Think of this crazy keto dough as your (easy peasy!) master recipe, good for anything from pizza, hot pockets, tortillas, pasta… and much, muuuuch more!
Gluten Free & Keto Dough
Crazy Universal!
The term ‘crazy dough’ is one I encountered in the internet a while back, dubbed for a dough soooo crazy that it could be used endlessly. And no, this is not fathead dough (at all!)… but a rather terrific alternative for those dairy free.
It was first created for my famous tortillas (i.e. the most plagiarized recipe on the site, so you know its good!), but I soon realized it had many (many) more uses. So with little tweaks here and there, I’ve also turned it into pizza, pasta (and ravioli), cinnamon roll knots, hot pockets, naan (with yeast!), and quite a few more!
The great thing about it?! You can whip up a batch (double or triple even!), and keep it handy in the fridge for 3-4 days to be used for multiple goodies. It also freezes well, just check individual recipes for deets.
And so, in this post I’m giving you some more tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way, with subs included for every ingredient.
The Flours
The original recipe is a mixture of super fine almond flour (I love Anthony’s) and coconut flour (again Anthony’s best taste and texture by a mile!). Add a touch of xanthan gum, baking powder, and we’re golden.
The Substitutes
I know you guys need to substitute often (allergies, preferences etc), so this should come in handy:
- Almond flour can be substituted with sunflower seed flour on a 1-to-1 ratio. Given its similar fat and protein content to almond, this really is the best sub out there for those of you with nut allergies! Just note that its generally not ground as fine as almond and it has a different flavor profile, but I know you guys love it as you report back on it often.
- Coconut flour is a bit of a trickier one to sub as its more unique in its behavior, but still totally doable (as I found out in the naan recipe!). In fact, when yeast is involved, oat fiber had the best texture out of the lot, arguably as it is a grain. Oh, and the neat thing about oat fiber is that it’s virtually carb-less (I’m assuming there’s a trace, but labels read 3g carbs – 3g fiber = 0 net carbs!). Also keep in mind that brands vary a lot here and Lifesource seems to be the best (no weird aftertaste, etc).
- Xanthan gum is the trickiest of the lot to sub, because of its totally unique ability to act like a binder to replace gluten. Which means that for best results I suggest not trying to sub this one. Having said that, in case of allergies or sensitivity (or if paleo), you can use 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk powder instead. The dough won’t be a as malleable, but results will still be solid.
The Method
Couldn’t get any easier tbh! You simply whisk together the flours (very thoroughly!), add them to your food processor, add in a touch of apple cider vinegar (or any neutral tasting one), add in the egg and a touch of water. The dough will then come together into a ball, which you’ll wrap with plastic wrap and knead for a couple minutes (think sort of like a stress ball!).
No food processor? No worries! You can use your hand or stand mixer or even do it by hand with a little extra elbow grease. I don’t suggest using blenders though, as the dough is quite stiff and it could damage your engine.
Keto Dough With Yeast (!!)
I suggest checking out the naan post for full deets. You simply proof the yeast, pulse all the ingredients together in your food processor or in your stand/hand mixer, let the dough rest for thirty, roll it out and cook it up.
In terms of the cooking up, you can do either in the oven or on the stovetop. Both do require that you heat up a skillet (or pizza oven?!) so the naan gets a burst of heat and cooks rapidly.
Oh, and do feel free to play around with the thickness. Though keep in mind that, in my experience, thinner naan cooks best in the stovetop while thicker one in the oven (perhaps a no brainer?!).
Even though this low carb naan does employ the help of yeast (can’t beat the taste guys!), it doesn’t require all the fuss of say the sandwich bread or cinnamon rolls. So as long as you proof your yeast properly (read below), and you let it rest in a nice warm spot to develop the flavors you’ll be golden!
Top tips for proofing yeast: Mix 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 or honey) for 7 minutes until foamy. If you don’t see any activity, your yeast may’ve gone bad or your water temperature was off (so start over!). 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.
