pita bread

If you are going to be making the hummous recipe i posted yesterday, then a logical accompaniment would be pita bread! This incredible middle eastern pocket bread is fairly easy to make and absolutely delicions. Nothing compares to freshly baed bread, just out of the oven!!

2 cups water
2 and 1/2 cups white flour
1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp yeast

combine all ingredients in a stand mixer and let the machine knead the bread for 20 minutes. Or you can mix together by hand and knead by hand as well. As i have posted before, my right hand, due to 20 years of shakuuhachi practice, is no longer available for kneading so i always use a stand mixer to work my bread and pasta doughs.

After kneading, roll dough in another tbsp olive oil, place in bowl and cover and let rise in warm, dry place for 2 hours. The dough should double in size.

Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal size pieces and then round each piece. Cover and let rise another hour.

After the second rise, roll out each into a flat circle. Sprinkle corn meal on a baking sheet and bake the rolls at 500 degrees for 5-7 minutes or till lightly browned and start to puff up.

To create the pockets, place the baked breads in a bowl or baking tray, cover with a towel for 2 minutes and the breads will collapse, forming the classic pocket bread.