I know that some of you sweet people still have snow on the ground. But with our temperatures over 80 today, my mind is on summer!
My favorite summer meal is sandwiches--with the sandwich filling stuffed into Pita Bread! Pita is quite possibly one of the easiest yeast breads to make. I've been making it for years and we never tire of it.
This is my favorite recipe. Sometimes I do add a teaspoon of salt to the ingredients, but the original recipe does not call for it. The three ingredients listed are all there is to it.
Pita Bread
1 tbsp. yeast
1 ¼ cup tepid water
3 to 4 cups whole wheat flour or ½ white ( I usually use only one cup of wheat flour in this recipe, but I have made it with all whole wheat and it works very well).
Dissolve yeast in tepid water. Stir in two cups of flour. Beat with 50 vigorous strokes to work up the gluten and add air.
Add the rest of the flour a half cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and can be kneaded.
Knead the dough in the bowl or on a floured board for about 10 minutes, adding flour if needed unto the dough is elastic and smooth and no longer sticks to your fingers.
Shape the dough into balls about 2 inches in diameter. I usually make 10 balls from this amount of dough. Flatten each ball on a lightly floured surface and with a rolling pin, roll each ball into an approximately 5 inch round, one quarter inch thick. The final size of the round may vary, just try to keep the thickness even and about ¼ inch.
Put on baking sheets and let rise 45 minutes or until slightly risen. Preheat over 500 degrees (must be very hot for bread to ’puff’). Turn the rounds upside down on to the baking sheet just before you put them in the oven.
Place baking sheet on oven rack and bake 5 minutes, or until they are well puffed. They will be hard when they first come out of the oven, but will soften as they cool. They’ll keep unfrozen 4-6 days, depending on the temperature, and can be frozen for 6 months.
NOTE: THERE IS NO FAT OR OIL IN THIS RECIPE.THERE IS NO SALT IN THIS RECIPE
I hope you try this sometime and enjoy the results!
R~Mary
Mmm, warm pita bread with hummus! Yummy. I wore out my mini-food processor once making hummus. What is your favorite filling for pita bread?
ReplyDeleteDana, I have to say that I like most anything in Pita bread. Salad and veggies are some of my favorites, expecially if they are grilled~but I like ham or tuna, too!
ReplyDeleteMmmm- I love Pita bread stuffed with lettuce and egg salad, Rose Mary. Thanks for sharing this recipe- it sounds pretty easy!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this. I love pitas and they are hard to come by where I live! Can't wait! Thanks for posting the recipe.
ReplyDeleteAren't you so sweet to share your pita recipe with us! I love pita bread and hummus, too... sounds like fum.
ReplyDeleteI love chicken salad with sprouts in pita bread.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recipe, Rose Mary!
Pat
I made mine too thin and they were like really hard cookies. My boys said they would make great skeet targets! LOL! I'll have to try again but this time I'll use half white flour and half whole wheat. Oh! And make them a little thicker! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rose Mary!
Oh, Rose Mary!
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious! I have never seen a recipe for pita bread, before -- and thank you for including the before and after pictures! AND the tip that they soften as they cool. (I would have freaked out, just knowing that I messed them up, if you hadn't told me!)
It was hot, here, today -- already 89 and I don't even know what the heat index was. Looks like we're in for a "fun" summer!
Blessings,
Julie
Mavis, I'm sorry that yours did not turn out well. You might try it with just one cup of wheat flour and use white for the rest. Wheat is a little harder for me to get good results in a recipe. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed that you make your own pita bread. I didn't even know that was possible... ha ha....shows you how much I know about bread making. Looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteWell I am just so excited about this! I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Lea
Hi RM,
ReplyDeleteThat pita idea sounded really good.
I plan on getting all my flowers and hanging baskets next week. I have pansys and snap dragons now, they can handle the cooler weather. But even so I had to cover them the last two nights.
Hope all is well in your world.
NANCY JO
Are you ok out there? The storms did not get to close I hope? I was woundering about you. WOW 80, it sounds like around here. One day 90 and the other in the 70's Go figure.
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely! ohh, I'm getting hungry now!...Cheers...Pam
ReplyDeleteI will be very sure to try this soon. Thanks a lot. Have a great day. connie from Texas
ReplyDelete