Pitas

Wanting fresh pita bread for dinner but tired of buying those over-priced, dried out pitas at the store, I knew it would be easy for me to make my own delicious pitas, and at a fraction of the cost.

Really Rose's Pita Bread Recipe

(makes 8 pitas)

1 teaspoon dry yeast

1-1/4 cups hot water (105 degrees F)

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups unbleached bread flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Small amount of cornmeal

Pizza stone for baking

I sprinkled the yeast over the hot water in a large bowl and stirred until it was completely dissolved. Then added the whole wheat flour and one cup of the unbleached flour and stirred for about one minute to activate the gluten in the flour and created a sponge. I let the sponge rest for about 10 minutes, then sprinkled the salt over the sponge and added the olive oil. I mixed in the salt and oil. I mixed in the remaining cup of unbleached flour until the dough was too stiff for me to stir, then turned it out onto a lightly floured surface and kneaded until it was smooth and elastic.

Once shaped into a ball, I placed the dough into a large, well oiled bowl, turning to coat both sides of the dough with the oil from the bowl.

I covered the bowl with oiled plastic wrap and placed it in a warm spot in my kitchen. The dough had doubled in size in approximately one hour.

I punched down the dough with my fist.

The pizza stone was placed on the oven rack, and the oven preheated to 450 degrees F. Dividing the dough into 8 fairly equal in size small balls, I rolled each of the balls into an approximate 8 to 9 inch circle.

Once the oven was preheated, I sprinkled a small amount of cornmeal on the preheated stone and placed one of the rolled out pita circles in the center of the stone, baking it for 3 minutes.

The pita circles bake fast and puff dramatically, becoming just slightly brown when they were done. I quickly removed each pita from the oven as I baked them one at a time. As they cooled slightly, the aroma was wonderful - moist, warm, wheaty, yeasty and just slightly doughy.

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My dinner, one warm pita cut in half and stuffed with my favorite salad mixture, ham slices, a small amount of crumbled sharp cheddar, a little feta cheese and crumbled bacon with huckleberry dressing drizzled over it all.

Absolutely yummy!!!

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Stored covered to use within a few days, or wrapped an frozen to use later, these pitas are so very much better than any I have ever purchased at the grocery store.

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Nutritional Info:
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 175.8
Total Fat: 1.9 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 146.0 mg
Total Carbs: 34.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
Protein: 5.2 g