Pita Bread, Pita Bread - I never would have thought....

Dough Balls

... I could make my own pita bread. Served warm with fresh hummus -  it does not get better. Wait for it to cool down???... not a great choice. The bread will lose it's moisture quick, so eat soon after baking for a pretty awesome experience!

Time: (For roughly 6 pitas) 2 hours 30 minutes; mostly unattended

Difficulty: eh, a little effort (you need a baking stone for this)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of All-Purpose Flour

1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (can be replaced with AP flour)

3 T olive oil

2 t Instant Yeast (you can find this on shelves, in a jar, at your local market)

2 t salt

½ sugar

1 cup of water, a little more if using the Whole Wheat pastry flour

Process:

1. Combine flour, salt, yeast, and sugar. Sift together. Add olive oil and mix together with a fork.
2. Add one cup of water and knead into a slightly sticky ball. If needed, add 1-2 extra T of water. Place in a covered bowl for 1-2 hours. (You can also refrigerate and delay the rising process 1-2 days for a better flavored bread. If doing this, cover with a damp rag or paper towel. When removing from fridge, let rise for 1-2 hours.)

3. 

   Flat dough.

   When dough is ready, reform into a ball, roll out, and divide into six roughly equal pieces and roll each into a ball.  Let balls rest for 20 or so minutes.
4. Preheat oven, with baking stone inserted, to 350 degrees. Preheat for at least ½ hour.
5. Roll out each dough ball to about ¼” thickness. The thinner you roll it out the more likely you are to get a “pita pocket.” Leaving it a bit thicker will give you a hearty “Greek” style pita.
6. Once oven is heated, place 2 pitas on baking stone. Bake for 4 -5 minutes, flip, and then bake an additional 4-5 minutes.
   
   

   

   Yeah, boring pic, but I just had to show off how it inflated!  So exciting.