Cloud Bread (Egg White Bread)
Cloud bread is not really bread — it is a whipped egg white and cream cheese round that bakes into something light, slightly crispy on the outside, and soft inside. Zero flour, zero gluten, near-zero carbs without the honey. Popular on keto and low-carb diets as a bun substitute, but also works as a base for mini pizzas, a light breakfast with berries, or a soup accompaniment. The technique is the whole recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbspfull-fat cream cheese
- ¼ tspcream of tartar
- 1 tbsphoney or sugar
- 1 pinchsalt
Method
- Prepare equipment. Preheat the oven to 150 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wipe the mixing bowl and whisk with lemon juice or white vinegar to remove any trace of fat — even a small amount will prevent the egg whites from whipping properly.
- Separate the eggs. Separate the egg yolks from the whites carefully, ideally over a separate bowl. Any yolk in the whites will break the foam. Place whites in the clean wiped bowl, yolks in another.
- Whip the whites. Add the salt and cream of tartar to the whites. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form: the mixture holds its shape when the bowl is inverted and the peaks do not curl. This takes 3 to 4 minutes with a hand mixer.
- Mix the yolk base. In the second bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the cream cheese at room temperature and the honey until completely smooth with no lumps. The cream cheese must be soft: cold cream cheese will leave lumps that cannot be mixed out.
- Fold together. Add the yolk mixture to the whites in three additions, folding gently with a spatula using a bottom-to-top motion. Do not stir in circles. Count approximately 20 to 25 folds total — stop while there are still faint streaks of yellow. Overmixing deflates the foam.
- Shape and bake. Spoon the mixture onto the parchment in 6 even rounds, roughly 10 cm in diameter. Slightly flatten each one with the back of the spoon. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the tops are pale golden and firm to a light touch. Leave to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving — they are fragile when hot.
FAQ
Yes, cloud bread is one of the most popular flour-free bread substitutes on ketogenic and low-carb diets. The base recipe without honey contains virtually zero carbohydrates: only eggs and cream cheese. With honey or sugar, small amounts of carbohydrates appear. For strict keto, replace the honey with a granulated erythritol or skip sweetener entirely. The texture and taste are not identical to wheat bread — it is lighter and more egg-forward — but it works well as a burger bun substitute or a base for open sandwiches.
Rate this
Keep browsing
More dishes from the American archive — picked by overlap with what you're cooking now.
Join the conversation
Comments
No comments yet — be the first!