Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  Sorry for not posting sooner, I barely seem to have time to blink at the moment, let alone blog.  Cutting dairy, egg and peanuts out of my diet didn't alleviate Ash's symptoms.  We went back to the hospital last week and were told that the blood tests had shown that he was anaemic, deficient in Vitamin D and also allergic to soya and wheat.  He was barely allergic to wheat so the hope was that he would tip into tolerance, which is apparently common for babies his age.  He didn't. He had an episode of swelling round his mouth after eating a piece of bread and now wheat has been removed from his diet too.  I'm truly hoping that it is the last piece of the puzzle and that the intense itching, eczema, diarrhoea and general unsettled behaviour he displays fade away.

So... To recap, he can't have dairy, eggs, soya, wheat and nuts.  And his twin brother can.  Cooking under these restrictions is so difficult.  I'm constantly terrified of cross contamination.  I've just finished making gluten free bread with Orgran no egg and oat milk.  I've been told that Ash should be able to handle other grains.  I certainly hope so because there is oat and barley in the bread.  I don't really have any choice but to make the bread myself because I can't find any gluten free bread on the shelves that doesn't contain egg.  Plus gluten free is not the same as wheat free and the whole thing is very confusing.  This is what the "bread" looks like at the moment:

Not very inspiring, is it?  I feel like I should write "bread" instead of bread.  You don't knead it, which is different but certainly saves some time.  I have to leave it an hour to rise.  Whatever I think of it, the important thing is that if Ash likes it then that is all that matters.  I'll be looking hard for tips and recipes to improve the taste and texture.  I've made this from the Doves Farm white bread mix.

I'll update later to let you know how it turns out.

Update

Yeah... hmm.  Well, it smells fairly strongly of vinegar but quite nice although it's very flat.  I followed the instructions carefully, used the right bread tin size, and it doubled in size at least over the hour I left it but... not much good for sandwiches.  If memory serves, the gluten free loaves in the supermarket never look particularly big but certainly not this flat.  More research needed.