Bread is an essential part of most people’s daily diet, and if you’ve recently started following the low-carb ketogenic diet, you may be wondering how you can still enjoy your favorite sandwiches while keeping your intake of carbohydrates at a minimum.
The good news is that you don’t have to completely give up bread while being on the keto diet. It’s just high-carb wheat bread that needs to be cut out, but you can find many other varieties of keto-friendly bread that contain very little amounts of carbs.
Several companies have recently started making and selling low-carb bread using healthier substitutes to traditional wheat flour. Let’s review some of the basic facts about keto bread.
What is Keto Bread?
There are different types of keto-friendly bread on the market today. The majority of these use either almond flour or flaxseed flour instead of wheat flour. Some products may even contain a blend of a few different types of flour that have a low-carb content.
Unlike regular bread, keto bread does not contain table sugar, but rather uses more keto-friendly natural sweeteners, such as stevia.
Some brands use wheat gluten (vital wheat protein), while others are gluten-free and instead use egg white and other ingredients to make the dough more elastic and help it to rise.
Not Completely Carb-Free
One important thing you should note about keto bread is that while it may have zero “net carbs”, it may still have a good amount of “total carbs”. Net carbs include sugars and starches, which dramatically affect blood sugar levels, and exclude dietary fiber and sugar alcohols, which have a negligible effect on blood sugar levels.
For example, you may read on the label that each slice of bread has 5 grams total carbs and 0 gram net carbs. Those 5 grams may all be dietary fiber, which has many health benefits and does not put your body out of ketosis.
Don’t be alarmed if you notice a high number of total carbs on the label as long as that mostly consists of harmless dietary fiber.
Varying Ingredients and Flavors
As I said above, there are different types of keto bread that are made from different alternative flours. Almond and flaxseed bread are the two most popular choices that many consumers seem to prefer.
In addition to the main ingredient; flour, several other ingredients are commonly used and they vary from one product to another. Additional ingredients may include: eggs, gluten, salt, natural sweeteners, yeast, and others.
Some manufacturers offer different flavors and toppings that may include various types of seeds and/or nuts. You should note that each flavor of the same product may have different ingredients and a different amount of carbs, so it’s important that you check the label of each flavor and don’t assume they all have the same nutritional profile.
Ordering Online
If you don’t have a nearby local store that sells low-carb bread then your next best option is to look for an online retailer. There are several vendors on Amazon and other websites that offer keto bread for sale.
Some companies only bake and ship bread on specific days, so you may have to wait up to a week to get your order processed and shipped. Others keep the bread stored in a freezer and can ship your package right away.
Whether you get it fresh or frozen, unless you plan on eating all of it the same day, the first thing you should do when you receive your bread is to place it in the freezer so that it stays fresh and good to eat for days and even weeks.
