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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

What type of bread

11 replies

DeeDee3210 · 20/12/2019 14:18

Hi, my beautiful baby boy will be 8 months soon and I was wondering what bread should I be feeding him? I am worried about salt content as well as making sure he is getting the right nutrients from bread too. Many thanks

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sleepismysuperpower1 · 20/12/2019 14:49

i gave wholemeal bread as that is what Annabel Karmel recommended

spurlingpipe · 20/12/2019 15:05

I've always given my lot 50/50 but I doubt it makes much difference what you give them.

Bread's not a particularly nutritious food in any form

If you're worried about salt and sugar content and you've got the time home made might be a good option.

lifeisgoodagain · 20/12/2019 15:07

Wholemeal is best (and best for adults too)

sleepismysuperpower1 · 20/12/2019 15:09

agree with PP also, if you have the time then homemade bread is great. you can use a breadmaker or do it by hand

DeeDee3210 · 20/12/2019 18:52

Thank you for your replies. I would love to make homemade but I am struggling to find time as baby doesn't sleep long in his cot at all. And when he is awake doesn't like being put into bouncer, rocker, or high chair or on playmat so I'm carrying him most of the time! I read somewhere that wholemeal doesn't digest as well? Many thanks

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LeGrandBleu · 23/12/2019 06:59

Most "wholemeal" bread on the shelves in supermarket are not made with wholemeal flour but normal white flour - which is labelled on packets as "wheat flour" and bran, and usually gluten and other highly transformed ingredients. If it doesn't say wholemeal flour as the first ingredient, then it is not a true wholemeal bread.

Highly transformed bread is soft, and you could play volleyball with it without hurting your wrist. True authentic bread, from an artisanal bakery, be it white or wholemeal, is a lot harder and perfect for small children. It is the long list of added ingredients in the industrial bread that is not good.

Making your own bread isn't hard and doesn't take long. Buy wholemeal wheat or wholemeal spelt flour, and used the ration 2:1, so 500 gr flour for 250 ml of lukewarm water, no salt, no sugar except 1/2 teaspoon in the fresh yeast if using fresh, no need if using powdered yeast, 2 table spoons extra virgin live oil , mix well and work with the ball of your palm for 5 min, stretching the dough and making a ball again. Using a sharp knife make holes on top or crisscross letting the top, cover with a wet (hot water) tea towel and leave in the hottest place of your house for 2 hours until doubled in size. Place in 210 degree oven until cooked roughly 30 min depending on the shape you gave your bread.

You need the oil for elasticity and to add a bit of softness, but hard bread is good for toddler's gums and tummy bacterias.

It is not hard, it takes practice but the basic recipe is very very simple.

sleepismysuperpower1 · 23/12/2019 09:50

have you tried carrying him in a sling? it would free up your hands without having to put him down

modgepodge · 23/12/2019 10:00

I’m sure at our Health visitor talk they recommended white, not whole meal, bread for babies. I can’t remember the reason but I think it was the fibre content in wholemeal is too high for babies and it can fill them up for very few calories, meaning they don’t take in enough milk/other food to get the nutrition they need. But others here recommending wholemeal so perhaps I’ve got that wrong??

I just buy white sliced bread - salt content is approx 0.3-0.5g per slice, babies are supposed to have less than 1g per day and mine is not eating anywhere near a full slice yet so I can’t worry too much.

If you do want to make your own bread, I’d highly recommend a bread maker. I consider making dough by hand a right faff (not hard, but time consuming with waiting around letting it prove etc) - in a bread maker it takes less than 5 mins to weigh out the ingredients then 3-4 hours later there’s bread. THat said, all the recipes I’ve seen do have some sugar in (to feed the yeast) and some salt (I think to stop the yeast going crazy - scientific term!) not tried making it without but maybe it would work 🤷‍♀️

DeeDee3210 · 23/12/2019 20:58

Thank you for your replies (and recipe!)

50sleepismysuperpower1- yes tried sling, carrier and he just disliked both. He is such a curious little man , he wants to be carried and taken around, and wants to look in all the cupboards! It's so cute.

Bread maker sounds good however I am running out of worktop space as it's got all baby things but I will definitely have a look into even if it means keep taking it in and out of cupboard when using. Oh, il have to find cupboard space too!

Appreciate everyone's replies- many thanks xx

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LeGrandBleu · 24/12/2019 06:11

When my DC were young and I was cooking, I would just put them in their high chair and have it next to me with the tray turned towards the kitchen counter so they could see what I was doing and more often than not, I would give them some plastic cooking tools and they would play with them while I was cooking.

Have you tried putting him in his chair with a measuring cup or two ( so he can try putting the small one in the big one) or a whisker or the toy rolling pin .
Kids don't like to be ignored and they like to take part in whatever is happening. Looking at your legs is far less interesting than looking at you transforming ingredients .

It is also a good habit to let them watch you prepare soup or other vegetables into food. Give him a celery stick while you are cutting the celery or a whole leek / a whole kale leaf while cutting another and so on.

DeeDee3210 · 26/12/2019 22:57

Thank you for the tips x

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