Pita Bread

Ok, so it's been awhile since I've made pita bread and it shows. I forgot that thinness is important or they don't puff. My first batch were whole wheat pita's from the King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking cookbook (gift from David from my B-day), only two puffed. Determined to get this right I went to a recipe from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads that I've made in the past. No such luck. Only one puffed nicely and the other semi-puffed. At least I captured pictures of the two that puffed nicely. It's hard to tell from the picture, the one in the oven is the whole wheat pita.



Whole Wheat Pita Bread
1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 C lukewarm water
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead them together—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a smooth dough. This will take about 8 minutes by hand, 5 minutes in an electric mixer, or use the dough setting on your bread machine. Cover the dough, and allow it to rise till it’s doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven. Or line a baking sheet with parchment (or grease it lightly). Preheat the oven to 450°F. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into eight pieces, shaping each piece into a rough ball. Let the balls rest for 10 minutes, covered, while your oven comes up to temperature. Lightly spray a rolling mat, or clean work surface, with non-stick vegetable oil spray. Use a rolling pin to roll one ball of dough into a 6" circle that’s slightly less than 1/4" thick. Repeat with another ball of dough. Place the pitas on the hot pizza stone, or place them on the prepared baking sheet, and put the baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the pitas for 4 to 5 minutes, till they puff up. Turn them over, and bake for another minute or two; total baking time should be about 6 minutes (about 7 minutes, if you’re baking on a pan rather than a stone). Remove them from the oven, stack them on a kitchen towel, and fold the towel up over them; this will keep them from becoming crisp as they cool. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.



Pita Bread
2 1/2 C bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 C lukewarm water

In a large mixing bowl, measure 1 C flour and stir in the dry ingredients. Add the oil and water. Beat vigorously with a spoon for 2-3 mins. Stir in balance of flour 1/2 C at a time. The dough should be a rough, shaggy mass that will cling to the sides of the bowl. If the dough is moist, add a small amount of additional flour. Turn the dough onto a slightly flour surface and knead for 6 mins.

Preheat the oven to 500 F. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into a ball. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and allow to rest for 20 mins. \

Flatten the dough into a round disk. finish with a rolling pin and roll them into 6 inch diameter and 3/16 inch thick. Place each piece of dough on a 7 inch square of aluminum foil. Carefully place 2 to 3 breads on the oven shelf. Bake for 8 mins, or until puffed. Remove breads from the oven and wrap in a large piece of foil. Repeat with remaining disks.