Monday, August 16, 2010

Pita Bread

Pita is a  round pocket bread that is prevalent in Middle East and Mediterranean cuisine.The pocket in pita is formed when the steam puffs up the dough while cooking and when cooled there is  a pocket in the middle. I had never attempted a pita before but was tempted to when I found an excellent recipe at Peter Minakis' Kalofagas.He had adapted the recipe from Vefa's Kitchen by Vefa Alexiaduo.

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour: 3 cups
Salt: :1 tsp or as per taste
Instant Yeast: 2 tsp
Sugar: 1 tsp
Olive oil:2 tbsp

Warm Water : 1 and 3/4 cup or as needed.
Corn meal : for dusting
Vegetable oil for greasing the pan


Preparation:
In a bowl add water,oil,yeast,salt and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes or until active.Add in flour in to the bowl and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover and leave in a warm spot for rising about 30 minutes.

Divide the risen dough into 6 pieces.Roll out each piece into 1/4 inch  thick 8-10 inch rounds.Dust with corn meal and poke each round with the tines of the fork gently.

Heat a pan on medium heat and spray with little oil.Place a pita on the hot pan/skillet and cook for a few minutes till you see it puffing up.Flip to the other side and cook till done.

Stack the pita one on top of the other and keep wrapped in foil or warm towels till serving time.Serve it with your choice of gravy or loaded with salad or your choice of filling.


The pita puffed up excellently and you can see the pocket here :)

The pita tasted fine with the salad I stuffed up inside.The texture was right and same as that of shop bought ones. You can also cut it into small pieces and bake into pita chips.Thanks Peter for the keeper recipe.

17 Comments:

Akila said...

Wow... that looks really yummy yummy...

http://www.akilaskitchen.blogspot.com

Merut said...

I love homemade pita! And it really is not that difficult to make. Which reminds me . . . maybe I should make some!

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

I have one pita recipe bookmarked for a long time. but am yet to find good yeast in Bangalore. you have done a great work with the bread. very inspiring.

Jane @ Sweet Basil Kitchen said...

Hmmm. I have been wanting fresh pita bread to make chips for our hummus! Those little pockets look magical!

Unknown said...

wow, that looks so soft and great !!!

Pavani said...

looks soft n tasty..

notyet100 said...

looks so temptin

chef and her kitchen said...

Bookmarked....I was in search of one good recipe for pita bread..I think now my search is over..looks perfect dear

Priya Suresh said...

Awesome looking pitas, yet to prepare..

Neetz said...

loved it!!!!

Neetz said...

loved it!!!!

Divya Kudua said...

Looks perfect!

Sunshinemom said...

Looks nice Sweatha. I like the stuffed ones. Easy to eat:)

Sweet Artichoke said...

Home-made pitta bread are so much better than the ready-made ones! These looks soft and delicious! I have never tried baking them in the pan. will definitely try next time!

Saee Koranne-Khandekar said...

That looks perfect--something I definitely want to try!

Lav said...

hey first time here..always wanted a perfect recpie for pita pockets...got then here..must try soon !! do visit my space :)

Lavanya

www.lavsblog.com

tasteofbeirut said...

how interesting! I have never made pita in a skillet before but I think it is a lot easier than the other methods so I will give it a shot.

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