paola, how about to mid cook’em and freeze so ready to pick up and heat at toaster?
Great idea, but NO fully cook them! Otherwise they’ll stay gummy inside 😆
Made these keto waffles today using the Lupina brand flour that you suggested and they were wonderfully crispy and light. Thank you for this and all your other amazing recipes!!
I have a question about the macros calculations at the bottom if the recipe. How many total servings are you using (I know you said 2 large Belgain waffles) and is it with heavy cream or almond milk? I am getting much higher calorie counts than 60 cal per serving for 2 servings with either liquid. That said, they are worth the calories!
Hi there,
Your recipe looks super yum!
Do you have any recommendations for other Lupin flour brands available in the UK?
The Lupina brand is hard to get hold of here.
Many thanks
Hello Paola! Just wondering if they will turn out well with just Almond flour? I can’t have lupin flour due to lectins…:(
I have the same question about almond flour sub for lupin flour. I discovered that I (and hubby) don’t tolerate lupin flour well. While I agree that lupin flour adds the best texture to keto recipes, it’s usually not worth the digestive probs.
Thanks for all the recipes, Paola! You definitely support my sanity while eating low carb/keto!
I know you are recommending Lupina flour but have you tried Aviate brand? That seems to be the favorite of some other bloggers (Serious keto). I need to order some and I don’t want to make an expensive mistake. Thanks.
I actually haven’t tried that one yet! Thanks Kate, I’ll report back 🙌🏼
AMAZING!!!!!! Will make over and over again, thank you. I used a regular waffle maker and even got more, felt like a win.
i can’t wait to try this! But the yeast i have is instant yeast. Do i still need to proof it, or can i mix it with dry ingredients? Is there any adjustment in quantities?
You know Anita, I’ve personally found that the keto yeast bread recipes become more fool proof if you do proof it (but many of you have reported back in the sandwich bread recipe that you skip the step once you’re ‘pros’). Perhaps try it as is the first time? 😉
Oops, now I do. 😁
I’m sorry I don’t see amount of almond flour?
10 g
When in business we used to have many Crohns & UC clients.
They should not eat gluten products at all nor eggs, dairy, vinegars (yeast) etc.
I used a recipe I gave out to all of them for Waffles which I always used as they were crisp and delicious, far superior to any wheat based one.
1 Cup flour ie 1/2 cup each or Buckwheat and Rice, or amaranth or millet.
1 Cup milk, Organic Soya or cashew,
Virgin olive oil for greasing waffle maker,
Blend all ingredients and let stand for 20 minutes.
I put this recipe in my book “Amazing Sprouts” which I had printed many years ago.
You can add pepper/salt for savoury ones or indeed anything you want even seed sprouts. I made quark/Flaxseed oil and added some mayonnaise, finely chopped tomato, red onion and cucumber avoiding the pips or too watery. Making my mouth water thinking of them! Or any favourite topping.
I was going through this recipe, getting ready to make it when I noticed that there was no amount of water given for proofing the yeast. The instructions say to proof the yeast, then whisk in the eggs, butter and vinegar to the proofed yeast mixture. Then later you add the flours alternately with the cup of cream/water, so I’m assuming you don’t use any of that in the first step to proof the yeast. Am I making any sense here? Or did I miss something? I love, love, love your recipes and so want to make this one!
Omg Diana you are right, fixed! You heat up the water with the hwc (you don’t alternate with them at the end). 😑
Which lupin flour do you recommend? Your link (here in Canada) takes me to a page of all sorts and the one I have has a funny aftertaste so want the recommended one please!
It’s the Lupina brand Jackie. May I ask which brand you’ve tried?
I have “Miracle Flour” it leaves the bitter aftertaste!
Agreed, this one is a BIG no. Thank you Cecile!
🙁 I though this was sour dough, so without yest. I’m intolerant to yeast, can I make it without?
I’m actually working to see if a legit keto starter is possible (I’m not sure yet if keto flours are good enough to populate ‘wild yeast’ without a little help from the instant kind).
I find your comment very interesting Karina, so you can consume wild yeast but not bakers yeast?
A bit off topic, but I’ve been doing a lot of reading on GI responses and it does seem that traditional sourdough breads produce a lower spike than your average bread (so *clearly* they are different!). I just hadn’t thought about you guys with an intolerance.
Thanks for your qs!
Hi Paola, I’ve talked with King Arthur around sourdough starters (as they have a keto wheat flour that works 1:1 with all-purpose) but they’ve said they recommend feeding the starter with regular flour, then you can use the keto friendly flours from there. I imagine there’ll need to be some math to calculate carbs depending on hydration levels in the starter, but seems worth it in the quest for true keto sourdough, hope this helps! 🙂
Yes, that’s right, just the instant 🙂 would be great to know if you discover anything
I can’t see the video Paola! I believe you, but I enjoy your little snippets.
Looool!! But “oh no!” you are indeed correct… let me see what’s up! Thanks Alan.
“I literally like to think of yeast breads as a tamagotchi” Bahahaha love it Paola! Can’t wait to try them, they look amazing.
🙃
Will this work with the Dash waffle maker?
You know Dale, I’ve actually not tried (will have to!). But I also don’t see why not?
And if you find that it doesn’t, the batter also makes terrific fluffy pancakes 🥞