The Uses
A little proof that this dairy free keto dough is truly universal! Click through to get the full deets on each application:
- suuuper pliable tortillas
- crisp ‘n poofed tortilla chips (and nachos!)
- taco shells
- naan (with yeast!)
- deep dish pizza
- 15 minute stove-top pizza
- suuuper tender dumplings
- pasta (i.e. fried gnocchi)
- pillowy-soft ravioli (ricotta or three cheese!)
- 30-minute cinnamon roll knots
- hot pockets
Crazy Keto Dough (For Everything!)
Ingredients
- 96 g almond flour
- 24 g coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt depending on whether sweet or savory
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3-5 teaspoons water as needed
Instructions
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt to food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Note: you can alternatively whisk everything in a large bowl and use a hand or stand mixer for the following steps.
- Pour in apple cider vinegar with the food processor running. Once it has distributed evenly, pour in the egg. Followed by the water. Stop the food processor once the dough forms into a ball. The dough will be sticky to touch.
- Wrap dough in cling film and knead it through the plastic for a minute or two. Think of it a bit like a stress ball. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes (and up to 3-4 days in the fridge).
- No food processor? No worries! You can use your hand or stand mixer or even do it by hand with a little extra elbow grease. I don't suggest using blenders though, as the dough is quite stiff and it could damage your engine.
If cooking on the stove top (tortillas, naan)
- Heat up a skillet (preferably) or pan over medium heat. You can test the heat by sprinkling a few water droplets, if the drops evaporate immediately your pan is too hot. The droplets should ‘run’ through the skillet.
- Transfer to skillet and cook over medium heat for just 3-6 seconds (very important). Flip it over immediately (using a thin spatula or knife), and continue to cook until just lightly golden on each side (though with the traditional charred marks), 30 to 40 seconds. The key is not to overcook them, as they will no longer be pliable or puff up.
If baking (pizza, cinnamon rolls)
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a baking tray with a baking mat or parchment paper. If making pizza, you'll want to blind bake the crust without toppings until lightly golden (10-13 minutes). Add the toppings and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
If frying (pasta, ravioli)
- Heat up butter or oil in a skillet or pan over low heat. Cook pasta until it just begins to get some color, I found this gave the most 'al dente' texture (soft but with a bite). Feel free to make a test with one piece.
Notes
The Substitutes
I know you guys need to substitute often (allergies, preferences etc), so this should come in handy:- Almond flour can be substituted with sunflower seed flour on a 1-to-1 ratio. Given its similar fat and protein content to almond, this really is the best sub out there for those of you with nut allergies! Just note that its generally not ground as fine as almond and it has a different flavor profile, but I know you guys love it as you report back on it often.
- Coconut flour is a bit of a trickier one to sub as its more unique in its behavior, but still totally doable (as I found out in the naan recipe!). In fact, when yeast is involved, oat fiber had the best texture out of the lot, arguably as it is a grain. Oh, and the neat thing about oat fiber is that it’s virtually carb-less (I’m assuming there’s a trace, but labels read 3g carbs – 3g fiber = 0 net carbs!). Also keep in mind that brands vary a lot here and Lifesource seems to be the best (no weird aftertaste, etc).
- Xanthan gum is the trickiest of the lot to sub, because of its totally unique ability to act like a binder to replace gluten. Which means that for best results I suggest not trying to sub this one. Having said that, in case of allergies or sensitivity (or if paleo), you can use 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk powder instead. The dough won't be a as malleable, but results will still be solid.
Nutrition
and some food (for thought) 👁️
a newsletter about functional food to nourish, create and evolve.
(p.s. we don’t talk about fight club 🪄 )
xo! Paola
Would I be able to freeze pre-made dough balls?
So my husband wanted to go on the keto diet. I have celiac disease and have eaten alternate breads for close to 20 years. This is one of the few that I’ve tried that actually has a chew to it. I had given up on breads because of sodium levels around 800-1800mg per serving.
