Pita Bread -- Using The Master Recipe #309834

Total Time: 12 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 7 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups beer, 12 oz. bottle, room temperature lager such as budweiser (note water can be substituted however it will somewhat effect the flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups water, warm approximately 100 degrees
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 6 1/2 cups unsifted unbleached all-purpose flour (29.25 ounces)

Recipe

• 1 refer to artisan boule bread for instructions to prepare the dough necessary to make the pitas.
• 2 to bake: (dough should be refrigerated for at least 24 hours).
• 3 twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a baking stone.
• 4 just before baking, dust a pizza peel with flour.
• 5 with wet hands, pull up one end of the refrigerated dough (artisan boule bread). using a serrated knife, cut off a 1-pound, or grapefruit-size, piece of dough. (note a 1 pound piece of dough will make 4 pitas so adjust the amount needed as necessary.)
• 6 divide the dough into 4 pieces (no larger than 4 ozs. each) and shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four side, rotating a quarter-turn as you go.
• 7 place the dough on a flour-dusted pizza peel, dusting the top with flour.
• 8 with a rolling pin, roll the dough out into rounds with a uniform thickness of 1/8 inch. this is important, because if it's too think, it may not puff.
• 9 with a quick motion, slide the pitas from the pizza peel directly onto the preheated baking stone.
• 10 bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly browned and puffed.
• 11 for authentic, soft-crusted results, wrap the pitas in a clean cotton dish towel and set on a cooling rack when baking is complete.
• 12 the pitas will deflate slightly as they cool, however the space between the crust will still be there.
• 13 serve with your favorite filling.
• 14 once cooled the pitas can be stored in a zip-lock bag.