you’ll ever need.
Let me just tell you how soft and yummy this pretty pita bread is. Why, it’s so soft and yummy that we were willing to heat up the oven in the middle of August just to have a stash of them on hand…or…in hand…as the case may be.
Make them my friends and see for yourself.
Fabuloso…maximoso…to the tenth power.
Pita Bread
3- 1/4 cups flour
2 t. salt
2 t. instant yeast
2 T. olive oil
1- 1/4 cups luke warm water
Combine all the ingredients in a mixer bowl and mix on low speed just until all the flour is moistened, about 20 seconds. Attach dough hook, and knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. The dough should be very soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch.
Allow dough to rise in a lightly greased bowl with plastic wrap over the top–for about 4 hours. Press it down when it starts to double in size.
Place a baking sheet in the oven on the lowest rack and preheat the oven to 475°F one hour before baking.
Cut the dough into 10 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Now roll each disk out into a thin circle. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 more minutes.
Quickly place 1 piece of dough directly on the baking sheet, and bake for 3 minutes. The pita should puff up and be just about ready to brown. If your pitas don’t puff–spritz the remaining disks with a little water before baking. Bake all pitas and remove from baking sheet to a warm towel so they will stay soft and warm.
Serve with butter, salsa, ranch dip, bean dip, melted cheese, honey butter, hummus or anything else that strikes your fancy. Don’t worry if all your pitas disappear in 20 minutes—chances are, you’ll be making more tomorrow anyway.
Heh, heh, heh.
- 3- ¼ cups flour
- 2 t. salt
- 2 t. instant yeast
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1- ¼ cups lukewarm water
- Combine all the ingredients in a mixer bowl and mix on low speed just until all the flour is moistened, about 20 seconds.
- Attach dough hook, and knead on medium speed for 10 minutes.
- The dough should be very soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch.
- Allow dough to rise in a lightly greased bowl with plastic wrap over the top--for about 4 hours.
- Press it down when it starts to double in size.
- Place a baking sheet in the oven on the lowest rack and preheat the oven to 475°F one hour before baking.
- Cut the dough into 10 pieces.
- Shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Now roll each disk out into a thin circle.
- Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 more minutes.
- Quickly place 1 piece of dough directly on the baking sheet, and bake for 3 minutes.
- The pita should puff up and be just about ready to brown.
- If your pitas don't puff--spritz the remaining disks with a little water before baking.
- Bake all pitas and remove from baking sheet to a warm towel so they will stay soft and warm.
Launi, I am doing a Kirby Cousins cookbook, to be ready for the Kirby Cousins Family Reunion that is being planned for next year. Would you be willing to share some of these scrumptious recipes along with pictures for the Cousins Cookbook?
I need to know now so that I can get going on it. I truly hope that you will participate.
Can you please help me understand why you’d have to have the oven going for an entire hours before baking?
I am going home on Sunday and can’t wait to make this with the girls. My husband makes homemade Hummus a lot and having pita bread to eat with it will be wonderful.
Because the whole key to getting the dough to “puff” is to have the oven rip-roaring hot–along with the pan. All I know is that it works. :}
Ooohh….let me know when he’s doing that again–I’ll be right over! Yum!
Enough said, I knew you’d know being the offspring of a famous chef – beside I also want to know why, something I never out grew I guess 🙂
Thanks
I hope you’ll make this again sometime so I can try it! 😉 Heaven forbid I make it myself! Heh. 🙂
Mmmmmm, those look yummy!!! I love it when you post recipes! I’m a recipe freak!!