I agreed to go on the keto diet with my husband because I don’t have to worry about contaminating myself with gluten on keto. 🙂 I’ve had fun trying many new recipes.
Could i substitute the Xanthame Gum with egg whites?
would it work?
This dough was absolutely amazing!!! It provided the crunch that seriously lacks in some “kinda good” keto pizza’s. I can’t wait to play around with the recipe a little and incorporate some herbs & spices. cannot wait to try some other recipes that incorporate this miracle dough!! Thank you so much ☺️
Awesome to hear Corinne! Enjoy!
PS Gnom Gnom was tagged on IG with the pics showing the final product! Thanks again ☺️
Where are the video links?? Sorry if I missed something obvious!
My son is on a very strict 3.1 ratio Keto diet for epilepsy. What can I do to increase the fat in the dough or decrease the protein/carbs without ruining the dough too much? Thank you!
Probably nothing with the actual dough, but you could add approved fat to however you use the dough.
Do you think you can pre-mix the dry ingredients and store them in an airtight manner so that you can just add the apple cider vinegar, egg and water? Has anyone tried this? Maybe even pre-mix enough for a dozen or so batches and weigh out (in my case 131 gm, which is the resultant weight of the dry ingredients mixed today) when ready to whip up a batch….
Yeah def! I do that 😉 xo!
I was making some zucchini ravioli today and I had come across the crazy keto dough recipe before so I decided to try it out with the same filling as my zucchini ravioli (ricotta, basil, garlic, parm) and used half of the dough to make your ham and cheese hot pockets. I’m so impressed with this dough! It’s so elasticy and I was able to roll it super thin between parchment paper very easily. I made 5 big ravioli and 2 hot pockets. Turned out great! I followed the recipe exactly (without a scale as best I could) and only needed 1.5 tablespoons of water to make the dough come together and it was perfect. One of the corners of my hot pocket was nice and crispy and made me think I should make crackers out of it! I don’t *love* the taste of the dough on its own without a lot of flavors to cover it up, which is why the ravioli was a bit more successful for me but considering it’s low carb, pretty incredible. Thanks for all you do!
Hi Paola, you are my favourite and trusted Keto cook, I love the sub options given my multiple sensitivities. Is there a particular kitchen scale you can recommend for weighing ingredients? I think I’m ready to take the leap and try something new:)
Have you experimented with boiling this dough? Craving dumplings and pierogi but every recipe turns into mush when boiled …
THIS DOUGH IS EVERYTHING!!!!!!
I made Crab Rangoons with them last night and my husband cannot stop thinking about them!!! Next he wants me to try to make Pigs in a Blanket using the same dough!
I will HAVE to try them as chips next. THANK YOU SO MUCH, PAOLA!!!!!!!!!
Oh my, I never ever send comments on anything !
But this keto crazy dough is lovely. I made the dough and only had ground almonds….i made the garlic twists – with a twist. I sprinkled a lot of fresh parmesan cheese before I baked them. I made the marinara too !! WOW both recipes are wonderful. Thank you so much xxx❤❤
This will be the first (!) time that I make Keto Dough – and the first time I’ve used almond flour. I found the Anthony’s almond flour online…but they distinguish between blanched or unblanched. Does it matter which one?
Def! Get the blanched 😉
Serving size? NVM went back, reread saw.
I can’t find serving size, unless you’re talking about 8 servings per recipe. Help.
I think I know what Heidi means is in the nutrition label there is no mention of serving size.
Serving size?
If I was to make a noodle for Phö, can I boil the dough instead of frying/baking?
Hi Paula! Thanks for the recipe. Would this dough freeze well? Also, what is the serving size for the nutrition facts you listed? Thanks again!
PaOla! Stupid autocorrect.
Wow !
Just made the dough for garlic bread sticks and tiny cinnamon rolls.
Thank you.
