Low Iodine: Bread, no circus

My thyroid doctor always sends a helpful list of forbidden foods with my appointment list and instructions for the radioactive iodine scan, and it very confusingly says that fresh bread from the bakery is OK, despite the fact that fresh bread from the bakery often contains salt of unknown provenance, and/or dairy of some kind. In the past I've made my own pita & foccacia, and purchased salt- and dairy-free bread from Trader Joe's. This time, I've opted to bake my own loaves using the no knead bread popularized by Mark Bittman in the New York Times. Friends had been raving about how easy this bread is to make, and how good the results are, for years but I dismissed even this simple recipe as too complicated for my already maximally complicated life.

Well, it really is that easy. The instructions: Flour, instant yeast, kosher salt, and water get dumped in a bowl, mixed together, covered and left to sit on the counter for 12-18 hours. After that time, the results are dumped on a floured board, folded over a couple of times, rested for 15 minutes, then shaped into a ball and left to sit for another two. Preheat a dutch oven at 450 for 30 minutes, throw the bread in, and bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 30 more.

That's it. The result isn't the best bread you've ever tasted, but it's a reasonable facsimile. I mix the dough before I go to bed, knock it down when I get home from work the next day, then bake it after dinner. It's great toasted and brushed with good olive oil, kosher salt & garlic powder, or straight up with some homemade jam and unsalted peanut butter. I'll probably continue baking it even after the low-iodine diet is done.

Low Iodine: The Night Before

Low-iodine diets starts tomorrow, in preparation for the radioactive iodine whole-body scan on September 14th. I've been cleaning out the fridge/cabinets of stuff I can't eat, and will be shopping for lots of good tomatoes, peaches, corn, and other summer delights. To review, here's a list of what I can't eat for a month:

iodized salt or sea salt
Dairy products (milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream, cheese)
Vitamins (most multis add iodine)
Food and meds that contain Red dye FD&C #3
Egg yolks, whole eggs, or food containing them
Seafood (fish, shellfish, molluscs, seaweed, kelp)
Foods that contain the additives: carragen, agar-agar, algin, alginates
Cured and corned meats
Breads with iodate dough conditioners
Chocolate (milk added)
Soy and soy products (soy sauce, tofu, soy milk)
Potato skins
Some beans (pinto, navy beans, lima beans, red kidney beans,)
Restaurant food, since I can't be certain what's in any of it
Processed foods, since there is no reliable way of knowing what kind of salt is used

One of the first things I will be making this week is a batch of Taratoor Sauce, the sesame/garlic condiment I first encountered at local chain Lebanese Taverna.

Taratoor

1 C. tahine sauce (stir before measuring)
3/4 C. lemon juice
2 T. water, plus more for thinning the sauce
2-3 cloves crushed fresh garlic
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. ground cumin
1 t. minced parsley

Put all ingredients except parsley in a food processor, and pulse a few times until combined. Scrape it out into a bowl and stir in the parsley. Adjust the thickness with cold water until it reaches the desired consistency.

Will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Stir before using.