Pita Bread Pockets
Sometimes replicating the street style food gives you that satisfaction which could not replace any other happiness. Though a little lengthy process, but the fresh home-made pita bread is rewarding in itself.
My hubby is fond of Mediterranean food, next to Indian food. It was raining cats and dogs , wherein our Indian tongue goes out for some fried lip-smacking appetizers. So I thought of giving these a try, and they come out well. Why not try them with some Falafels, Hummus and a celery dip ?
INGREDIENTS :
1. All Purpose Flour (Maida) – 2 and 1⁄2 cups
2. Whole Wheat flour ( Sujata multigrain atta) – 1⁄2 cup
3. Active dry /Instant yeast (khamir) – 2 and 1⁄4 tsp or 1 sachet
4. Granulated sugar (cheeni) – 1 tbsp
5. Salt (namak) – 1 tsp
6. Olive oil – 2 tsp
7. Water (at 105 -110 degree C) – 1.25 cups
METHOD:
| Preparation Time : 4 hrs + 10 mins + 20 mins | Baking Time : 2 + 2 mins | Makes 7 medium size Pita breads |
Add active dry or instant yeast to lukewarm water with sugar and keep it aside to bloom.
In the meanwhile assemble all the ingredients on the counter. Add flours in a tureen (paraat). Sprinkle salt all over the flours.
After about 5-10 mins, when the yeast is foamed, add it with water in parts to the dry flours. Keep mixing with a spatula or spoon. Keep on adding water till all the flour is combined well.
Knead the dough with both hands until it gets soft and springy. If you press it with your finger it should bounce back slowly to its original shape. Pour oil in the bowl and grease it well ,now knead the dough in that bowl and cover it with oil layer as much as possible.
Cover it with a plastic wrap or wet towel and let it sit on the counter for 4 hrs. I kept it overnight with cling wrap in refrigerator. Don’t forget to take it out from refrigerator 1 hr in advance of preparation.
Once you see ,that the dough is doubled in size, remove the cling wrap and start punching the dough on clean counter or bowl.
Now roll the dough in a log and cut out equal portions from the dough to make roundels. Cover them with wet towels and let them rest on the counter for 10 mins. In the meanwhile preheat your oven to 500 degree F. Also place parchment paper in the tray to be used or use a pizza-stone or baking-stone for baking them.
After 10 mins , when each dough roundel is puffed up again, stat rolling them to approx. 1⁄2″ disc . Roll them evenly in a thick round or oval shape. Cover all the rolled breads with wet kitchen towels for 20 mins.
Once the oven is ready, and the discs are puffed a little after 20 mins, place 2 discs or one at a time in the tray and keep the tray on the 2nd to the topmost level of the oven.
Close the door and let it bake for 2 mins. If you see the bread puffing up, take it out and invert it on other side with a pair of tongs carefully and then again chuck in the oven for another 2 to 3 mins.
In the meanwhile preheat your cast iron griddle (tawa) or a wire rack on high setting flame on stove-top. This step is to introduce some dark spots on the pita bread. However, if you don’t want them, you may serve them directly from the oven too.
When pita breads are cooked from both sides in oven, take them out and flip them gently on your wire rack (or hot tawa) and rotate them slowly with tongs to get browned on all sides. Flip the other side and repeat this step.
Scrumptious Pita breads are ready to serve now. You may bake all of them together and keep in a casserole too for a few hours. Just warm them before serving.
Cut them in half with a pizza cutter or knife and then serve with your favorite dip, hummus and falafel.
Although , the recipe I followed said that they stay fresh for 2-3 days, but I found that they lose their taste after 6-8 hours. I would recommend make them fresh and have them hot in your plate with cool hummus and hot falafel 😛 . Please feel free to write to me for any new recipe or doubts or suggestions in the comments below …
Till then , enjoy the weather and keep cooking …
🙂