Pita Bread From A Mix Recipes

THE EASIEST HOMEMADE PITA BREAD RECIPE!

Steps:

• To prepare this pitta bread recipe add in a mixer's bowl the yeast, sugar and water and blend to dissolve the yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until yeast froths.
• Add the flour and salt and mix using the dough hook for 6-8 minutes. Alternatively you could mix the ingredients by hand.
• Depending on the flour used, the dough may need a little bit less or more flour than this pita bread recipe calls for. After mixing for a while the dough for your pita bread should become an elastic ball and a bit sticky.
• When ready, coat the dough with olive oil, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let it sit in a warm place, for at least 20 minutes or until it doubles its size. This is an important step for this pita bread recipe. The first proof makes the pita bread fluffy and soft. If it is winter, turn the oven on for a minute or two, until it's a little warm, switch it off and then let the dough rise in it.
• Take the dough out of the bowl and gently deflate with your hands. Use just a tiny bit of flour to help you if it is too sticky. Split into 6 evenly sized balls around145g/ 5 oz. each.
• Let the pita bread balls rest for 15 minutes before shaping. This is the second proof and will allow your dough to relax and become easier to shape.
• To form the pita bread, you can either use a rolling pin, or stretch it with your hands, about 20cm in diameter. A rolling pin will make a crunchier pita, while hand stretching a softer, fluffier one. If the dough springs back, set it aside for a few minutes to rest and then continue rolling again.
• For a more traditional look on your pita bread, press the dough firmly with your fingertips forming dimples or use a fork to make some holes on top.
• , heat a non-sticking frying pan to medium heat and add just a little bit of olive oil and wipe off any excess. Bake each pita bread for about 3 minutes on each side, until slightly coloured and still soft. If your pan has a lid, place the lid on while baking them to keep the moisture in.
• use the steam method. Cut a piece of aluminium foil to the size of your pan. Generously sprinkle and spread some olive oil on it. Shape and place your pita on the foil. Pour a large glug of water in your plan over medium low heat - it should start steaming immediately! Place your pita immediately in it and cover with the lid. Let it steam for 12-15 minutes. Take it out, flip it over and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the foil.
• To give it more colour, when you flip your pita bread, push it lightly with a wooden spoon on the pan.

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.

QUICK AND EASY HOMEMADE PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Pour yeast into 1/4 cup of the warm water. Add sugar, mix well, and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Sift the flour along with the salt into a bowl.
• Form a well in the center. Pour in the yeast mixture, the remaining cup of warm water, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Begin to mix with your hand, a wooden spoon, or the dough hook of a standing mixer to form a dough.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 to 15 minutes, or use the stand mixer and dough hook, until the dough is smooth and soft but not sticky. If needed, add more flour until the dough comes together nicely.
• Oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Turn to coat the entire surface with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and put the dough in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 475 F. Place a heavy baking sheet or baking stone on the lowest rack of the oven. With the help of a rolling pin, roll the dough out, then fold and roll again. Close like a book, roll again, and close again, repeating the process a few times to get the air bubbles out of the dough. Shape the dough in a rectangle of about 9 x 12 inches and about 1/2 inch thick.
• Divide the dough into 10 pieces and cover with a dampened towel.
• Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll and turn each ball as you would shape a pie crust. Each pita should be about 1/4 inch thick and about 7 inches in diameter.
• Sandwich each dough circle between floured cloths and let them rest while you roll the remaining dough balls.
• Lightly sprinkle the hot baking sheet or baking stone with flour. Place as many pitas as will comfortably fit.
• Bake for about 5 minutes or until they just begin to show some color, carefully flipping them about halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and cover with a clean kitchen towel until cooled. Repeat the baking process with the remaining dough. Serve with your favorites dishes, and store in a bread bag for up to three days.
• Enjoy!

