Thursday, August 6, 2009

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

It turns out we eat a lot of pita bread and I've been wanting to find a whole wheat version to try. I came across this recipe and wanted to give it a try.
This makes 8 whole pitas.
*1 1/4c. warm water
*1 TBSP. oil
*1 tsp. salt
*2 tsp. sugar
*2 3/4c. whole wheat flour
*1/3 c. gluten
*1 1/2 tsp. yeast

Combine water, oil, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add yeast, 1 cup flour and gluten and stir until well combined. Add the remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough, adding a little more flour if necessary.
Put the dough in a bowl, lightly coat the top of dough with oil, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double (about 1 hour).
Punch down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 equal pieces. form each piece into a ball and roll out to form a 6-7 inch circle. As you roll each circle, set aside on a lightly floured countertop and cover loosely with a towel to keep them from drying out.
Let rise for 25-35 minutes until puffy...but they will still be thin.
Preheat oven to 500. Place 2 rounds (mine fit 3) on a cooling rack. Place rack in the middle of oven and bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and slightly browned. You'll want to watch these through the oven door...and your kids will love watching what these flat little rounds do in the oven.
Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap pitas in a damp towel to soften while baking the remaining bread.Allow to cool completely and store in a zip-top bag in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer. To rewarm, wrap in a damp paper towel and wrap in foil. Put in warm (200 degree) oven for about 20 minutes.
We had a few of these right out of the oven with some fresh hummus. We enjoyed the rest with tandoori chicken and rice.

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