Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

From The Joy of Cooking

Mix:

3 C whole wheat pastry flour (you can also use AP or a white bread flour)
1.5 T sugar
1.5 t salt
4 t active dry yeast

Then add:

2 T melted butter or margarine
1 1/4 c room-temp water

Mix by hand for 1 minutes, then knead for 10 minutes. Add flour and/or water as needed--the dough should be a bit tacky, but not sticky (whole wheat flour usually needs a bit more water than is listed.) Place in oiled bowl, turn over, and allow to rise until doubled (60-90 minutes). Punch dough down, divide into 8 pieces, roll those into balls, then cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 450. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pitas to 6-7 inches diameter and 1/8" thick. Bake on upside-down cookie sheet until dough puffs into a balloon, about 3 minutes, then wait 30 seconds and remove bread to cool on a rack. If you leave the bread in too long, the pitas won't deflate into flat disks, so beware.

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