I found a great recipe book and have been trying a few things lately for the kids. It's all grain recipes - and most grains don't agree with Allen - but the kids love it all!
Today I decided to try my hand at making pitas. The book says they're so much better than the dry pitas you buy in the store - and man, is that ever true!! These were amazing!! It was a thrill to watch them puff up. They came out beautiful and the kids love them!
The book was right. Store-bought pitas don't compare at all! I will definitely make these again!
3 comments:
Those look delicious! Were they hard to make? Where did you find the recipe, I wouldn't mind giving them a try :-)
It's from a book called King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. I got it from the public library (was recommended by one of the women at a Provident Pantry workshop I went to)
Yield: 8 large pitas
Baking Temperature 450
Baking time: 5 minutes
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour (I assume this means white flour)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (I made mine quite hot)
2 tbsp olive oil
Combine all the ingredients and mix and knead them together - by hand or mixer - until you have a soft, supple dough, about 8 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in the mixer. You may need a bit more flour, but remember whole grain dough starts out a bit stickier and absorbs liquid as it develops, so don't add too much at the beginning or the process; you'll regret it later. You want a soft dough that feels tacky to the touch. Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
Place a baking stone the bottom rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 450
After it's risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Divide one half into 4 equal portions and form each into a rough ball. Let the balls rest for 10 minutes, covered, while dividing the second half of dough, in the same way. This rest makes the dough easier to roll out.
Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball to a circle about 6 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Use only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the pin and the work surface. Too much flour allows the dough to skid around. Keep the waiting balls of dough covered as you work.
Flour a baker's peel and load 2 pitas at a time directly on the hot baking stone. It should take 3 or 4 minutes for the pitas to go into a full "balloon".
Turn them once while they're baking to assure a speckled, brown crust on each side. Remote the pitas from the oven and repeat with the remaining pieces.
Stack the warm pitas together in a kitchen towel to keep them from crisping as they cool.
Nutrition Information per serving (1 pita, 90g): 25 g whole grains, 26 cal, 4 g fat, 6 g protein, 35 g complex carbohydrates, 4 g dietary fiber, 402 mg sodium, 148 mg potassium, 2 m iron, 10 mg calcium , 120 mg phosphorous
* I don't have a baking stone. I used an insulated cookie sheet and they worked great. I also don't know what a baker's peel is.
* My kids really loved these. They were a huge hit! I'll definitely do it again and would recommend this recipe.
I can't wait to try these. I just bought dry pita's at the store. hmmm, sounds like a great project. Thanks for sharing
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