Homemade Pitas

If you have a free afternoon, you should bake your own pitas and devour them homemade hummus, fresh veggies, and a little feta cheese. Fair word of warning, though: your favorite Greek takeout place won't taste as great as it once did after you eat these.

Breads

Prep: 20 min
Rise: 1 hour
Cook: 30 min
Total: 2 hours
Yields 10 pitas

Dough
3 cups all-purpose flour (15 ounces) OR
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, instant year, and olive oil with a wooden spoon or dough whisk.
1 ¼ cups water
Add water and mix with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until a rough dough forms, about 2 minutes. Turn out onto a lightly flourly surface and knead by hand for 3 minutes. The dough should be moist and fairly sticky.
Invert your mixing bowl over the dough to cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes. This rest period will allow the dough to absorb the water and become less sticky.
Knead dough until soft, smooth, and only slightly tacky, about 5 to 10 additional minutes.
Rising
By hand, form dough into a ball by flattening dough and folding the four corners into the middle of the dough. Flip over and shape into a disc.
cooking spray
Lightly spray the sides of a large bowl with cooking oil. Place dough ball into bowl and turn several times to lightly coat dough.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Alternatively, place bowl in the refrigerator and less chill for up to 3 days. This will develop more nuanced flavors as the yeast breaks down over time but is not necessary.
Shaping
Place a baking stone or cast-iron skillet in the top rack of your oven and preheat to 475°F. Let oven preheat for at least one hour.
Cut the dough into 10 pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, take one piece of dough at a time and shape it into a small ball and flaten into a disc. Cover shaped dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll dough out into a circle. You can make it as thin or thick as you'd like.
Baking
Once oven has preheated for an hour at 475°F, take one piece of dough and carefully toss it directly onto the baking stone or cast-iron skillet. Bake until pita has puffed up but hasn't started to brown, about 2 minutes 45 seconds to 3 minutes.
Using a wide spatula or pair of tongs, remove pita and place in a bowl lined with a clean towel to cool. Bake remaining dough.
Serve with homemade hummus or use to make a pita wrap with your favorite vegtables and some feta cheese.

From MakeBetterFood.com. Jun 13, 2013. (makebetterfood.com/recipes/pitas/). Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

MakeBetterFood.com

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, instant year, and olive oil with a wooden spoon or dough whisk.
Add water and mix with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until a rough dough forms, about 2 minutes. Turn out onto a lightly flourly surface and knead by hand for 3 minutes. The dough should be moist and fairly sticky.
Invert your mixing bowl over the dough to cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes. This rest period will allow the dough to absorb the water and become less sticky.
Knead dough until soft, smooth, and only slightly tacky, about 5 to 10 additional minutes.
By hand, form dough into a ball by flattening dough and folding the four corners into the middle of the dough. Flip over and shape into a disc.
Lightly spray the sides of a large bowl with cooking oil. Place dough ball into bowl and turn several times to lightly coat dough.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Alternatively, place bowl in the refrigerator and less chill for up to 3 days. This will develop more nuanced flavors as the yeast breaks down over time but is not necessary.
Place a baking stone or cast-iron skillet in the top rack of your oven and preheat to 475°F. Let oven preheat for at least one hour.
Cut the dough into 10 pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, take one piece of dough at a time and shape it into a small ball and flaten into a disc. Cover shaped dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll dough out into a circle. You can make it as thin or thick as you'd like.
Once oven has preheated for an hour at 475°F, take one piece of dough and carefully toss it directly onto the baking stone or cast-iron skillet. Bake until pita has puffed up but hasn't started to brown, about 2 minutes 45 seconds to 3 minutes.
Using a wide spatula or pair of tongs, remove pita and place in a bowl lined with a clean towel to cool. Bake remaining dough.
Serve with homemade hummus or use to make a pita wrap with your favorite vegtables and some feta cheese.