I continue to try to improve the Oopsie-style sandwich buns. My forays into using whey protein powder in the original Oopsie recipe dried them out a bit and made them crumbly. This time I tried adding a bit of egg white protein and some crushed pork rind “flour”, a bit of glucomannan powder and eliminated the cream cheese totally. The egg white protein idea I got from a bun recipe I saw over on Maria Emmerich’s blog, seen here: http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/eggs-benedict-on-protein-bun-and-athletes/. Thank you for that idea, Maria. I think I will use a little less egg white protein next batch in an attempt to make them a bit less chewy. This adventure makes me want to try pea protein in these buns next time, which I have on hand. 🙂 I know some folks having some amazing results baking with pea protein. So many types of protein to try; so little time. 🙂 Lynne Daniel at the Duke University Low Carb Support Group put me on to the idea of pork rinds in them. Thanks, Lynne.

Definitely this is an improvement. They are sturdier, even chewy, without the slightest interior “egg-white wetness” the original recipe always had. I could definitely eat a hamburger or cold cut sandwich on these. I see some sweet applications for these in my future, too. 🙂 The texture is somewhat like angel food cake to me, drier and somewhat chewier then the original Oopsie recipe, which I always found to be a little wet inside. Best of all, these only have .51 net carbs, as the recipe makes nine 3-4″ buns! Oh, and these toast pretty nicely for butter or your favorite jams, but be warned, set your toaster low, as they are inclined to burn around the edges. Keep an eye on them as they toast. 🙂 They tend to still get damp on the tops in the refrigerator, but I’m working on improving that issue next. Perhaps a pinch of psyllium will stop that sticky top problem under fridge storage.

These are suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto, and Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

5 eggs separated

½ tsp. cream of tartar

½ c. pure egg white protein (No substitutions. Some grocers carry in the baking aisle. I order on-line)

¼ tsp. glucomannan powder (pure fiber from the konjac tuber)

2 T. melted butter

3 T. (½ oz.) finely crushed pork rinds

DIRECTIONS: Grease, line with parchment or cover 2 cookie sheets with silicone sheets. Preheat oven to 350º.

Melt the butter. Separate the eggs into two immaculately clean medium mixing bowls. Add the crushed pork rind flour to the yolks. Add the melted butter and glucomannan. Whisk together and let sit to swell/soak up moisture. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the egg whites and with an electric mixer, beat them to the stiff peak stage. Slowly sprinkle the egg white protein over the egg whites once they are stiff, continuing to run the mixer while you add them. When all the egg white protein is incorporated, stop the mixer.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape the yolk mixture over the egg white mixture evenly and slowly, very gently fold the two mixtures together until they are well blended. Do not stir roughly like cake batter or you will deflate the egg whites. Using a ½ cup measuring cup, scoop the batter onto the baking sheets (they don’t spread much) and gently shape them round. TIP: You have to use your finger to get all that batter out of the cup so they will all be uniform in size. Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for 17-18 minutes. Turn off oven and let them stay in there (DOOR CLOSED!) for a few minutes to begin to cool down. Remove and finish cooling. I found the crust on these “powdery” and off-putting when right out of the oven. But once they were totally cool and I bagged them up for an hour, the crust developed into a nice chewy crust. They did NOT get sticky and stick to each other in the bag like the original Oopsie rolls always did. Yaaaaay. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes nine 3-4″ buns, each contains: (size depends on how much you spread the batter on the pan)

88 calories

5.81 g fat,

.57 g carbs, .06 g fiber, .51 g NET CARBS

4.48 g protein

124 mg sodium