Lance was a bit dissappointed that my bread of the month was pitas. Why? Since they're sooo simple and sooo yummy, I make them quite a bit. He was hoping for something a bit more exotic. Next month, I promise.
Now, a little background.
I fell in love with pitas 10 years ago when in Israel. Israelis and Palestinians: bad at getting along, geniuses with the flat bread. And the falafel. Before then I had never had real pitas, only that nasty cardboard stuff you get at the grocery store. (Which I have never had since, by the way.)
We got fresh pitas every day while we were there. A fresh pita with a couple of small cucumbers for lunch? HEAVEN. You know Nazareth, where Christ spent his childhood? I went there and don't remember a single thing except the bakery that sold the world's best pitas. I think you're starting to get the picture here.
Anyways, pitas are easy to make and yummy to eat. Anyone can make them. No really - anyone. It's go time.
I like to use Joy of Cooking's recipe. (Oh, how I love that book. Go buy it. Now.) I also like to use my stand mixer. I wouldn't make half the bread I do without it. Not that you can't make bread without a stand mixer - it's just a lot more work.
Dump 3C of flour, 1 1/2 TBL sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 4 tsp yeast into the bowl. Mix it a bit. Then add 2 TBL melted butter and 1 1/4 C room temperature water.
Now it's time to mix. But first we must stop and admire how I have my stand mixer attachments hanging in my cupboard.
No more awkward attachments falling out and getting in the way. Hooray for 3M hooks!
Back to the action. Mix all of the ingredients. Mix it good.
Then knead that dough. Knead it good. Until it's tacky but not sticky. (You might have to add a little more flour.)
Put the dough into a well oiled bowl, and roll the dough around to get it covered. (I just use the same bowl it was mixed in, sprayed with cooking spray.)
Then cover it with a clean towel and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (The recipe says to cover it with plastic wrap, but I'm a rebel that way.)
After it has risen punch the dough down and divide into 8 equal parts. (Zyliss sighting!)
Roll the parts into balls and place on a lightly greased surface. Cover with a towel and let rest 20 minutes. Try to keep your uber-curious toddler from flattening them all when your back is turned. Good luck.
Okay, here comes the part that might scare some people. I don't know why, but it seems like it could be scary. Heat your oven up to 450 degrees. I have a pizza stone and it works great, but you can also use an upside down cookie sheet. Whatever you use, make sure it's in the oven and rip-roarin' hot.
Roll out your dough to 1/8th of an inch thick. Don't mock my amoeba-shaped pitas; the dough was a little sticky today. Yeah, that's it...
Next, spray several sprays of water into the oven. I don't know why. I'm sure it has something to do with the humidity. Whatever, just do it. Wait 30 seconds.
Then toss a couple of those bad boys onto the pizza stone or cookie sheet.
Bake for 3 minutes and remove. I use my tongs because that's what I have.
Then let the pitas cool for a few minutes before digging in. (Ignore the chicken in the background - it's waiting to be put into the curry I made for dinner.)
Nothing's worse than burning your mouth on hot pitas and not being able to eat any more.
And more. And some more.
There you go. Manna from heaven: the pita.
Now, a little background.
I fell in love with pitas 10 years ago when in Israel. Israelis and Palestinians: bad at getting along, geniuses with the flat bread. And the falafel. Before then I had never had real pitas, only that nasty cardboard stuff you get at the grocery store. (Which I have never had since, by the way.)
We got fresh pitas every day while we were there. A fresh pita with a couple of small cucumbers for lunch? HEAVEN. You know Nazareth, where Christ spent his childhood? I went there and don't remember a single thing except the bakery that sold the world's best pitas. I think you're starting to get the picture here.
Anyways, pitas are easy to make and yummy to eat. Anyone can make them. No really - anyone. It's go time.
I like to use Joy of Cooking's recipe. (Oh, how I love that book. Go buy it. Now.) I also like to use my stand mixer. I wouldn't make half the bread I do without it. Not that you can't make bread without a stand mixer - it's just a lot more work.
Dump 3C of flour, 1 1/2 TBL sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 4 tsp yeast into the bowl. Mix it a bit. Then add 2 TBL melted butter and 1 1/4 C room temperature water.
Now it's time to mix. But first we must stop and admire how I have my stand mixer attachments hanging in my cupboard.
No more awkward attachments falling out and getting in the way. Hooray for 3M hooks!
Back to the action. Mix all of the ingredients. Mix it good.
Then knead that dough. Knead it good. Until it's tacky but not sticky. (You might have to add a little more flour.)
Put the dough into a well oiled bowl, and roll the dough around to get it covered. (I just use the same bowl it was mixed in, sprayed with cooking spray.)
Then cover it with a clean towel and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (The recipe says to cover it with plastic wrap, but I'm a rebel that way.)
After it has risen punch the dough down and divide into 8 equal parts. (Zyliss sighting!)
Roll the parts into balls and place on a lightly greased surface. Cover with a towel and let rest 20 minutes. Try to keep your uber-curious toddler from flattening them all when your back is turned. Good luck.
Okay, here comes the part that might scare some people. I don't know why, but it seems like it could be scary. Heat your oven up to 450 degrees. I have a pizza stone and it works great, but you can also use an upside down cookie sheet. Whatever you use, make sure it's in the oven and rip-roarin' hot.
Roll out your dough to 1/8th of an inch thick. Don't mock my amoeba-shaped pitas; the dough was a little sticky today. Yeah, that's it...
Next, spray several sprays of water into the oven. I don't know why. I'm sure it has something to do with the humidity. Whatever, just do it. Wait 30 seconds.
Then toss a couple of those bad boys onto the pizza stone or cookie sheet.
Bake for 3 minutes and remove. I use my tongs because that's what I have.
Then let the pitas cool for a few minutes before digging in. (Ignore the chicken in the background - it's waiting to be put into the curry I made for dinner.)
Nothing's worse than burning your mouth on hot pitas and not being able to eat any more.
And more. And some more.
There you go. Manna from heaven: the pita.
6 comments:
k, couple things:
I LOVE YOUR Organization Skills sometimes. You should open your own business. Love the cupboard!
Next, I'm kind of dumb when it comes to bread or mixers or baking really. But did you knead the dough in your mixer? Because if you did, I didn't know you could do that. I just have this ingrained picture of my mom kneading dough by hand for hours at a time. So I want to know.
Next, I need a mixer...everyday that I live, I keep wondering to myself when someone is going to get me one for my birthday, or unbirthday. Sigh.
Those look delish - I've never made pita's before, but now I want to...
Oh, Maren! I almost threw away my "Joy of Cooking" book because it didn't fit on my cookbook shelf and I haven't touched it in years. But now, I'll pull it out of the DI pile (we don't really have DI in these parts, but you know what I mean) and I'll make pitas! Great post with detailed directions and pictures! I'll have to copy you as I copy you on Bread of the Month (did that make sense?). I want to be just like Maren, 3M hooks and all!
Ginger - you most definitely can knead bread with a mixer. It's AWESOME!! I mean, it's really great; it takes about half the amount of time as by hand. But what I like best is that you don't have to make a mess on the counter. You should save your shekels and buy one, because it is definitely worth the investment. They go on sale on Amazon every once in a while - keep an eye out.
Mindi - don't throw away Joy of Cooking! I know it's not that fun to look at because it doesn't have any pictures, but it is an EXCELLENT resource for just about any cooking question you might have. I've learned a ton from it.
k, I'm totally going to have to try this now!
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