Better Than Pita Grill Bread Recipes

GRILLED PITA

Steps:

• Whisk 2 1/2 cups flour and the yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the water and mix using a rubber spatula until the dough comes together. The dough should be a little sticky, but soft and able to hold its shape. Add up to 1/2 cup more flour, if needed. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until it's soft, smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer and knead until the dough becomes soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough might be just a little sticky and that's okay.
• Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Place in a draft-free area, such as a turned-off oven, until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
• Gently deflate the dough by pressing it down with your hands. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and gently flatten. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place a cast-iron griddle on an outdoor grill and heat it to medium high (450 degrees F) with the lid closed. Alternatively, you can use a large cast-iron skillet.
• Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out 1 piece of dough into a round about 1/4-inch thick, flipping the dough a few times to prevent it from sticking. Meanwhile, keep the remaining pieces of dough covered with a kitchen towel. Transfer the rolled-out pitas to a baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining dough, stacking the rounds with a flour-dusted piece of parchment or wax paper between each round to prevent them from sticking.
• Brush the griddle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle a little water on a rolled-out pita and place it on the griddle. You can cook 2 pitas at a time on a grill pan and 1 pita at a time on a cast-iron skillet. Close the grill and cook until there are small light brown spots on the pita, about 2 1/2 minutes on each side. Some of the pitas will puff up as they cook. Transfer to a platter and cover with a clean towel to prevent them from drying out. Repeat with the remaining rolled-out pitas. (It shouldn't be necessary to re-oil the griddle if it is well-seasoned.) Serve warm.

BETTER-THAN-PITA GRILL BREAD

Steps:

• Whisk together flour (2 cups), sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl until combined. Whisk together water, oil, and egg in another bowl until combined well, then stir into flour mixture until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking, about 2 minutes (dough will not be smooth). Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled bowl, turning to coat, then let rest in bowl, uncovered, in a warm draft-free place 10 minutes.
• Cut dough into 10 pieces and form each into a ball. Working with 1 piece at a time, flatten balls, then roll out into 6-inch rounds (less than 1/8 inch thick) on lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin.
• Preheat grill pan or skillet over moderately high heat just until smoking, then reduce heat to moderate and grill bread rounds, 1 at a time, turning once, until marks appear and bread is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Keep breads warm, wrapped in a cloth napkin.

GARLIC-OREGANO GRILLED PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Cook garlic, turning once, until pale golden, about 1 minute. Discard garlic and remove skillet from heat, then stir in oregano.
• Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas); see Grilling Procedure .
• Oil grill rack. Grill pitas, 3 at a time, covered only if using a gas grill, turning once, until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a cutting board and brush both sides with garlic-oregano oil. Cut pitas into wedges. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve warm.