Pita

I visited Pete's Produce and got an eggplant. Once I had made baba ghannouj, I needed some pitas to eat with it.

I have tried several pita recipes, with barely edible success. Some rise with yeast, some with baking powder, some with steam. The one I have resisted trying, from Mideast & Mediterranean Cuisines, is not the kind that rises at all. It makes the flat pita breads that are not intended to be pulled open and filled. It's a lot like a thin-crust pizza that someone forgot to put toppings on, but tougher because it's pan-fried instead of baked. Today, that was exactly the kind of flatbread I wanted to make, so I finally tried the recipe. I made it with all white flour because I didn't have any whole wheat flour, and they came out fine.

1 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole-wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1-1/4 C water (approx)
Vegetable or olive oil

1. In a bowl, stir together flours and salt. Stir in enough water to allow dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

2. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead until dough is soft and smooth. Pinch off pieces about 2" in diameter. Shape into balls. Cover with a dry cloth towel and let rest 10 minutes.

3. Heat griddle (or frying pan) over medium-high heat. Lightly grease with oil. You will begin cooking when a drop of water sizzles on the pan.

4. Roll out a ball of dough into a 6" circle. Set on griddle and cook until lightly browned on underside, about 2 minutes. Turn and brown other side. Bread will puff slightly, but not a lot. Serve warm or place in plastic bags while still hot to keep soft.

5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 for remaining dough balls. Makes about 8 pitas.

Note: Do not do what I did and roll all the balls first and stack them off to the side. By the time I got down to the last two, they had stuck together and I had to re-roll them. They turned out tougher than the rest. Or, be sure to place waxed paper between each pita, preventing this sticky problem.

Difficulty rating  :)