Pita Bread

Easy homemade PITA BREAD perfectly served with any saucy dish or as a light snack. One would never be enough, so grab another piece because this freshly baked good is all worth it. The best thing about this is that it saves a lot of food from being wasted coz you can pair it from veggies to meat, and even dips.

Course Bread

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 1 40

Cook Time 3

Total Time 1 43

Servings

Calories 190kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup warm water (90 to 100 degrees F/32 to 38 degrees C)
2 teaspoons dry yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions

Start with warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add the 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and whisk together. Put the bowl in a warm (not hot) place, uncovered, until mixture is frothy and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
Add salt, olive oil, and nearly all remaining all-purpose flour (reserve 1/2 cup). With a wooden spoon or a pair of chopsticks, stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass. Dust with a little reserved flour, then knead in bowl for 1 minute, incorporating any stray bits of dry dough.
Turn dough onto work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist. (At this point, the dough may be refrigerated in a large zippered plastic bag for several hours or overnight. Bring dough back to room temperature, knead into a ball and proceed with the recipe.)
Clean the mixing bowl and put the dough back in it. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with a towel. Put the bowl in a warm (not hot) place. Leave until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Heat oven to 475 degrees F. On the bottom shelf of the oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile. Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on the work surface, cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.
Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and press into a flat disk with a rolling pin. Roll to a 6-inch circle, then to an 8-inch diameter, about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. (The dough will shrink a bit while baking.)
Carefully lift the dough circle and place quickly on a hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn over with tongs or spatula and bake for 1 more minute. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles. Transfer warm pita to a napkin-lined basket and cover so bread stays soft. Repeat with the rest of the dough ball.

Notes

Why won't my Pita Bread Puff? This is a common problem for first-timers, homemade pita bread should rise and create the pockets if the oven or the skillet is hot enough. To ensure this, make sure that you have preheated your skillet and oven and you have thawed and rested your dough.
But even if you don't puffy pita bread, they are still delicious and make a great wrap or torn into pieces for dipping in hummus.
Which method is best to use - oven or skillet? There's no right or wrong between the two coz they both have advantages and disadvantages, In the oven, pitas naturally puff more grandly with softer pockets, however, they look pale and taste mild. On the stovetop, you don't get to achieve that nice puff, however, the flavor is better with those crunchy toasted spots. You can make several pitas in the oven at one go, whereas you'll have to cook them individually when on a stovetop. So both method actually works. Just choose what works better for you.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition