Pita Bread

Pita bread is widely used in Lebanese cuisine. I really love eating pita bread with falafel,veggies,hummus and vegan tzatziki sauce. Pita breads are very light and fluffy breads. You will love the aroma of freshly baked pitas in your home. I usually make whole wheat pita. In this recipe, I have tried a combination of unbleached all purpose flour and wheat flour.

Ingredients:

Ingredient	Quantity
Unbleached flour	2 and ½ Cups
Whole Wheat Flour	½ Cups
Active dry yeast	1 tbsp
Warm water	Around 1 and ¼ Cup
Sugar	1Tbsp
Salt	1and ½tsp
Oil	2 tsp

Recipe:

In a stand mixer bowl add 4 tbsp of unbleached flour.
Add yeast and sugar to it and mix well
Add ¼ cup of warm water(32-35 degree C)
Cover and keep it aside for 30 min
To this frothy mixture, add unbleached flour and wheat flour
To a stand mixer, use a hook attachment and stir on a low speed for 2 min
On a medium speed keep adding ¼ cup of warm water and continue to mix for 5-6 minutes
If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead with hands for about 10-12 minutes till you get a soft dough.
On a clean kitchen counter, dust some flour and gently make a ball .
Coat the mixing bowl and top of the dough ball with oil and keep it covered till it doubles in size. (about 50-60 min) This is the proofing stage.
Preheat the oven at maximum temperature about 500 degree F or 260 Degree C
After 1 hour, when the dough doubles in size, gently punch the dough and make equal sized balls
Roll them gently with dry flour in to roughly 5-6 inches diameter circles
Cover the circles with damp kitchen towel
Rest for 15 min
There are 2 ways of baking pita. You can make them on a griddle or in oven
Keep the pitas in a preheated oven on a lower rack and flip then in about 2 min
Pitas will puff inside the oven
If you are making on a griddle , heat the griddle to make it very hot. Keep the flame high and make pita.
Serve them hot with hummus or use them to make pita pockets.