Bread alternative
In Keto-land there is no traditional bread. What do we do? Just 5 ingredients that I always have on hand plus a few tools and you’ve got a new kind of bread. Introducing Fathead Dough!
Oprah LOVES bread…and quite frankly I do too, but it’s filled with carbs. Fathead dough is the answer for many following a keto lifestyle. In the Standard American Diet there’s bread in every meal and snack. Theres bread EVERYWHERE and it’s part of the problem. Bread is a holder of contents-Sandwich, pizza, calzone, pita falafel, wraps..it’s all bread!
The Fathead base
Fathead dough is so versatile. Add or subtract the seasonings for a sweet, savory or neutral fathead dough base. Whatever you decide you’re making you can then add a protein or more seasonings to make your meals. Whether its pizza or pigs in a blanket or bagels or cinnamon rolls or focaccia bread…and the list goes on. And don’t forget my Fathead Taco Pizza!!
Just a few ingredients
The four basic ingredients for Fathead dough are Cream Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese, Almond Flour and an egg. If you’re going savory then you add garlic powder and/or rosemary or whatever seasonings you like. If you’re going sweet you many add lemon zest, a splash of vanilla or stevia and maybe a sprinkle of Allulose. And lastly there’s a neutral option..don’t add any seasonings.
A Little tip
The egg HAS to be room temperature. The last thing you want to do is add a cold egg as that will seize up the melted cheeses. The dough it self is not super difficult to make, but adding a cold egg makes coming together very messy. Don’t despare if you toss in a cold egg…just wash your hands and then get in there and mix by kneading with your bare hands.
A room temp egg IS the difference
Before you pop the cheeses in the micro to melt, put your egg in a cup of luke warm water. NOT warm or hot water because you will cook the egg. We are just trying to bring the egg to a neutral temp. Let the egg sit in that luke water for a few minutes. Get the oven turned on, put your pizza stone in the oven, get all your ingredients out on the counter, get your parchment paper and cookie sheet out, measure your almond flour and then melt your cheeses in the micro.
By the time you’ve done all the other prep work your egg will be close enough to room temp. What we are trying to do is NOT throw a freezing cold egg into your holt melted cheeses. Even when the egg is room temp the dough takes a good strong stir to blend together. Trust me…bring your egg to room temp before you mix it into the Fathead dough.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 egg room temperature
- ⅛ tsp salt
2 sheets of parchment paper
Instructions
Basic Fathead Dough
- In microwave safe bowl place mozzarella cheese and cream cheese. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute on high. Take out and stir. Put back in microwave for 30 seconds, then stir again.
- Depending on your microwave you will may need an additional 30-60 seconds until all melted and combined.
- Take cheese out of microwave and stir in the almond flour and egg until it forms into a sticky ball of dough. You may want to use your hands or a sturdy wooden spoon.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on counter and drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Place ball or log of dough in middle of bottom parchment paper.
- Oil a second sheet of parchment paper and place face down on top. Flatten down with your palm.
- Then with a rolling pin (or something heavy and round) roll out dough into a 1/4″-1/2″ thickness in between the two sheets of parchment paper. When you have your desired thickness and shape peel off the top sheet of parchment paper.
- This is PIZZA shaped Fathead dough.
- ONCE YOU HAVE THE RAW DOUGH READY you can decide what you want to make…pizza, Pigs in a Blanket, calzones, etc.
Rolling Pigs in Fathead Dough
- Place a log of fathead dough on oiled parchment paper. Cover with second piece of oiled parchment paper and roll to desired thickness. (about 1/4" thick)
- Measure hot dog on sheet of dough. Trim dough to desired length to cover hotdog or sausage.
- Roll a single hotdog in the dough to cover hotdog circumference.
- Repeat until all hotdogs are rolled in dough.
- This dough recipe should cover 8-10 hotdogs, but there a few factors. The quantity of finished product will depend on the length and circumference of your hotdogs, as well as the thickness you roll your dough.
- Leave your Fathead Pigs in a Blanket plain or add desired toppings. I like to use "everything but the bagel" seasoning.
- Because there are many steps in making this recipe I always like to double the dough recipe and make as many of the Pigs in a Blanket as possible. A double recipe of dough usually works with 3 packages of 6 hotdogs (18 total dogs)
Cooking Fathead Pigs in a Blanket (NOT FROZEN)
- Preheat oven to 350* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place as many dogs on the sheet as you would like to cook.
- Space the dogs 1-1.5" apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. Check doneness at 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil for 1-2 minutes to fully brown the top of the Pigs in a Blanket dough.
Storing RAW Pigs in a Blanket
- Line your rolled Pigs in a Blanket on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place in freezer for several hours or until fully frozen.
- Once frozen you can transfer the dogs to a large ziploc and store in the freezer.
Cooking Fathead Pigs in a Blanket (FROZEN)
- Preheat oven to 400*
- Place frozen dogs on a parchment lined baking sheet with spacing for room in case they spread.
- Bake from frozen in 400* oven for 20-30 minutes. Check doneness at 20 minutes.
- Turn oven to broil at the end of cook time for 1-2 minutes to brown the dogs to your desire.
Notes
Nutrition
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MEDICAL AND NUTRITION DISCLAIMER…Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nutritional break downs are done using a commercial nutrition calculator. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctorbefore starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers, this should never be construed as medical advice.