After making hummus and tabouleh I purchased two types of pita bread from a local grocery store to complete the meal. What a disappointment! Both of the pita breads were dry and flavorless. I was determined to make my own pita bread and did a search and found this simple and delicious recipe:
Farmgirl’s Pita Bread
Makes 8
2 1/2 c bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 c water
8 8″ squares of aluminum foil for baking pitas
In a large bowl combine 1 c flour with salt, sugar and yeast. Add the oil and water. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for three minutes. Stir in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides of the bowl. I did not use the entire 2 1/2 c of flour. I used the remaining flour plus more when I kneaded the dough.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 6 minutes
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces. This is where a kitchen scale comes in handy. Roll into balls, dust very lightly with flour and cover with a damp tea towel. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Use the palm of your hand and flatten each ball into a disk. Finish with a rolling pin, flattening the dough into a disk about 6″ in diameter and 3/16″ thick.
Place each round on a square of aluminum foil and carefully place 4 of the rounds directly on the oven rack. Bake for 5-8 minutes, or until they puff up. If they don’t puff up, they may not form a pocket and you will not be able to stuff them with goodies. This happened to me but those pitas didn’t go to waste. I ate them with a slathering of Earth Balance buttery spread, yum.
Once you remove the pitas from the oven, stack them up and wrap them in a large piece of foil. This will keep them soft while the tops fall, leaving a pocket in the center. At this point you can eat them right away or freeze to use later.
Next time I will substitute some of the white bread flour with white whole wheat flour and see how that works. The entire process took just about an hour. Give it at try.