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.
I found that the dough stuck to the wax paper pretty badly, there were a couple of tortillas I couldn’t peel off. Any advice on that? thanks, great recipe!
I’m hesitating to make the recipe because it seems to be missing an ingredient (yeast, what type and how much). Please?
Please 🙏 give the amount of yeast that was in your old recipe for Naan!
Sorry if I must say that I like to boil my pasta in boiling water first, I don’t know about frying this dough? Please reply wth your opinion. Thankyou.
I made cinnamon knots with the dough last weekend. It was very easy to make and was eaten up right away with requests from my family to make again.
Hello Paola,
I wanted to try your Naan with yeast, but the recipe for Naan which is linked above, does not have yeast in it. Please confirm for yourself. Could you please provide a link to the recipe which uses yeast? Thank you,
Vinegar allergy (yeast), and mold allergy. So wondering if I can omit the vinegar and xantham gum?
It seems that “yeast” has somehow been deleted from the ingredient list… how much yeast???
This is truly the most amazing dough! I’ve made it three times now – I just mix it by hand and it comes together very easily. I’ve made sausage rolls in the normal oven, pizza pockets in the air fryer and gozleme in a frypan. Soo good when you are sick of fat head dough – and it’s a lot cheaper It is actually rather “bready” well done and thankyou for this!
I haven’t tried this yet but the reviews I think say it all. I do have a question…can this be dehydrated like regular pasta or can you only make as you need it?
I suggest that you are using xanthan gum wrong: Because it is called a “gum”, people think it gels like cooked starch or agar or wheat gluten. But, xanthan gum, while it is a good thickener, does not gel, per se, by itself…which is why you need so much in a small batch to replace stretchy gluten.
What you should use is 1/4 as much as you suggest (1/2 teaspoon) plus an equal amount of guar gum. This also is only a thickener by itself. BUT, used together with xanthan gum, there is a synergistic action and the result is an elastic gel. Alternatively, a hydrocolloid that forms a good gel by itself (without needing cooking for the gelling to occur) is glucomannan (konjac) powder, which also does not require cooking to form a gel. Probably 1 tsp (certainly no more than 2 tsp) would be adequate in this size recipe.
BTW, an alternative to eggs, flax eggs or expensive “vegan eggs”, when a recipe only calls for 1-2 eggs, is Aquafaba…the liquid from canned chick peas…using 3T per egg being replaced.
Just a quick replay to your comment that “oat fiber is a grain”. Hardy so! It is the outer husk of the grain that is ground to a powder, and has no actual grain component in it . One might as well grind up the stem of the plant….whereas oat flour is the actual ground grain, high in carbs, fat & the beta-glucan that makes oatmeal “slimy”. Oat fiber is pure fiber.
My son and I are gluten free and he loves gnocchi, I buy it from the store and just boil it till it floats he loves how soft and pillowy it is. With this recipe can I boil it?
I would like to know this as well!
Is there a way to turn this dough into puff pastry? I would love to make pain au chocolat!
In case anyone was thinking you might “roll” with a pasta machine, it is not structurally suited to that. Was able to make ravioli but had to use a rolling pin and it was easy to fragment the dough. I made a double batch so I could also made some ‘gnocchi’ from some and a large flat piece to try as a tortilla or flat pizza, just to test the ideas.
Fried ravioli and gnocchi were okay but more like fried bread than pasta. I think it will be good for pizza but will not try it again as a “pasta”.
I tried this last night, and it is AMAZING! Thank you so much! I’m curious, though – what is the purpose of the vinegar in the recipe? Does it perform a chemical function (like helping with the rise), or does it just add complexity of flavor? Might another acid (citric acid powder, or lemon juice) also work? ( I don’t NEED to substitute it – I’m just curious : ) Thank you so much!