Pita Bread

Total Time: 4 hrs Preparation Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups water (approximately 105 degrees f)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or 4 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil

Recipe

• 1 note: recipe can be made with all a/p flour.
• 2 you will need a large bread bowl, a rolling pin, and unglazed quarry tiles or several baking sheets, or alternatively a castiron or other heavy skillet or griddle at least 9 inches in diameter.
• 3 sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread bowl.
• 4 stir to dissolve.
• 5 add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then 1 cup flour.
• 6 stir 100 times (one minute) in the same direction to activate the gluten in the flour.
• 7 let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes or as long as 2 hours.
• 8 sprinkle salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil.
• 9 mix well.
• 10 add flour, one cup at a time.
• 11 when the dough is too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
• 12 return the dough to a lightly oiled bread bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• 13 let rise until at least double in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
• 14 gently punch down.
• 15 dough can be made ahead to this point and then stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 5 days or less.
• 16 if at this time you want to save the dough in the refrigerator for baking later, simply wrap it in a plastic bag that is at least three times the size of the dough, pull the bag together, and secure it just at the opening of the bag.
• 17 this will give the dough a chance to expand when it is in the refrigerator (which it will do).
• 18 from day to day, simply cut off the amount of dough you need and keep the rest in the refrigerator, for up to one week.
• 19 the dough will smell slightly fermented after a few days, but this simply improves the taste of the bread.
• 20 dough should be brought to room temperature before baking.
• 21 this amount of dough will make approximately 16 pitas if rolled out into circles approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4-inch thick.
• 22 you can also of course make smaller breads.
• 23 size and shape all depend on you, but for breads of this dimension the following baking tips apply: place unglazed quarry tiles, or a large baking stone or two baking sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a one inch gap all around to allow air to circulate.
• 24 preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• 25 divide dough in half, then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest.
• 26 divide dough into eight equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands.
• 27 roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter.
• 28 you may wish to roll out all eight before starting to bake.
• 29 cover rolled out breads, but do not stack.
• 30 bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on quarry tiles or baking sheets.
• 31 bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until the bread has gone into a full"balloon" or until it is starting to turn lightly golden, whichever happens first.
• 32 if there are seams or dry bits of dough- or for a variety of other reasons- your bread may not go into a full"balloon".
• 33 don't worry, it will still taste great.
• 34 the more you bake pitas the more you will become familiar with all the little tricks and pitfalls, and your breads will more consistently"balloon.
• 35 "but even then, if you're like us, it won't always"balloon" fully and you won't mind because the taste will still be wonderful.
• 36 when baked, remove, place on a rack for about five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft).
• 37 when first half of the dough has been rolled out and baked, repeat for rest of dough, or store in refrigerator for later use, as described above.
• 38 you can also divide the dough into more, smaller pieces if you wish, to give you smaller breads.