Monday, January 10, 2011

Something Else to Do With Pizza Dough: Pita Bread

It's true, you can make pita with pizza dough. Ok, it's not quite the same, but it's pretty close. and works just fine for filling with salad or whatever you happen to want pita for. I filled mine with lettuce, onion and some jerk mahi mahi.

Last time I made the jerk mahi mahi I didn't put enough of the rub on, but this time I did. I just rubbed until I couldn't see fish any more through the seasonings and it worked out great. Heh.

To make the pita all you do is preheat a pizza stone or baking sheet (425 for the stone, 450 for a sheet), roll out a circle of dough about ~1/4" thick and slap it on the preheated cooking object. It bakes really fast, only about a minute or so, so you need to keep an eye on it. It should puff right up but if it doesn't just use it like a wrap instead of a pocket. Or just put some garlic butter on there and eat it out of hand. That is also good.

So who out there makes homemade pita? What's your favorite thing to put inside?

16 comments:

Plain Chicken said...

very cool!

Christo Gonzales said...

I dont but I should and if I did I would make falafel

vanillasugarblog said...

i haven't. but i love my tzatziki with hummus and those crispy falafel balls.

Karen said...

Looks good! Love the new look of your blog :)

Anna's Table said...

Great idea! Pita bread just screams shish taouk with hummus and veggies for me.

Lucy said...

I've never tried making pitta bread before but I love this idea! The bread looks great :)

Chris said...

I should have read this when Alexis came home with store bought, halved pitas this weekend!

Jeannie said...

That looks good! They'll be great as a light lunch:) Thanks for sharing!

Leslie said...

I think that is a splendid idea to use pizza dough

Joanne said...

I've actually never made pita before, even with all of my bread baking meanderings. I think I need to change that.

Unknown said...

Cool idea! You'll fix it for us, when we come??

The Brutal Gourmet said...

You have made pita with me, right? Didn't you participate when we made that "mideast feast" for the 'rents a couple of years back? Alas, I no longer own a baking stone, but either way, we should get together and make some falafel soon. Maybe do it up proper, and make some tatziki and hummus as well :)

The Brutal Gourmet said...

Speaking of which: Hi, Dad!

The Brutal Gourmet said...

Additional followup: For those who don't have a good pita recipe already, this is what Bob and I have done:

1 teaspoon dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (approximately 105 degrees F)
2 cups whole wheat flour
About 4 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Dissolve the yeast in the water, then mix in the wheat flour one cup at a time, then 1 cup of the AP flour. Stir briskly for 100 strokes to develop some gluten. Rest for at least 10 minutes, up to 2 hours.

Stir in salt and olive oil. Add AP flour, 1 cup at a time. Once it is too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter and knead with additional flour as needed for about 10 minutes (you know, smooth and elastic). Allow to rise in a lightly oiled, covered bowl for about 1 1/2 hours – about double in size. Punch it down. At this point, you can spray a Ziploc bag and store it in the fridge for up to five days – it gets better for quite a few days (ah, fermentation. So useful).

Whenever you want a pita, tear a chunk off your dough and let it come to room temperature (which it already is if you did not refrigerate it, of course). Roll it into a smooth ball, then roll it with a pin to about 1/4 inch thick. Bake on a 450 degree stone for 3-4 minutes.

Unknown said...

I love homemade pita!!! It's so quick and so easy! Especially if you already have some (any) dough made. I prefer just to eat it with some hummus

Lovelylittlevintagenest@gmail.com said...

Very good... I grew up eating "pizza" pita. We put everything in it! It is more tender i think than regular pita but I love both. I just love bread period. Thanx for sharing!

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