Mediterranean Pita Triangles Recipes

HOMEMADE PITA BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup lukewarm water and stir in yeast and sugar until dissolved. Add 1/2 cup flour and whisk together. Place the mixing bowl in a warm place, uncovered to form a lose sponge. Give it 15 minutes or so, the mixture should bubble.
• Now add salt, olive oil and almost all the remaining flour (keep about 1/2 cup of the flour for dusting later). Stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass (at this point, the dough has little to no gluten development and just looks like a sticky mess and you can easily pull bits off). Dust with a little flour, then knead the mixture inside the bowl for about a minute to incorporate any stray bits.
• Dust a clean working surface with just a little bit of flour. Knead lightly for a couple minutes or so until smooth. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead again for a couple more minutes. The dough should be a little bit moist, you can help it with a little dusting of flour, but be careful not to add too much flour.
• Clean the mixing bowl and coat it lightly with extra virgin olive oil and put the dough back in the bowl. Turn the dough a couple times in the bowl to coat with the olive oil. Cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap then lay a kitchen towel over. Put the bowl in a warm place. Leave it alone for 1 hour or until the dough rises to double its size.
• Deflate the dough and place it on a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 7 to 8 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Cover with a towel and leave them for 10 minutes or so to rest.
• Using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces into a circle that's 8-9 inches wide and about a quarter inch thick. It helps to lift and turn the dough frequently as you roll so that dough doesn't stick to your counter too much. (If dough starts to stick, sprinkle a tiny bit of flour). If the dough starts to spring back, set it aside to rest for a few minutes, then continue rolling. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. (Once you get going, you can be cooking one pita while rolling another, if you like). You have two options for baking the pita from here.
• Heat the oven to 475 degrees F and place a heavy-duty baking pan or large cast iron skillet on the middle rack to heat. Working in batches, place the rolled-out pitas directly on the hot baking baking sheet (I was only able to fit 2 at a time). Bake for 2 minutes on one side, and then, using a pair of tongs, carefully turn pita over to bake for 1 minute on the other side. The pita will puff nicely and should be ready. Remove from the oven and cover the baked pitas with a clean towel while you work on the rest of the pitas.
• To cook pita on stovetop: Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. (Test by adding a couple drops of water to the skillet, the skillet is ready when the beads of water sizzle immediately). Drizzle a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil and wipe off any excess. Working with one pita at a time, lay a rolled-out pita on the skillet and bake for 30 seconds, until bubbles start to form. Using a spatula, flip the pita over and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side, until large toasted spots appear on the underside. Flip again and cook another 1-2 minutes to toast the other side. The pita is ready when it puffs up forming a pocket (sometimes, with this method, the pita may not puff or may only form a small pocket. Try pressing the surface of the pita gently with a clean towel). Keep baked pita covered with a clean towel while you work on the rest.

PITA CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles. Place triangles on lined cookie sheet.
• In a small bowl, combine the oil, pepper, salt, basil and chervil. Brush each triangle with oil mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Watch carefully, as they tend to burn easily!

PITA TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Combine ingredients except bread. Using a sharp knife, split pita into rounds. Spread each with a tablespoon or so of mixture and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze uncovered, then transfer into plastic bag. When ready to use, preheat oven to 375°. Cut frozen circles into 6ths (small size) or 8ths (large loaves) using a sharp carving knife. Spread on cookie sheet, in one layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they start to brown a little.

BAKED PITA TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Place pita triangles directly on rack. Bake until golden brown and completely crisp, about 10 minutes.

MEDITERRANEAN PITA TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place whole pitas on baking sheet.
• Mix yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, water and garlic until smooth.
• Spread half of yogurt mixture on each pita bread.
• Cut yellow pepper lengthwise into strips about 1/8 inch wide, then cut strips in half and place decoratively on pitas.
• Then top each pita with half of the tomatoes, olives and feta.
• Bake for 8 minutes, until pita begins to crisp and feta is beginning to melt.
• Remove from oven, cut pitas into 6-8 triangles and serve warm, or leave whole and serve as individual pizzas.