Carbquik
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The Product
Carbquik is a bisquik analog produced by Tova Industries based in Louisville, Kentucky. Their business is in custom formulation, product matching, and wet/dry conversion, largely of foodstuffs. A list of their services is available on their website.
Carbquik, itself, is Carbalose flour, a form of wheat flour.
Carbalose™ is made through a unique process and contains Enzyme-Modified Wheat, as well as Plant fiber, Wheat protein and some unique conditioners, enzymes and emulsifiers. Carbalose™ does not contain any soy protein, sugar-alcohols, dairy, animal-originated, trans-fatty, or saturated fat products. Upon request, it is also available soy-free.
Carbquik is not gluten free.
Composition
Ingredients: Carbolose flour (enzyme enriched wheat, vital wheat gluten, wheat fiber, high-protein patent wheat flour, vegetable fiber, canola oil, salt, dextrose, emulsifiers, enzymes, ascorbic acid, sucralose, calcium propionate), palm and palm-kernel oil, buttermilk powder, baking powder, egg white powder, lecithin, salt, natural flavors.
Enzyme enriched wheat is, according to some another name for hydrolyzed wheat protein. Gluten is more wheat protein. High Protein patent wheat flour is just a variety of commonly available wheat flour (for examples of common flours, Bay State Milling has a product page with descriptions of typical use and benefits).
Sucralose is sometimes sold under the brand Splenda, and the dextrose content could just be the bulker content of the solid form of the granulated Splenda product.
Ascorbic acid is better known as vitamin C.
Calcium propionate is a naturally occurring bacterial and mold growth inhibitor which occurs in Cheese and Butter.
The remaining ingredients, aside from the flour, are similar, though not identical to bisquik (which contains hydrogenated vegetable oil, salt, and baking powder). The chief difference is the inclusion of egg protein and buttermilk.
Flavor and Texture Differences
Because the composition of the flour has a higher proportion of fiber and protein, Carbquik typically does not taste as sweet as wheat flour. It is harder, and has a noticeable roughness when used in items such as pancakes which, when made with flour, have a smoother texture. When used in items such as hard cookies or crisp breads, this is not noticeable.
Carbquik can have a noticeable aftertaste, most likely due to the sucralose and buttermilk. It is not unpleasant, and is easily masked if mixed with other ingredients.
In most respects, Carbquik behaves identically to wheat flour, however it does not hold together quite as easily.
It is harder to overcook carbalose flour than typical white flour (and thus easier to overcook a dough or mixture while waiting for the carbalose flour to behave as expected), and as a result is can be difficult to judge when a recipe is 'done' based on the firmness of the dough. In some cases, it is better to undercook a typical recipe (for instance, brownies), and allow the carbquik to sit out until it dries somewhat.
Recommendations
Carbquik is suitable replacement for most recipes that call for wheat. It is ideal for breading on porkchops or as filler for meatballs, where the flavor of wheat is desired, without it carrying the flavor of the food on its own.
Carbquick works well for thin pizza crusts or toasted bread, where it provides the texture of toasted wheat.
When making a baked good such as a dessert or pizza, combination with almond flour or coconut flour can lessen the noticeable texture difference between carbquik and typical white flours. In recipes that call for eggs and dairy, carbquik will usually require more of either or both to get the expected texture and consistency. Xanthan gum can also serve to restore some of qualities of regular flour.
Carb Content
Tova Industries claims to have sent Carbalose flour samples to Microbac Laboratories and Silliker Laboratories for independent verification.
However, there is not a particular mystery, here, in terms of the reason for the low net carb count. The vast majority of carbalose flour is insoluble fiber with some additional wheat protein to simulate as much of the flavor of wheat as possible without including the carbs. It is listed on the label as wheat and vegetable fiber.
Presumably to try to preserve some of the naturally sweet taste of wheat, they have included sucralose for flavor.
In this way, Carbalose flour is comparable to Flax meal, with the possibly important exception that it contains significant amounts of gluten.