Pita Bread

My hubby and Neha loves all these middle east and Mediterranean cuisine. They both are a big fan of pita breads too. A friend of mine wanted me to try out pita breads and share my experience with her. So, here I am with my version of pita bread made with a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. The restaurant ones are more whiter in colour because it is made fully of apf.

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour 125 gm
• Maida 100 gm
• Salt 3/4 tsp
• Instant yeast 1/2 tsp
• Sugar 1tsp
• Lukewarm water 3/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp
• Olive oil 1 tbsp

Method:

• Mix all the dry ingredients and knead into a soft and smooth elastic dough by the standard stretch and fold method using the lukewarm water and olive oil.
• Keep the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl and cover the bowl with a cling film and keep it in a warm place for it to double in size.
• Punch the dough down to remove the gases and knead for a minute. Divide the dough into equal size balls and keep it aside, covered for 10 minutes. ( I got 400 gm dough of which I made 8 balls of 50 gm each).

• Roll each ball into a roti of diameter around 5-6 inches and 1/4 – 1/8 inch thickness. Keep it covered for 20 minutes. Repeat the same for the remaining balls.
• Now either (i) heat a heavy girdle or an iron tava on gas stove and cook the pita bread on both sides till its nicely puffed up. Cook all the breads in a similar fashion.
  Or
• (ii) preheat the oven at 180 degree celsius and cook the bread on a baking tray. Cook both the sides well. It will puff up like a poori.
• Cool and store it wrapped in a clean towel. Enjoy it with grilled chicken, salad, hummus, falafel and dip of your choice. You can make sandwiches or make pita pockets.

Notes:

• This can be made with 100% maida or any combination of apf (all purpose flour) and wwf (whole wheat flour) or try with full 100% wwf.
• The above is a baked version. I have earlier tried making it on gas stove. As per my experience, I found cooking on gas stove to be easier and faster than baking in the oven. But then you will find small brown spots on the bread.
• Make a perfect Middle east fare at your home and impress your loved ones.