Monday, January 21, 2008

How to Make Delicious Whole Wheat Pita


This is in response to a request by my dear friend Terri! Over the last couple weeks I have made this pita several times and we just gobble it up! It is so good and tasty! I made "mock" gyros last week and I will share about them and how you can make them really simply another day. You can also make up some hummus to eat with them. I have a couple of yummy recipes for that, too - roasted red pepper hummus and jalapeno hummus.

Whole Wheat Pita
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp salt
4 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
(if you don't have fresh ground, try 3 cups whole wheat to 1 cup bread flour)

Place water, honey and salt into a large mixer with dough hook. Mix well.
Add 2 cups of flour and then yeast. Mix well.
Add remaining two cups of flour and knead dough for 5 minutes.
Remove dough to lightly floured surface (I use a big bowl because I don't have any counter space) and hand knead for a few minutes.
Separate the dough into 8 portions. Set the dough aside and cover with a towel for 30 minutes.
Roll down each ball with your palm on a floured surface forming a small disc. Then, with a rolling pin, form 8 discs 7-inches diameter. They should be bout 1/4 inch thick. Set aside and cover with a damp linen or towel. Let them rest for 15 minutes.
While they rest, put a stone or baking sheet into your oven and turn the oven on the 450 degrees. After the fifteen minutes, starting with the first pita you rolled out, put a few of them onto the stone or sheet. Do not crowd! They need the circulated air.
Let them cook for about 6 minutes. They should be puffed up, but not really browned. Remove with tongs and keep under a warm, moist towel until all are done baking.
Store in airtight container or ziplock bag when cooled.

Yummy! Enjoy these wonderful - and easy - pitas! I will give you the other recipes tomorrow, I hope.

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