Homemade Pitas

When I started to focus more on simple, whole foods I began looking for recipes to replace some of the store-brought staples in our house that are laced with chemicals, preservatives, and sugar. Although it takes some extra time and preparation, the end result is SO worth it.

My husband and I really enjoy eating hummus as a snack, but I've been really disappointed by the taste (or lack thereof) of wheat pita bread options at the store. It's even more disappointing when you read the labels and see how many additives there are. So, my search for a better option began. I made a few batches of pita bread from this recipe. Although the bread tasted good it didn't "puff" and form a pocket like you'd expect from a pita (it was more of a flat bread). Today I decided to give a new recipe a try and I am so glad I did. These pitas puffed just right and taste great. You will never accept the store brought variety again after trying these...

Adapted from this recipe over at Mama's Gotta Bake

Ingredients

1/4 cup warm water

Pinch of sugar

Packet of active, dry yeast

3+ cups of whole wheat white flour

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tsp honey

Coconut oil spray (or oil)

Directions

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes until bubbly.
2. Pour yeast mixture into bowl of stand mixer and add 3 cups of flour, salt, oil, honey, and water.
3. Stir mixture with wooden spoon until moistened.
4. Attach dough hook and mix on low for 10 minutes (you could knead by hand, but I'm too lazy for that). 
5. If the dough isn't coming together after the mixer has been on for 5 minutes, add more flour a TBSP at a time. You want the dough to be cohesive enough that it kind of rolls into a ball around the dough hook.
6. Take the dough out of the mixer and knead it a few times by hand before forming it into a ball. (I sprayed my hands with the coconut oil to prevent the dough from sticking to me for this step).
7. Spray a bowl with coconut oil (or grease with olive oil) and put the dough ball into the bowl. 
8. Place dough into a pre-warmed oven (set to 120 degrees, opened to let the big rush of heat out, and then turned off) or just cover it with a towel and place in a warm place to rise.
9. When the dough has doubled in size (approximately 1 hour), punch it down and divide into 10-12 pieces (depending on the size of the pitas you want). I did this by shaping the dough into a rough log shape, cutting in half, cutting in half again, and then dividing each quarter into three equal-ish pieces. Roll each piece into a ball shape and set aside to rest on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover the balls with a piece of plastic wrap that has also been spritzed with oil and set aside for 20-30 minutes.
10. While the dough is resting, place a baking stone (or non-stick cookie sheet) into the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
11. When the oven is heated and your dough is done resting, prepare a lightly floured surface to roll out the pitas. I sprinkled a little bit of extra flour on each side of the dough, flattened it with my palm, and then rolled it to a rough circle/oval shape approximately 1/8-1/4 of an inch thick.
12. Working in batches of 2-3 (depending on how big your pitas are), place the rolled out pitas onto the baking stone/cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes. I really recommend setting a timer for 4 minutes and checking them at that point. At five minutes my pitas were just barely browned, but the puffed tops were firm to the touch. Cook less for softer pitas, longer for crisper pitas.
13. Remove pitas from oven with a spatula or tongs and place to cool on a baking raking.
14. Fill with the stuffing of your choice, cut into wedges to use with dip, or be inpatient and eat one still warm from the oven like this girl right here did!