sprinklefingers

i’m kind of on a bread kick.

i’m only slightly ashamed to admit to you that i got a new mixer. and i’m only slightly more ashamed than that to admit to you that i created a somewhat scientific chart to determine how long it will take the mixer to pay for itself if i use it to make all of the bread products i previously purchased at the market. (holy hell, that was a long (yet informative!) sentence.)

as you know, i’m no stranger to making things myself. crackers. pudding. ice cream. pasta. pasta sauce. salsa. pancakes. waffles. breakfast sausage patties. if we eat it i, basically, make it.

one thing i’ve never made, even though it bugs the you-know-what out of me that store-bought varieties are always filled with crappy ingredients? pita bread.

until this weekend, that is.
i taught myself how to make pita bread. yes, i burnt the living daylights out of what i thought were my heat-resistant fingertips, but my efforts did result in some truly delicious pita.

here’s the recipe:

real, actual whole wheat pita bread

• 12 oz water - between 110-115 degrees
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 t honey
• 13 oz whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 t kosher salt
• a bit of AP flour for dusting/rolling.

1. pour water into the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached. stir in  yeast, oil and honey. give the mixture 5 minutes - look for it to foam. if it does, proceed.  if it does not, start over.
2. add flour and salt to mixer. stir on lowest setting for one minute. after one minute, change mixer speed to medium-low and knead for 5 minutes. if dough is extremely sticky, sprinkle some AP flour into the bowl as it’s kneading.
3. coat a large bowl with a bit of olive oil. dump the dough out of the mixer bowl and into the large bowl. smooth the top of the dough out by flattening out all sides and tucking it under itself.
4. cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for approximately 2 hrs.
5. put a baking stone in the oven and preheat it to 500.
6. dump the dough out of the bowl onto a counter top dusted with flour. knead a few times to work out air.
7. divide the dough into 2 oz portions and put them on a clean sheet tray. cover with a towel and let sit 30 minutes.
8. using a rolling pin and a bit of flour, roll each ball into a round - 5-7” wide.
9. working as fast as you can, flip the oven door open and toss 2-3 pieces of rolled dough into the oven, then close the door quickly! allow to bake for 2 minutes.
10. when you open the oven door, the pita should be puffy. carefully remove with a set of tongs and place on a cooling rack.

repeat for remaining pita.

if you’re planning ahead you can always double the recipe and freeze some pita for later. after baking, allow the pita to cool completely. zip into storage bags and freeze. to use, defrost & rewarm pita in a toasty oven.

if you don’t have a baking stone (or if your baking stone can’t withstand 500 degrees,) a sheet tray will work just fine.

now, i’m not going to lie to you, making pita is time consuming. but time consuming hardly matters to me when i’m having so much fun. (like i’ve said before, i don’t get out much.)

ps: no photos. i blame it on my burnt fingertips.