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Monday, October 13, 2014

Healthy Homemade Pita Bread

Make homemade pitas!  |  Lavende & Lemonade

Pitas. They're so tasty and versatile!  Dip them into hummus, fill them with chicken salad, bake them into healthy pita chips...and the list goes on. 

But make them from scratch?  I'd always imagined these would be extremely difficult to bake.  How in the world would I get that pocket of air in the center?  How is it possible to get such perfect rounds?  Don't you need a special oven or tools?  Nevertheless intrigued, I decided to give them a try.  Success!  
This easy pita recipe uses whole wheat flour, for added vitamins and nutritional value.

Healthy Homemade Pitas!  (Makes 8)

Ingredients:
3 cups of flour (I mix 1 cup whole wheat with 2 cups white for whole wheat pitas)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar (or honey)
1 packet yeast (I use 2 tsp from a big bag)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water at room temperature
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Mix the yeast with 1 cup room temperature water to activate it, stirring gently.  

Once the yeast is dissolved and bubbles form on the surface, add the flour, salt, olive oil, and remaining water and stir together with a wooden spoon.  The mixture should form a ball.  If there are bits of flour that aren't sticking to the ball, add a little more water.

Once all the ingredients are mixed into a ball, place it on a working surface.  I have a giant cutting board that I sprinkle with flour, which is much easier to clean afterwards than if I were to use just the countertop.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.  

For the lucky ones with a stand mixer, you can put the ingredients into the mixer and stir on low with the bread hook for about 10 minutes.

When kneading is finished, place the ball of dough into a bowl coated with oil, cover with a damp towel, and set it aside in a warm location until it has doubled in size.  (About 1 1/2 hours).

When the ball has doubled, punch it down to deflate it.  Then cut it into 8 equal parts (cut it into quarters, then cut each quarter in half).  Roll each of the 8 small pieces into a ball, trying to keep the top smooth and free of any seams.  

Set the 8 dough balls onto the work area, and cover them with the damp towel for another 20 minutes.  This helps them to relax, without drying out.

Now you can use this time to turn on the oven...to 400 degrees.  And also to prepare the baking surface.  You can use a traditional pan, but I think a baking stone or terra cotta tile works best for these.  Put it into the oven while it preheats.  I also add a small oven-proof container of water to the oven to give it a little humidity.

Make homemade pitas!  |  Lavende & Lemonade
These beauties are just a few minutes away once you've rolled out the dough!



OK...20 minutes later, uncover the little balls and sprinkle them with a little bit of flour.  Then roll each one into a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick circle.  If the dough isn't stretchy enough to reach this thickness, cover them up again for another few minutes and try again.
When they're rolled out, open up the oven and pop them directly onto the cooking surface.  
This part is really cool...They puff up!  This is the most exciting 3 minutes you'll ever spend in front of an oven!  I'm serious here.  

Bake them for about 3 minutes, until they're big and puffy.  Pull them out of the oven, and they'll deflate into beautiful pitas with perfect pockets inside!
Enjoy!



32 comments:

  1. That sounds so good. I never would have thought to make my own before :)

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  2. I would love to stuff one of those with steak and peppers and just dig right in. So good!

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  3. We love pitas and fresh bread.. we have a fresh bakery around the corner that makes them and they are so good..

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  4. I have pinned this, and I have printed it. I have always wanted to bake a batch of pita bread, but was unhappy with the recipe that is in one of my bread books. Even though I just baked three loaves of bread yesterday, I think I will try this this afternoon if I have the time. Thanks so much!

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    1. Wow! I hope you love it! I would love to hear how it goes for you and how it turns out!

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  5. I love pita bread. I'm going to have to try this recipe out - I hope I don't mess it up!

    Cheers!
    JoAnna
    foreverinparadise.net

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    1. I'm sure you'll do great! Its so cool to see the little pockets just appear out of the dough. I'd love to hear how yours turn out!

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  6. That looks delicious. I can never eat just one piece of pita

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  7. I am going to save this link!!
    I am going to you this next time I make my Humus

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  8. This looks amazing!!! I love pita bread, thanks for sharing

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  9. I love Pita bread. I've never made it before. I'll have to try it.

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  10. I would eat that in a heartbeat! How did you make it so enticing! I am jotting down this recipe! I'll try this soon! :) Thanks!

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  11. Looks yummy. My mom loves this - we should try this recipe soon.

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  12. I would probably have it stuffed with shrimp. Yea shrimp.

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  13. Yum!! I am going to have to make this for sure! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  14. Thanks for the recipe. The boys like to eat pita bread, maybe I would like to try to make.

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  15. I love pitas. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

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  16. Really impressed that you made these yourself - when I have seen them made in traditional restaurants I commented that it wasn't really possible to do them at home - but here you have it! Love pitas and everything in them and on them!

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  17. I love pita bread. I am impressed that you make it yourself.

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  18. Thanks for making it look easy to do. I always wanted to make my own, just didn't either have the time or the recipe was too intense. I'm going to try this weekend.

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  19. I've never made my own Pita bread before!

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  20. I have never made homemade pitas! I'll definitely bookmark this recipe so that I can try them soon!

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  21. Pita bread is so delicious! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.

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  22. I love using Pita bread for sandwiches or eating it with hummus. I will have to try this recipe.

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  23. I loooove pita bread! I love making them, too! Yours look BEAUTIFUL

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  24. The bread looks really fluffy! I don't think it've ever seen such good looking pita before!

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  25. Ooh, how fun! I've never tried to make a pita before, but I love eating them so I may as well give this a whirl!

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  26. This will go great with my homemade hummus. Pinned!

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  27. I adore making fresh pita bread! Yours turned out beautifully, btw.

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  28. Wow! That does sound relatively easy! I wonder if you could do the dough part in a bread Maker?

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