Recipe for Pita Bread #2

This recipe worked out so well I thought I would share it. So here it is.

Pita Bread

Recipe courtesy of Alford and Duguid

Fresh homemade pita - made with half white, half whole wheat flour - are easy to make and delicious. They are best when baked on a baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles; you can also place them on a baking sheet.

Prep Time:

3 hr 30 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

30 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

16 pitas about 8 inches in dia

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water (approximately 105 degrees F)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• About 4 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

You will need a large bread bowl, a rolling pin, and unglazed quarry tiles or several baking sheets, or alternatively a castiron or other heavy skillet or griddle at least 9 inches in diameter.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then 1 cup white flour. Stir 100 times (one minute) in the same direction to activate the gluten in the flour. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes or as long as 2 hours.

Sprinkle salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add white flour, one cup at a time. When the dough is too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Return the dough to a lightly oiled bread bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least double in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Gently punch down. Dough can be made ahead to this point and then stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 5 days or less.

If at this time you want to save the dough in the refrigerator for baking later, simply wrap it in a plastic bag that is at least three times the size of the dough, pull the bag together, and secure it just at the opening of the bag. This will give the dough a chance to expand when it is in the refrigerator (which it will do). From day to day, simply cut off the amount of dough you need and keep the rest in the refrigerator, for up to one week. The dough will smell slightly fermented after a few days, but this simply improves the taste of the bread. Dough should be brought to room temperature before baking.

This amount of dough will make approximately 16 pitas if rolled out into circles approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4-inch thick. You can also of course make smaller breads. Size and shape all depend on you, but for breads of this dimension the following baking tips apply:

Place unglazed quarry tiles, or a large baking stone or two baking sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a one inch gap all around to allow air to circulate. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough in half, then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter. You may wish to roll out all eight before starting to bake. Cover rolled out breads, but do not stack.

Bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on quarry tiles or baking sheets. Bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until the bread has gone into a full "balloon" or until it is starting to turn lightly golden, whichever happens first. If there are seams or dry bits of dough - or for a variety of other reasons - your bread may not go into a full "balloon". Don't worry, it will still taste great. The more you bake pitas the more you will become familiar with all the little tricks and pitfalls, and your breads will more consistently "balloon." But even then, if you're like us, it won't always "balloon" fully and you won't mind because the taste will still be wonderful. When baked, remove, place on a rack for about five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft). When first half of the dough has been rolled out and baked, repeat for rest of dough, or store in refrigerator for later use, as described above. You can also divide the dough into more, smaller pieces if you wish, to give you smaller breads.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pita-bread-recipe/index.html

Pita Bread Number #2 Continued

I had saved some of the dough from pita bread #2 in the fridge. I took it out yesterday and made some more fabulous pita bread. The time spent in the fridge did not negatively affect the dough at all. Keeping a portion of the dough in the fridge is a great way to have fresh bread whenever you want it.

Pita Bread #2

I successfully made pita bread! I used a recipe I found on the Food Network's website.  I am often dubious about online recipes, but this one was great. It used much less oil than the first recipe I tried and the texture of the pita bread was exactly right. Also the addition of whole wheat flour gave the bread a nice nutty flavor. Above are the pictures from pita bread #2.

Photos of Pita Bread#1

These are the photos I promised at the end of my last post.

Pita Bread #1

I attempted to make the first recipe for pita bread and although I had high hopes as I went through the different steps the end result was not exactly what I had hoped for. I think the problem was that the recipe called for too much olive oil. As a result of the quarter cup of oil in the recipe, the pita tasted more like baked pizza dough rather than the Middle Eastern flat bread I was expecting, and the oil  made the bread very crisp and almost cracker like instead of fluffy and soft . For my next attempt I am going to find a more traditional recipe rather than one which is one of a hundred in a baking book that covers a myriad of topics. Anyways below are pictures of the process.

Pita Bread

I am starting off my bread making project with pita bread. 
Pita bread is a Middle Eastern flat bread. The Arabic name for pita bread is khubz, which means ordinary bread. Pita bread is eaten in many different countries and is especially popular in Greece, Israel, Syria, and Egypt.
The ingredients in pita bread are yeast, flour, water, salt, and oil. The pocket in the pita is created by steam which puffs up the dough. 
I am going to experiment with two different recipes. One which is made using only white all-purpose flour and another which is made using a mixture of whole weat and white all-purpose flour.