Pita Bread Once you have tasted homemade pita bread, you will be hooked for life. Not only is it more delicious, with a softer and moister texture than the commer- cial variety, it happens to be easy to prepare—and the dough can be made and refrigerated as much as four days ahead of baking. It’s also great fun to watch the pitas puff up like little balloons while baking. This Middle-Eastern “pocket bread” is ideal to use for hummus and other dips, and for all manner of sandwiches. I like to make small 4-inch pitas and cut them into wedges, but for stuffing, the larger size is best. Simply cut off a small piece from the top and with a knife, gently separate the inside to form a pocket. TIME SCHEDULE Minimum Rising Time: 1 hour Oven Temperature: 475°F Baking Time: 3 minutes per bread Makes: twelve 4-inch pitas or eight 6-inch pitas INGREDIENTS ] MEASURE ] weiHT volume ~CS ces SSsS*~*~«éi IS unbleached all-purpose flour (use only | 3. cups plusascant | 16 ounces | 454 grams Gold Medal, King Arthur, or Pillsbury) 1/4 cup | salt a "| 2 teaspoons O.5 ounce | instant yeast (see page 561 for brands) | 2 teaspoons - 6.4 grams olive oil _ 12 tablespoons | 1 ounce 27 grams water, at room temperature (70° to 90°F) | 1 1/4 liquid cups | 10.4 ounces 295 grams THE BREAD BIBLEEQUIPMENT, a baking stone OR cast-iron skillet OR a baking sheet 1 > About 1 1/2 hours before shaping, or for best flavor development, 8 hours to 3 days ahead, mix the dough. Mixer Method In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients. With the paddle attach- ment, mix on low speed (#2 if using a KitchenAid) just until all the flour is mois- tened, about 20 seconds. Change to the dough hook, raise the speed to medium (#4 KitchenAid), and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should clean the bow] and be very soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch. Add a little flour or water if necessary. (The dough will weigh about 27.75 ounces/793 grams.) Hand Method Ina large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for a scant 1/4 cup of the flour. With a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until all the flour is moistened. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together. Sprinkle a little of the reserved flour onto the counter and scrape the dough onto it. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding as little of the reserved flour as possi- ble. Use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead it. At this point it will be very sticky. Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 5 to 20 minutes. (This rest will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with.) Knead the dough for another 5 to 10 minutes or until it is soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch. Add a little flour or water if necessary. (The dough will weigh about 27.75 ounces/793 grams.) Both Methods 2 > Let the dough rise. Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough into a 2-quart or larger dough-rising container or bowl, lightly greased with cooking spray or oil. Press the dough down and lightly spray or oil the top of it. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape, mark the side of the con- tainer at approximately where double the height of the dough would be. Refrigerate the dough overnight (or up to 3 days), checking every hour for the first 4 hours and pressing it down if it starts to rise.3 > Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 475°F 1 hour before baking. Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone, cast-iron skillet, or baking sheet on it before preheating, 4 > Shape the dough. Cut the dough into 8 or 12 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. On a lightly floured counter, with lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk. Cover the dough with oiled plastic and allow it to rest for 20 minutes at room tem- perature. Roll each disk into a circle a little under 1/4 inch thick. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before baking. 5 > Bake the pita. Quickly place 1 piece of dough directly on the stone or in the skil- let or on the baking sheet, and bake for 3 minutes. The pita should be completely puffed but not beginning to brown. The dough will not puff well if it is not moist enough. See how the pita puffs, then, if necessary, spray and knead each remaining piece with water until the dough is soft and moist; allow to rest again and reroll as before. (However, those that do not puff well are still delicious to eat.) Proceed with the remaining dough, baking 3 or 4 pieces or a time if using a stone or baking sheet. Using a pancake turner, transfer the pita breads to a clean towel, to stay soft and warm. Allow the oven to reheat for 5 minutes between batches. The pitas can be reheated for about 30 seconds in a hot oven before serving. To cook the pitas on the stovetop Preheat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the sur- face and cook the pitas one at a time. Cook for about 20 seconds, then turn the dough and continue cooking for 1 minute or until big bubbles appear. Turn the dough again and cook until the dough balloons. If the dough begins to brown, lower the heat. The entire cooking process for each pita should be about 3 minutes. VARIATION For a whole wheat version, use half whole wheat, and half white flour. If using regular whole wheat flour, for best results, grind it very fine or process it in a food processor for 5 minutes to break the bran into smaller particles. Finely ground 100% whole wheat flour (atta), available in Middle-Eastern food markets, is the finest grind avail- able. Or, for a milder but wheatier flavor and golden color, try 100% white whole wheat flour (see Sources, page 572). You will need to add 1/4 cup more water, for a total of 1 1/2 cups (12.4 ounces/354 grams). 226 THE BREAD BIBLEUNDERSTANDING This dough is actually the same as my pizza dough, but it is made with a higher- protein flour and is kneaded to develop enough gluten to support the rise during baking, when the pitas inflate like little balloons to form the inner pocket. THE DOUGH PERCENTAGE Flour: | 100% Water: 65% Yeast: 1.4% Salt: 2.9% Oil: 6.2% CHAPTER 3 / Flatbreads 227