PITA BREAD

Steps:

• You will need a large bread bowl, a rolling pin, and unglazed quarry tiles or several baking sheets, or alternatively a castiron or other heavy skillet or griddle at least 9 inches in diameter.
• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then 1 cup white flour. Stir 100 times (one minute) in the same direction to activate the gluten in the flour. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes or as long as 2 hours.
• Sprinkle salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add white flour, one cup at a time. When the dough is too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Return the dough to a lightly oiled bread bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least double in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Gently punch down. Dough can be made ahead to this point and then stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 5 days or less.
• If at this time you want to save the dough in the refrigerator for baking later, simply wrap it in a plastic bag that is at least three times the size of the dough, pull the bag together, and secure it just at the opening of the bag. This will give the dough a chance to expand when it is in the refrigerator (which it will do). From day to day, simply cut off the amount of dough you need and keep the rest in the refrigerator, for up to one week. The dough will smell slightly fermented after a few days, but this simply improves the taste of the bread. Dough should be brought to room temperature before baking.
• This amount of dough will make approximately 16 pitas if rolled out into circles approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4-inch thick. You can also of course make smaller breads. Size and shape all depend on you, but for breads of this dimension the following baking tips apply:
• Place unglazed quarry tiles, or a large baking stone or two baking sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a one inch gap all around to allow air to circulate. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough in half, then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter. You may wish to roll out all eight before starting to bake. Cover rolled out breads, but do not stack.
• Bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on quarry tiles or baking sheets. Bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until the bread has gone into a full "balloon" or until it is starting to turn lightly golden, whichever happens first. If there are seams or dry bits of dough - or for a variety of other reasons - your bread may not go into a full "balloon". Don't worry, it will still taste great. The more you bake pitas the more you will become familiar with all the little tricks and pitfalls, and your breads will more consistently "balloon." But even then, if you're like us, it won't always "balloon" fully and you won't mind because the taste will still be wonderful. When baked, remove, place on a rack for about five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft). When first half of the dough has been rolled out and baked, repeat for rest of dough, or store in refrigerator for later use, as described above. You can also divide the dough into more, smaller pieces if you wish, to give you smaller breads.

PITA POCKET BREAD (BREAD MACHINE)

Steps:

• Place the above ingredients into the bread machine according to owner's manual specifications (mine does wet ingredients first).
• Program for DOUGH or MANUAL.
• After the program is completed, divide dough into 10 equal pieces; shape each into a smooth ball; place five on each baking sheet.
• Let rise for 20 minutes while oven preheats to 500; flatten puffy balls gently into a 6-inch disk.
• Bake for five minutes (tops will be puffed and beginning to brown).
• Cut each circle in half to form two pockets.
• Fill with your favorite sandwich fixin's: ham, turkey, chicken salad, lettuce, sprouts, cheese and grapes.
• TRADITIONAL BREAD-MAKING: In a mixing bowl, mix water, sugar and yeast; allow to foam for 3-5 minutes; add oil and salt, mixing well; mix white & wholewheat flours together in a separate bowl, then add to liquids, mixing until well-blended. Place dough-ball in a well-greased bowl, allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume. Continue from Step #3 above.

HOMEMADE PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over 1 cup warm water, then add sugar. Let sit until bubbles form in the water, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, milk powder, and salt together in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment until combined. Add yeast mixture and knead on low speed; it may look unmanageable at first but in a few minutes it will leave the sides of the bowl and form a ball. Continue to knead gently until ball is soft and smooth. If dough is too dry and hard, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water. If dough is too wet, add a little flour.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours.
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Roll into a cylinder shape or flatten it with your hands and divide into 10 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rise for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto the work surface. Take one dough ball and gently flatten it with your fingers or a rolling pin into a 6- to 8-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with remaining balls. Cover and let rise one more time, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Lightly grease with remaining olive oil and place pitas into the skillet. Cook until bubbles form and pitas puff up, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook, without turning, until completely puffed up, another 2 to 3 minutes.

PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Add the flour, yeast and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix to combine. With the machine running at medium-low speed, add 1 cup warm water and mix well. Increase the speed to medium to medium-high and continue mixing, adding more warm water if necessary, until the dough gathers into a ball, completely pulls away from the sides of the bowl and the bowl is clean, about 5 minutes total.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Remove the dough from the bowl, sprinkle with flour and knead by hand until smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball, place in a large bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm, humid place for 1 hour.
• Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured surface, kneading lightly to deflate it. With floured hands, pull small portions of dough (slightly bigger than a golf ball) and roll them into balls.
• Flatten each ball with your hands, then roll it thin with a rolling pin. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Once heated add the bread and cook until browned and bubbled on the first side, then flip and cook the other side until it puffs and turns golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Serve the bread with the pickles, tomatoes, green olives, mint leaves, zaatar and labneh, if you like.

PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Sift flour and salt together in a large bowl.
• Combine yeast, sugar and 1/3 cup very warm water-give a quick stir and set aside for 5 minutes to activate yeast.
• Make a well in the flour/salt mixture and add the yeast, 1 cup warm water and the olive oil.
• Gently stir to gather dough into a ball-you may need a touch more water-depending on where you live, altitude.
• Turn out and knead for 10 minutes.
• Put into a LIGHTLY greased large bowl, cover and place in a warm spot for around 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch down and knead to smooth.
• Cut dough into 12 pieces, form into rounds, roll out and place on a dusted baking sheet, cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 500F degrees.
• I use my large cast iron skillet for this part, so I place it in the oven and when really hot I place in two pitas and let bake for around 3 minutes-you can broil for 1 minute if you like, just to get the tops browned.
• I wrap the cooked pitas in a slightly damp tea towel for a minute or two-then cool and place in plastic bags.
• This process can also be done on a cooking sheet.

PITTA BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the yeast with 300ml warm water in a large bowl. Leave to sit for 5 mins until the yeast is super bubbly then tip in the flour, salt and olive oil. Bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Don't worry if it looks a little rough round the edges.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 5-10 mins until you have a soft, smooth and elastic dough. Try to knead using as little extra flour as possible, just enough so that the dough doesn't stick - this will keep the pittas light and airy. Once kneaded, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to double in size, approximately 1 hour.
• Heat oven as high as it will go (ideally 250C/230C fan/gas 9) and put a large baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven to get searingly hot. Divide the dough into eight balls then flatten each into a disc with the palm of your hand. On a lightly floured surface, roll each disc into an oval, around 20cm long, 15cm wide and 3-5mm thick.
• Carefully remove the hot tray from the oven. Dust with flour then place your pittas directly onto it - you may have to do this in batches. Return swiftly to the oven and bake for 4-5 mins, or until the pittas have puffed up and are a pale golden colour. Wrap each hot pitta in a clean tea towel once it's baked to keep it soft while the others cook.

CHEF JOHN'S PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Place yeast into the work bowl of a stand mixer and add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. Whisk together and let stand 15 to 20 minutes for mixture to rise and make a loose sponge. Mixture will bubble and foam.
• Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and salt into sponge; add 1 3/4 cup flour. Mix at low speed, using a dough hook attachment, until dough is soft, supple, and slightly sticky. If dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, a little at a time.
• Knead dough with machine on low speed until slightly springy and still soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and form into a ball.
• Wipe inside of bowl with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil. Turn dough around in bowl to cover with a thin film of oil; cover bowl with foil and let sit until dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Remove dough from bowl and place onto a floured work surface. Lightly pat into a flat shape about 1 inch thick. Use a knife to cut dough into 8 pieces.
• Form each piece into a small round ball with a smooth top, pulling dough from the sides and tucking the ends underneath the bottom.
• Cover dough balls with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a work surface and top of a dough ball; gently pat dough ball flat with your fingers, forming a flat, round bread about 1/4 inch thick. Let dough round rest for 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
• Brush a cast-iron skillet with remaining 3/4 teaspoon olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Lay pita bread into hot skillet and cook until bread begins to puff up and bottom has brown spots and blisters, about 3 minutes. Flip, cook 2 more minutes, and flip back onto original side to cook for about 30 more seconds. Pita bread will begin to puff up and fill with hot air. Stack cooked breads on a plate; when cool enough to handle, break breads in half and open the pocket inside for stuffing.