b is for bread.

Given that one of the very first patterns I ever tackled was an apron, you might assume that we are cooking household. Sadly, you would be wrong. Although I really love to bake, it doesn't happen often. Last month though, we went through a major dietary shake up as we finally tracked down the source of Craig's chronic eczema and scratching.



It doesn't look like much, but it's our first loaf of bread for Craig since he's started his exclusion diet. The poor guy is now on a gluten-free, maize-free, dairy-free, soy-free, sunflower-free, nut-free (except walnuts!), carrot-free, lambs lettuce-free, onion-free, honey-free, egg-free diet. The guy is intolerant of watermelon too. Watermelon?!

We made this loaf by hand without the aid of a mixer or an electric beater. Shopping was exciting as I learned about besan flour, arrowroot, tapioca starch and egg replacer. We had a bit of a gastro-chemistry lesson as we mixed our flour blend and added gelatine, yeast and sugar. We measured. We whisked. We baked.

We've found salvation in The Multi-Allergy Cookbook by Lola Workman and thanks to some wonderful suggestions by the ladies in The Craftroom. Earlier this week, we made passable pancakes and decent banana muffins. Today, we've managed bread and dinner rolls. We've stocked up on tamarind to season stirfries as a tip from Alison. We've bought a bucket of golden syrup thanks to Suzanne.

It's all systems cook in our house now, and I'm highly motivated. Almost motivated enough to finish the apron that still stabs me in tit.