Midnight Pita Bread

[kentauros]

Meaning, that's when I started this recipe tonight ;)
It's too hot around hear during the day to bake then, so I did this tonight. It's late because I'm a night-owl, but needed to do it to get me tired enough to get to bed before 4 ayem. Gotta get up "early" Saturday morning.

First, the recipe, then the pics to show how well they came out :D

Pita Bread

2 tsp__dry yeast
1 C____water
3 C____bread flour
1 tsp__salt
1 Tbl__sugar (I use honey, sometimes molasses)

Preheat oven to 500F (or hotter if your over goes higher.) If you have a baking stone, preheat it now. If no baking stone, you can use baking sheets, though I've used a stone for so long, I can't remember if there are any special steps to take with sheet-pans.
Heat the water to warm and dissolve the sugar for the yeast to feed on.
Sprinkle yeast on water and let stand 5-10 minutes until proofed.
Mix the flour and salt (with your hands or a whisk)
Stir the yeast, sugar, water mixture together
Mix into flour/salt mixture - I did this the Jamie Oliver way tonight, that is, poured the flour into a big pile on the bread board, made a well, poured some of the yeast mix into the well and began mixing it into the flour from the sides with a fork, gradually adding more yeast-water as I went. I ended up tossing the fork aside after it became sticky and mixing it all in by hand. It was fun! :D

Knead about ten minutes until you get a nice elastic dough.
Lay the dough in a mixing bowl to rise (you can oil it if you want, but it's not necessary.)
Rise for 45 minutes.
Punch down and knead for a minute or two.
Divide the dough into 6 equal-weight pieces.
Form pieces into balls, tucking the edges up under the ball so you get a smooth exterior. (If you're not sure of this step, there might be more information online about "forming the dough")
Let the dough rest for ten minutes with a damp towel over to keep them moist and warm.
Roll each piece to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness (4-8mm) - I roll them thin, but by the time I get them in the oven, they've puffed up just a little bit more.
Let dough rest a few minutes.
Bake for 3-5 minutes, watching carefully as they will puff up and brown quickly. I use a pizza peel to get them into and out of the oven, three at a time as that's all my stone can handle at a time (it's an octagonal electric kiln shelf.)
Remove from oven and place on a damp towel, covering with the rest of the towel and place the whole arrangement into a paper or plastic bag for fifteen minutes. (This is a step I had not tried before tonight and it looks like it's something I'll do the next time as it helps to keep the bread soft and not dry out too quickly.)
Cool and store.
Eat with hummus :9


Here's how they came out, including the interior and crumb:

[japple]

1. What beautiful pitas! I'll bet your house smelled like heaven

while they were baking, and I know you and your family will enjoy eating them. What do you stuff them with?

[kentauros]

3. No family to give them to, but I am taking them to a party

of belly dancers :D

We're going to be watching belly dance DVDs, so I thought this would be perfect as you don't have to eat them with hummus, but it's nice to do so ;) I may make some hummus this afternoon and take it, too.

One thing about the last photo is that I made a double recipe; what I posted above only makes six normally. I have read at least one recipe online that would divide even that into a dozen small pitas. I should try that and see how they turn out. I have friends that run a little Meditterranean cafe that would love to have some fresh-made pitas. Not that I'm going to supply their needs, just take some by to share :)

This recipe makes a nice and chewy bread, too. If you don't like it so chewy, add some oil, maybe a couple of tablespoons. That will shorten the gluten strands and make it a bit more crumbly.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

2. Beautiful! nt

[kentauros]

4. Thanks!

I was really getting into the kneading and dough-forming, too. It was energizing :D

[hippywife]

5. Those look lovely!

Great job! My husband has made them a few times and I've only made them once. Some of mine didn't puff very well. I probably didn't knead them enough, maybe? Even those are fine for eating with hummus and the others stuffed with all kinds of goodies.

I hope your belly dancers loved them and appreciated your efforts. :hi:

[kentauros]

6. The dancers that had any said they liked them

:)

I got there a little late, so there were leftovers. I left half with the hostess (another dancer) and took half a dozen wholes home. I'll give away some of those to the friends that have the Mediterranean cafe, as I know they'll love them, too. And they make hummus by the gallon! :9

I would say the main reason yours didn't puff as well was that your oven just wasn't hot enough. However, you might also test your yeast to make sure it's still good, as that's another factor, along with not enough sugar upon which the yeast will feed. If you do use a baking stone, it really needs to preheat at least an hour. I turn the oven on before I start anything, so it lends a little heat to the proofing and rising process and gets that stone nice and hot. Here's a pic of what I use:




I've had that for years. I made sure when I bought it that the material of its construction is inert, so no asbestos (that I or the retailer are aware of.) A kiln shelf does exactly the same thing as a baking stone for at least half the price. The only problem is they are not made for home use, thus the odd size and shape. There are rectangular shelves, but they are often not deep enough when they are wide enough. I suppose, with the right tools, you can always cut things to fit.

Nevertheless, a baking stone really does make a big difference in baking this kind of bread. It's really the only kind of bread for which I use this stone, too. Just be sure to turn the heat right up to the broiler point, without actually turning that element on. Also, I just leave it in the oven as it does act as a thermal mass if you need your oven to remain hot, like doing multiple batches of cookies or whatnot.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

8. MMMmmm--those look too good

. . . and fresh hummus to boot!

Pitas are a favorite fast bread here. I agree heat is crucial and a stone is a must, but IMHO, it's the shaping that makes the puff perfect. I shape mine twice, rolling the edges in toward the center until the gluten is stretched taut and it's sitting on the little "foot" that results when you pull it all together in the middle and pinch it tight (that's how I get any hearth loaf to stand tall, as well). This way, it makes that gluten into kind of a balloon that just naturally inflates.

Damn. Only 4 o'clock here. I think I know what we're having for dinner!

[CrispyQ]

7. Those look lovely!

I used to make the most delectable pita sandwiches with a commercial brand that wasn't bad. Now I can't find them anywhere & every other brand I've tried is awful. These don't look too difficult - maybe I'll try them.

Great photos!

[blaze]

9. I made pita bread today

using the rest of my pizza dough...

While they puffed up wonderfully and will work just fine for lunches this week, they are bland, bland, bland, bland, bland!!!!

I imagine the lack of sugar played a part in that... but I want something a little earthier, if you know what I mean.

I think next time, in addition to the sugar or honey, I will try substituting part of the flour with wheat flour.

It *was* fun though. :)

[kentauros]

10. I'm sorry they turned out that way for you

and am glad that you decided leaving some kind of sugar in them next time is a good idea ;)

I have made them with whole wheat flour, but they don't puff up as much. I suppose you could add some extra wheat gluten to ensure that. It might be interesting to try it with a little semolina flour, too. I should try that modification, too...

If you still want to keep the sweetness down, add some herbs and maybe a little more salt. I mix the salt into the flour so it doesn't kill the yeast in the water/sugar mixture until everything is mixed. I'm not sure whether to put any herbs in the beginning or during the first kneading. Guess it's time to experiment! :D

We can post pics of our results ;)