Tahini toast fingers

Name: Tahini toast fingers
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 baby portion (3–4 fingers)
Ingredients: 1 slice plain bread; ½ tsp tahini; ½–1 tsp water, breast milk or formula

Lightly toasted bread fingers with a very thin layer of thinned tahini, a simple way to offer sesame. Contains wheat and sesame: sesame should be the only new food, so offer toast on its own first. Once your baby has had sesame without a reaction, keep it in their diet regularly.

From: 6 months
Time: 5 min
Makes: 1 baby portion (3–4 fingers)

Contains sesameContains wheat

Ingredients

1 sliceplain breada lower-salt loaf with no sesame, whole seeds, nut pieces or whole grain kernels (check the label, see step 1). Any milk, soy or egg in the loaf should already have been introduced on its own, so tahini is the only new allergen
½ tsptahinimade from sesame only, with no added salt or sugar
½–1 tspwater, breast milk or formulato thin the tahini

Steps

1Wash your hands. Check the bread label: some loaves are made with honey, which babies shouldn't have before 12 months, and some contain sesame. Stir the tahini in its jar to mix in any oil that has separated.
2In a small bowl, stir ½ teaspoon of tahini with a little water, breast milk or formula until it's smooth and runny.
3Toast the bread lightly, until pale golden rather than dark brown. Let it cool a little.
4Spread a very thin layer of the thinned tahini over the toast. You should be able to see the bread through it. Scrape off any thick patches.
5Cut the toast into fingers about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in). Press one between your thumb and finger: it should hold its shape but feel soft inside, not snap like a cracker.

How to serve it by age

6 months+

Pick a day your baby is well, at home, when you can watch them for a couple of hours afterward. Start small: about ½ teaspoon of tahini spread across 3 or 4 fingers. Only offer this once your baby has had plain toast without a reaction. If there's no reaction, offer more next time.

9 months+

Cut the toast into pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) for pincer-grasp practice, or keep offering fingers. Keep the tahini layer thin.

12 months+

Serve tahini toast fingers or bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) with breakfast or lunch. Still no spoonfuls of thick tahini, and no whole sesame seeds sprinkled on top.

Where US and UK guidance differ on this recipe

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Sesame is one of the 9 major US allergens. The AAP says to introduce it like other allergens and lists sesame tahini among the nut and seed butters to keep in the diet once tolerated. If your baby has severe, persistent eczema or has had an allergic reaction to a food, talk to your pediatrician first about how and when.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS lists sesame among foods that can trigger allergy and says to serve seeds finely ground, so tahini is a good form. Talk to your GP or health visitor first if your baby has eczema or a food allergy, or there's a family history of food allergies, eczema, asthma or hay fever.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

If your baby reacts

This recipe contains sesame, wheat. Introduce one new allergen at a time, mixed into a food your baby already eats, before serving it in a dish with other new foods. Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if you notice mild signs after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Leftovers and the rest of the family

Storing it

Best made fresh, just before serving: toast goes hard as it sits. Keep the tahini jar closed and store it as the label directs. Throw away anything left in your baby's bowl. Don't leave the toast at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F (32°C).