Homemade pita bread

[Duer 157099]

I think I just realized that pita bread is basically made from pizza dough, but that after you form the rounds, you let them rest for 30 minutes or so, I suppose so the yeast can produce some gas in the interior that will form the pocket?

I made some wheat pitas last night, and it seems that's the whole thing.

I used all wheat, and it was a bit *too* wheaty, so I'm making another batch with less than 1/3 wheat (the rest bread flour).

They're about to go in the oven.

[BeTheChange]

1. Be sure to post the recipe..

I dont have a good one for pitas.

Too bad my oven doesnt get hot enough for nan and we cant use the outside one because of a burn ban.

[Duer 157099]

2. Recipes

Here's the one I did last night that was too wheaty for me:

1 tbsp. yeast
1 tbsp. honey or sugar
2 1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. oil
6 to 7 c. whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast and honey in water. When bubbly, add salt, oil and 6 cups flour. Knead 5 to 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and divide into 12 to 20 equal pieces, depending on how large you want the pitas. Roll each into a ball and roll out on a floured surface about 1/4 inch thick.

Place circles on greased cookie sheets and let rest 30 to 45 minutes. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Just before baking, turn the pitas over. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, switching position of pans halfway through. The pitas should be puffed in the middle and only slightly browned. To keep them soft, place them inside of a paper bag to cool, or eat them warm.

**********
And here's the one I just baked (from Cook's Illustrated) but haven't tasted yet (I didn't have yogurt so I left that out):

Baked Puffed Flatbread

Make sure you let the pieces of dough rest after forming them into balls and again after rolling them into 4-inch circles; otherwise, they will shrink back and not hold their shape.

Makes eight 6- to 7-inch breads
1 package dry active yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup water (warm -- 110 to 115 degrees)
1 tablespoon olive oil , plus extra for brushing
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt , plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup whole wheat flour , sieved (before measuring) to remove coarse flakes of bran
2 cups bread flour , plus additional as needed
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

1. In either the workbowl of a food processor fitted with stainless steel blade or, if working by hand, a medium mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Add oil, sugar, and yogurt and pulse to mix, about four 1-second bursts, or, if working by hand, mix with wooden spoon until well combined. Add salt, sieved whole wheat flour, and 2 cups bread flour; process until smooth, about 15 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, or, if working by hand, mix with wooden spoon until flour is incorporated, about 3 minutes. Process dough (adding more flour as necessary until dough just pulls completely away from sides of bowl) until soft and satiny, about 30 seconds, or, if working by hand, turn dough out of mixing bowl onto very lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 12 to 15 minutes. Squeeze dough gently with full hand; if dough is sticky, sprinkle with flour and knead just to combine. Place dough in medium bowl or straight-sided plastic container, cover with plastic wrap, and place in warm, draft-free spot until dough doubles in size, 30 to 45 minutes. (At this point, dough can be punched down, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerated up to 2 days.)

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and, if it is sticky, sprinkle very lightly with flour. Following illustrations 1 through 4 below, cut, shape, and roll dough. If using sesame seeds, brush tops of circles lightly with water, sprinkle each circle with 3/4 teaspoon seeds, and gently roll over with rolling pin once or twice so seeds adhere to dough.

3. About 30 minutes prior to cooking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, line rack with unglazed baking tiles, pizza stone, or preheated baking sheet and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bake dough rounds on preheated tiles or pizza stone until bread is puffed and golden brown on bottom, 5 to 6 minutes.

4. Transfer breads to wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; wrap in clean kitchen towels and serve warm or at room temperature.

[yellowdogintexas]

3. I have made pita bread. it is great fun to watch them puff

up. It has been years since I did much bread baking other than dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls but the pita bread was a blast. you just have to have plenty of time to get them all baked.

There is Lebanese place here in town that serves the bread hot from the oven, still puffed ..I don't know how they get it to puff that much..mine never did like this. Anyway, I have never eaten pita bread like this. Probably using a very special flour and a brick oven or something.

[Warpy]

4. I had a friend who did them in a TOASTER oven!

He'd just turn that thing to high with a couple of tiles he'd cut to fit on the racks, toss a cople of pitas in, slam the door, and watch the process.

They were great pitas, too, although they occasionally had stripes on the top where they'd run into the heating element as they'd puffed if he hadn't grabbed them out fast enough.

It didn't do much for the longevity of his toaster ovens, though, maintaining such a high heat over long periods of time.

[yellowdogintexas]

5. you got a good laugh out of me with that one!

I love creativity. The mental image of a toaster oven exploding with pita bread is just hysterical.

The newer toaster ovens which are taller would actually handle pita bread fairly well, I think

I myself am drooling over a double oven stove which has a shallow oven and a deep one. I am thinking the shallow one would do the pitas just great.

And I could make myself buy a baking stone just for that if I felt that energetic in my old age.

[Tab]

6. The ultimate lazy-food candidate

"pre-opened" pitas.

I mean, c'mon.

[Duer 157099]

7. (ahem)...

Having just nearly sliced my hand in half trying to cut open my (very hard) homemade pitas I made the other day, because I want to use them for pizza, ... I guess I get it

Now, the perforations across the middle, that's too much

[Tab]

8. You shouldn't have to slice your hand open

unless you keep your hand under your knife, in which case, yes, you could.

My preferred layering:

Knife
Pita
Cutting board

It's safer that way! :)

[Duer 157099]

10. I was doing the lateral thing, where I was holding the bread down flat

and the knife was parallel to the bread and my hand. But, this bread was like a rock so I had to apply a bit of pressure...

It's just funny that on the very day that I had my first ever encounter with a hard pita and a knife, that you would post that. Even store bought pitas that have been hard were never as hard as my homemade ones (they were a bit on the thick side). First attempt at baking pitas, what can I say? :)

[htuttle]

9. I think pitas should be wrapped AROUND food, not stuffed with it

When I try to stuff the inside of a pita, it invariably tears, if not while stuffing it, then it tears while I'm eating it.

I usually just wrap a whole pita around whatever it is I want inside it (ie., put it in the middle, pull up the sides, eat with a generous dollop of tzatziki sauce....Now I'm hungry!).

[Warpy]

12. If I'm gonna do that

I just use a tortilla. They're cheaper.

[htuttle]

13. Sure, they're cheaper, but pitas soak up more tzatziki

Wrap a tortilla around chicken souvlaki or gyro meat? Well, you could, but it's just not the same...:)

[liberalhistorian]

11. I love pita bread, so that

homemade actually sounds pretty good. Unfortunately, I have a very small kitchen, so attempting to make anything on that level probably wouldn't work too well.