Pita Bread

I found this pita bread recipe on a blog called Under the Highchair - you can find the original recipe here. I often have pita with some hummus as a snack and I am so excited to be able to make my own. My family had corn for dinner over the weekend, and my mom was looking for something quick to throw together to have with the corn. She put some pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese on the pitas and they made delicious (and easy) pizzas!

I use a kitchen-aid whenever I make bread, because it makes the kneading so much easier. If you are using a kitchen-aid, I would recommend using the dough hook attachment.

Start by dissolving 1 tablespoon of traditional yeast in 1 1/4 cups of warm water and allowing it to sit for 5 minutes.

The above picture is what the yeast/water combo looks like after 5 minutes.

Add in 1 teaspoon of salt and 3 cups of all-purpose flour - 1/2 cup at a time, mixing between each half cup. Knead the dough for 8 minutes until the dough forms a ball, similar to that shown in the picture above.

Lightly four your work surface.

On the floured surface, cut your dough into smaller sections of dough. I usually cut the dough using a bench knife into 10 pieces, but you could cut any number of smaller sections depending on the size of pita you want. I recommend cutting the dough into at least six pieces.

Roll the smaller sections into balls and flatten them out using a rolling pin. Flatten your dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, it's important to have the thickness of your dough relatively even as this is what helps them to 'pop.' Leave the dough to rise on a floured surface for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. With a large spatula, pick up the uncooked pitas and flip them over onto the baking sheet. Cook them for 10-12 minutes. I sit right in front of my oven for the first five minutes that these are in the oven because it is so cool to watch them pop!

PITA BREAD
ingredients
1 tablespoon traditional yeast
1 1/4 cups warn water
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

directions
1. Let the yeast dissolve in the warm water for 5 minutes.
2. Mix in salt and flour (1/2 cup at a time) using the dough hook on the kitchen-aid. Once all of the flour is in, knead the dough for 8 minutes until it forms into a ball.
3. Lightly flour your work surface. Cut the kneaded ball of dough into smaller sections (I recommend 6 sections for larger pitas and 10 for smaller pitas).
4. Roll out the smaller sections of dough into circles that are about 1/4 of an inch thick. Be careful to have the thickness of the pitas uniform throughout each pita as this what helps them pop.
5. Leave the rolled out pitas to rise on a floured surface for 30-40 minutes.
6. Using a large spatula, flip the pitas over onto a baking sheet and bake them at 425°F for 10-12 minutes. (**Stick around for the first 5 minutes to see the pitas pop!)

See you tomorrow :)
Kenzie