Loved them both.
Best dough recipe I’ve tried.
Will use for pizza next time instead of fathead.
I’m trying this recipe this weekend. Please let this be good! I have had SO many Pinterest fails I want to choke myself! You could be my hero soon! Fingers crossed.
I love our recipes for dough. Have not found any better on the web.
One question. If you wanted to make a large batch of the dry ingredients to keep in the pantry and add wet ingredients when you make the dough, how much would you measure out?
Sorry, Your recipes for dough. LOL
I love how easy this dough is to make! And it tastes great too! I made the cinnamon knots for my kids and they said I am the best mom ever.
Can’t wait to try it in other applications, and with sunflower seed flower, so my husband can enjoy it as well.
What is the serving size of this recipe? Thank you!
Could I put together bulk batches of the mixed dry ingredients to have available and add the wet ingredients when I want to make something?
Hi…what size of pan would you suggest for the pizza base?
I’ve already been using this as my go to keto dough! We love it. I just made pizza with it last night. Thank you!
Is the carb count for the bread above for the whole recipe?
just made the cinnamon twists, there is NONE left, everyone in house ate it up and bragged how great they were, and I am the ONLY keto eater in the house haha 😉 BEST dough recipe I have found on net ANYWHERE, Thank you hugely 😉 I’m going to try it for the pizza this weekend too !!
Lol Stacey that’s just super awesome to hear! Always best reviews when non keto peeps enjoy ;)!!!
Hi!
I want to make the yeasted naan using the master recipe above, but when I click through to the naan recipe you linked the recipe is different So, can I use this recipe and simply add the proofed yeast? Does the naan puff up?
Also, I’m looking for a puffy dough to cover beef hot dogs and for baked dogs in a blanket. I would use a yeasted dough, but it needs to be puffy. Would this naan recipe work?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Vickilynn! The naan recipe is actually exactly the same, expect that I suggest you guys use oat fiber instead of coconut so it puffs up more (measurements are EXACTLY the same ;)!). Also, don’t expect grain free breads to puff up as wheat ones (because well, no gluten!). xo!
Is oat fiber the same as ground up oats? I am a newbie. After a month of being low carb and panicking, your website gives me hope! Thank you. I see that I can have my favorites, just made differently.
I have a tart pan, and can’t wait to make pizza!!! MWAH!
It’s a different ingredient! Xo!
Hi, is there a good substitute for egg? I usually use flax meal or chia seeds. Thanks.
Tbh I haven’t found a perfect sub Aarati… I know that some readers have reported back numerous times on the tortilla post using chia eggs (I tried and while it does work, it does come out more dense… still good just not perfect?). xo!
I used 1/2 tbsp psyllium mixed with 3-4 tbsp of water and a little oil when I had no eggs one day, and it worked well! I noticed a small difference in the texture, and it was just slightly more difficult to roll out, but the one I was cooking for never noticed any difference. The oil helps to replace the fat in the egg and makes it less dry in the end.
This sounds great- thank you fir sharing!
Hi Eva,
How much oil did you add? I am super curious. I can have the egg whites, but not the yolk. Just wondering if I could add the egg whites with the oil, I just have no clue of how much oil to start with. Thanks!
Aquafaba perhaps?
Can I omit the vinegar? I’m not allowed anything acidic. What purpose does the vinegar have in the recipe? Thanks
HI Pam, in soda and similar bread types the vinegar activates the baking powder giving it the rise, in some other recipes buttermilk or maybe greek yoghurt could be used due to their natural acidity but I don’t know how much or if you are OK with these.
Would love it if you could come up with a recipe for non fathead soft pretzels. The dough would have to be firm enough to shape into pretzel form. Thanks.
Hi Paola!
Could I substitute acacia fiber for the psyllium husks?
Hi Kellie! Tbh I even had to search what acacia fiber is (so I have no idea!). But thank you for introducing me to another ingredient, love testing! xo!