This keto three cheese blackberry focaccia is a summer must! Layers of ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella meet caramelized onions and sweet summer blackberries in this stellar gluten free and low carb focaccia.

Keto Three-Cheese Blackberry Focaccia ☁

Extra Fluffy ‘N Crazy Good!

The burst of flavors in this keto summer main are honestly surprising, most definitely making it a personal favorite when summer comes around! And it’s pairing with our staple keto focaccia really is one of the best combos of toppings-to-base I’ve yet to try.

The keto focaccia base is soft, chewy and with a killer taste (i.e. no eggy business here!). Plus, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to whip up! Just do check out the video for tips ‘n tricks.

And the topping combo is a-mazing stuff (cannot say this enough!). I’ve been whipping this focaccia/pizza situation for nearly a decade, and it never gets old.

Solid proof that blackberries ain’t just for dessert!

The Deets 🔍

Making this low carb and keto focaccia is incredibly simple really. But, like with any yeasted bread, it does require you take care of a few details to ensure the best possible outcome.

And the one thing to keep in mind is that your focaccia will likely fall somewhat post bake, blame it on the lack of starch (keto flours are notoriously heavy and moist) and certain missing proteins (think gluten). But adding things such as whey protein and more psyllium or flax meal altered the taste quite unfavorably here. So we sacrificed some rise for the sake of taste, which we’re sure you won’t object to!

Also, given the grain free flours love to hold onto moisture, you’ll find that the exterior is not quite crispy. But if that’s your thing, simply give the slices a light toast post-bake. Though personally we didn’t find that necessary.

Please ignore the fact that I totally forgot to take pics of the before/after rise (#foodbloggerfail!). But use the focaccia as reference (same base, no toppings).

before rise

after rise

after blind bake

The Method 🔍

The yeast in this keto focaccia ensures a wonderful texture and taste. Now, how much your focaccia will rise (and fall!) post-bake depends quite a bit on your altitude. But note that you still won’t get that gummy and wet texture here of most low carb breads. Plus, we’re baking at over 7,000 feet (Mexico City here!!), so if we can make this keto focaccia work so can you.

Weigh your ingredients. This will forever be a staple recommendation for any sort of gluten free baking here at gnom-gnom. As aside from leading to less dirty dishes, it will ensure consistent results time and time again. Remember that gluten free (and particularly keto) baking is notoriously finicky, and measuring by cups is anything but accurate. And if you don’t own a baking scale, measure with cups by dropping the ingredients onto them rather than scooping them out (which often leads to overpacking).

Ingredients at room temperature. Self explanatory really, but incredibly important (particularly for the eggs). If you add cold eggs to the mix your focaccia simply won’t rise much (if at all).

Proof the yeast. This involves mixing dry active yeast with water that’s justwarm to touch (between 105-110°F to be precise) and maple syrup or honey for 7 minutes until foamy. 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 at all. And yes, this is a scientific fact.

Avoid abrupt temperature changes and air drafts. Like with any yeast bread, you need to cuddle your dough. Make sure it’s able to rest undisturbed in a warm space.

Baking at high altitude? Yup, so am I (Paola here!!). I’ve tried quite a few combinations, and the one modification I will suggest is to increase your oven temperature by 25°F. You may also need to decrease the baking time by 5 minutes, but that may change from oven to oven. I’ve made this focaccia also at sea level and it does fall a bit less post bake, but it’s still killer even if it falls a bit so don’t sweat it much.

The Flours

We like a mixture of super fine almond flour, psyllium husk and xanthan gum best. But if paleo, substituting the xanthan gum for twice the amount of flax seed meal yielded good results too, though slightly denser.

As previously mentioned, for the rise you’ll want active dry yeast and a touch of baking powder.

In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds. And for the psyllium husk you’ll want to use the NOW brand, as others may stain your keto focaccia purple.