Pita Bread

Monday, July 5, 2010

There are SO MANY things out there that just taste better when you make them at home. It’s especially nice when you can say that about something that’s really easy to make as well. These pitas fit into both of those categories. They taste amazing and they’re surpringly easy to make.

I’ve made these a couple times in the past year and every time I do, I say that I should make them more often. I would love to make them with whole wheat flour too. We love to fill these guys with anything you would normally put in a pita. I like to make sandwiches with them for our lunches.

If you want to make these into pita chips, just cut them up and bake them at 350 for about 10 minutes or until browned. You can also spread some olive oil and seasoning on the chips before you bake them if you want.

Two Years Ago: Fourth of July Layered Cookie Cake

Pita Bread

These homemade pitas are easy to make and delicious! You'll never want to buy them at the store again.

Yield: 8 pitas

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar or honey
1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 tsp yeast)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, at room temperature
2 Tbsp olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

Directions:

If you are using active dry yeast, follow the instructions on the packet to active it. Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water to the flour mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn't necessary.

Recipe from The Fresh Loaf