Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Pita Bread

These appear to have come out well. I will have to have my hubby taste them, as I can't have gluten! OK--HE LOVES IT! In the picture below you can see that some puff up more than others.
Below is what they look like before cooking.

I found the recipe for these from about.com and have quoted it here. They have a terrific video so go to their site to see it--it is short--only about 2 minutes , but it is helpful.




There is a good video that goes with it---I am posting it here for my convenience



"Pita is used to scoop sauces or dips such as hummus and to wrap sandwiches like kebabs, gyros, or falafel.

Pita Bread Recipe Ingredients You will need:

1 package of yeast
1 1/2 cup of warm water
3 cups of flour (you can also put 2 1/2 cups white flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1 1/4 teaspoon of salt (I only used 1/4 tsp)
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar

Prepare the Pita Dough

First we need to activate the yeast.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and lightly stir until dissolved. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes until the water is frothy. Make a depression in your bowl of flour and pour in your yeast mixture. Slowly add 1 cup of warm water and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is combined. Flour your working surface, place the dough and knead it for 10-15 minutes until it is elastic. Coat the large bowl with olive oil and place your kneaded dough. Turn the dough so it is also coated in oil. Place the bowl in a warm place to sit for 1 hour until the dough is doubled in size.

Shape the Pita Dough

Flour your working surface and roll out your dough in a shape of a rope. Cut the dough into 10-12 small pieces. Roll out each ball of dough with a floured rolling pin into circles about 5-6 inches and 1/4 inches thick.

Bake the Pita Bread
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and place your rack at the bottom of the oven. Bake each circle for 4 minutes. When the bread puffs up, turn over and bake for 2 minutes on the other side. When the pita browns on the second side, remove the pita with a spatula and add additional for baking. You can store pita bread in a pantry or bread box for a week and up to a month in a freezer."

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