Easy-Peasy Pocket Bread Recipe

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Lebanese Pocket Bread

This recipe makes 8 pocket breads

2 cups wholemeal flour

3 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp honey

1 cup lukewarm water

1 Tbsp oil (good olive oil)

½ tsp sea salt, sprinkled on top of bread not mixed into dough

Flour for rolling out
Butter or baking paper for tray

1) Put all the water, dried yeast, and honey into a large bowl.  Mix well. Do not add any salt to the mix yet.

2 & 3) Add oil, stir again.

4) Add flour.

5) Stir.

6) Then knead with your hands. This can take between 5 and 10 minutes. Dip your kneading hand into a bowl of cold water before you start and periodically throughout. This will help keep the dough from sticking to your hand. Form the dough into a rounded lump and let it rise for 20 – 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees C while the dough is rising.

7) I actually let it over-rise here. The dough is better if its surface is actually rounded not flat.

8) Now knead the dough for 3 or 4 minutes.  

9) Form it into a sausage shape.  Lay it on the floured bench and cut into 8 even-sized pieces. I made double recipe here so I’ve cut it into 16 pieces.  

10) Roll or shape each piece into a circle.  Make the top surface of the bread smooth^*   

11) Transfer to the buttered baking tray and let the pocket breads rise for about 15 minutes. Now it’s time to use the salt. Generously sprinkle salt evenly over each bread.  

12) Bake in the top half of a very hot oven (250 degrees C) for 5 minutes or until the breads puff up.  As soon as they’re slightly brown take them out and cool on a rack.

13) Done.  

14) Now all you have to do is clean up!  

15) Mouthwatering to eat straight away.

A couple of notes:

Sometimes pockets in the bread are not formed. However the bread is still very nice anyway. Three reasons why pockets may not have formed in your bread: 1) The bread is not totally smooth on the top surface but has some cracks in it* 2) Not enough salt on top 3) The oven is not hot enough.

Eat fresh from the oven for best taste! 

Recipe shared with permission from Karin Putner, nutrition consultant.

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Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet...

Coming into the New Year we're starting to think how we can replace those cravings for Christmas mince pies and Lindt chocolate we acquired over the holidays... It might help to first have some knowledge about that very ingredient we're so addicted to. SUGAR.

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“Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Sugar is Sweet and it’s killing you!”

At least this is what the nutritional tabloids would have us believe. It seems that if you want publicity in today’s health market, all you have to do is point an accusatory finger at those sweet little crystals which are being blamed for the current health crisis. Despite my firmly held belief that we should be minimising our consumption of this addictive ingredient, I am usually suspicious of hype. So I have been following with wary interest the various claims that are currently circulating regarding the forms and amounts of sugar that we should (or should not) be consuming. It can be overwhelming and often confusing to make sense of the myriad of articles, research, and sometimes unfounded nonsense being conveyed about sugar.

Enter, ‘That Sugar Film’ http://thatsugarfilm.vhx.tv : a humorous and down-to-earth look at the effects of our apparently disastrous dependence on sugar. The documentary follows Damon Gameau’s experiment on himself, in which he spends two months consuming the current estimated daily intake of sugar in Australia. The alarming thing is where Damon gets all that sugar from. Contrary to common belief about the main contributors to our sugar-laden diet, he consciously shuns all soft drinks, candy and ice-cream in favour of what are considered “healthy” options. For two months he eats the equivalent of forty teaspoons of sugar per day, through foods like cereal, fruit juice, yogurt, and various other ‘low-fat’ options. He also joins in the modern hype of juicing – a supposedly healthy choice which, in actual fact, leads to downing the sugar from more fruit than you could ever eat whole in one sitting (minus the good fibre).

The impact on Damon’s previously healthy body (from a very low sugar diet based on whole foods) is dramatic and swift. His health is monitored by a doctor, pathologist, nutritionist and even psychologist who are all amazed at the effects in such a short time.  As well as fatty liver syndrome, pre-diabetes, increased blood pressure and an 8 kilogram weight gain, he suffers mood swings, brain fogginess and constant lethargy. Because of the constant ‘hits’ of sugar he is getting which cause temporary highs followed by major slumps in energy, he notices an ever-present craving for more sugar laden foods so that his brain can receive its next burst of fuel – a vicious cycle. Thankfully, as noted in the conclusion, all the effects on his poor body are reversible and, with the experiment over, he returns to his normal healthy state through whole, natural foods.

Well worth watching, ‘That Sugar Film’ highlights the widespread misunderstanding around sources of sugar and exposes its more subtle hiding places. To me, it was a reminder about the responsibility we must all take for our own health, and the importance of being well informed consumers.  That sweet, and slightly sinister, stuff we know as sugar has such an impact on our health that it probably deserves all the limelight it has been getting. Though we may be sick of hearing stern admonitions about our sugar consumption, it seems we will be worse off if we do not take heed. ‘That Sugar Film’, through one man’s drastic experimental measures, aims to raise a red flag of caution to all who may think that the sugar debate is simply another melodramatic act trying to get attention in an overcrowded health scene.

“Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Sugar is Sweet, So beware what you chew!”

About the Author: Tessa McGeorge has a great interest in people and in healthy living.  She has a degree in counselling and is currently studying for a degree in nutrition science.  She enjoys writing from her own experiences with healthy living and likes to base her conclusions in scientific research.

For some excellent (and delicious) ideas on how to replace the sugar in your diet and avoid the cravings, check out the famous I Quit Sugar blog! Many of the ingredients mentioned can be found at happyhealthy.co.nz. 

Remember, not fanatical, just wise!