After having pita bread with just about every meal...3 times a day for almost 15 days...in Israel and Jordan, I missed it when I returned home, so I looked online for a pita bread recipe. Lo and behold, I found one which had directions for using a breadmaker with a dough cycle to make the dough. I just happen to have such a breadmaker, a Zojirushi, which I love, so I tried out the recipe which is from AllRecipes.com. The freshly baked pitas were chewy and delicous.
Peppy's Pita Bread - makes 8 pitas
1 1/8 cups warm* water (110 degrees F)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
*I probably didn't have to use warm water because my breadmaker has a pre-heating cycle, but they turned out great anyway.
Directions
Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select "Dough" setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.
1. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.
8 rolled-out pitas ready to be baked
They come out puffed up, which creates the pocket.
It's important to put a damp dish towel over them so that they will soften up and then you can press them down.
And...the finished product. Mmm-mm good!
Peppy's Pita Bread - makes 8 pitas
1 1/8 cups warm* water (110 degrees F)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
*I probably didn't have to use warm water because my breadmaker has a pre-heating cycle, but they turned out great anyway.
Directions
Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select "Dough" setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.
1. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.
2 comments:
yum!!! my kids love pita bread...i have never tried making though...good for you!
Your bread looks wonderful. At some point I need to try a recipe for pita bread. I also like the afghani bread a lot.
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