Pita Bread! **Recipe Alert**

I wish I could wax poetic about why I decided to make my own pita bread.  This time it was actually as simple as the fact that I saw a recipe for a nice chicken sandwich in pita that I wanted to have for lunch, and my new Au Naturale instincts said: "Make your own pita!"  So, I did.  Recipe below:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for sprinkling while kneading and rolling out dough
2 TSP salt
1 TBS sugar
2 TSP active dry yeast
2 TBS good olive oil
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)

Directions:
1) cut 8 8-inch squares of aluminum foil for baking pitas and set aside.
2) in a large bowl dissolve yeast and water.  Mix in 1 cup flour with the salt and sugar. Add the oil.
3) Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for three minutes, then stir in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time.
4) The dough should be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides of the bowl.  If the dough is moist, add a small amount of additional flour.
5) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 6 minutes.
6) Divide the dough into 8 pieces.  i patted the dough in a circle and used a knife to cut it like a pie:

7) Roll into balls, dust lightly with flour, and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rest for 30 minutes

pita dough balls

8) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

9) Use the palm of your hand to flatten each ball into a disk. Finish with a rolling pin, flattening the dough into a disk about 6" in diameter and 3/16" thick.  (I don't expect you to use a ruler for the 3/16".. just make it thin.) Their thinness is more important than making them perfectly round.

note the lovely imperfection

10) Place each round on a square of foil, and carefully place 3 or 4 of the rounds directly on the oven rack. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they are puffed.  

When you remove the breads from the oven, stack them up and wrap them in a large piece of foil. This will keep the dough soft while the tops fall, leaving a pocket in the center. Cut them in half (so you can fill the pocket) and serve warm or at room temperature, or let cool, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, place in a zipper bag, and freeze. Thaw frozen pitas before using (this only takes about 5 minutes at room temperature). To reheat, stack several in a pile, wrap with foil, and place in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Thanks to www.farmgirlfare.com for this recipe.

Some of the pitas didn't puff, which I understand to be because... sometimes they just don't.  I froze those to make pita chips later.  But beyond the chicken sandwich that inspired this kitchen experiment, I also found the pitas to be a great tortilla substitute when I made some completely Au Naturale black bean tacos with lettuce, carrot, freshly grated cheddar, and roasted tomatoes (as a substitute for salsa):

Bon Appetit!