Happy New Year everyone! I don’t know about you, but I am starting to feel a little less busy and overwhelmed from the holiday season. I have not been able to find the time to post anything for 2 weeks and I am excited to have the time to share this recipe with you today! Last year I made it my goal to try making home made bread and learn to work with yeast, and I have to say that I proudly met and exceeded that goal. I have come to love working with yeast and the home made breads are just so yummy that it is hard to think about buying many breads from the store anymore. That especially goes for pita after I made this recipe! This pita bread was amazingly delicious. It was so soft and fluffy and went perfectly with humus. My version didn’t make pita pockets, and I am not sure what the trick is to make them. After making this pita bread, I can honestly say that I will never buy store bought pita again. Store bought pita is like card board compared to this wonderfully fluffy version. Both of my girls absolutely love it as well and it makes a perfect snack. It is also whole wheat which can help with any of you starting your New Year’s resolutions! 🙂
Whole Wheat Pita Bread Printer Friendly VersionIngredients:
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. honey
1¼ cups warm water (105˚-115˚ F), divided
1½ cups bread flour, divided
1½ cups whole wheat flour, divided
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Cornmeal, for sprinkling
Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer*, combine the yeast, honey and ½ cup of the water. Stir gently to blend. Whisk ¼ cup of the bread flour and ¼ cup of the whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap and return the bowl to the mixer stand, fitted with the dough hook. Add in the remaining ¾ cup of warm water, 1¼ cups bread flour, 1¼ cups whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and let rise in a warm draft-free place, about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.
Place an oven rack in the middle position. Place a baking stone in the oven (if using) and preheat to 500˚ F.
Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten one ball at a time into a disk, then stretch out into a 6½-7 inch circle. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or other work surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Once all the rounds have been shaped, loosely cover with clean kitchen towels. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.
Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, onto the baking surface. (Note: These can be baked on a baking stone or directly on the oven racks. I use a pizza stone, but either method is fine.) Bake 2 minutes, until puffed and pale golden. Gently flip the pitas over using tongs and bake 1 minute more. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining pitas. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
*As always, anything mixed in a stand mixer can be mixed by hand.
Adapted From: Annie’s Eats
I made homemade pita bread about a year ago, and I too won’t go back to store bought.
OMG I’m totally trying this! I think soft, fresh pitas sounds wonderful – considering I ate a hard one for lunch! Thanks for sharing!
I can never thank you enough…but I will try.
Thanks a million for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing, I love making homemade pita bread and this whole wheat version looks great.
a soft, fresh pita sounds divine!
Those look amazing! You did fabulous job!
Yaaay for whole wheat! Thank you for sharing…I can’t wait to try this!
These look so soft and fluffy! I love that you added whole wheat flour too, I have been doing the same lately. I make mine in the BBQ grill where the temperature can get to 600F and it has worked great.
I was just looking for such a king of Pita to accompany an Indian dish. Thanks a lot.
I think the pita consumption in this house will quadruple. I cannot wait to try these!!
I make pita’s at home as well. The trick that I have learned to getting the pita’s to puff is to only bake one at a time and make sure you’re using a preheated baking stone. Each time I put more than 1 pita in the oven at a time, they won’t puff or won’t puff all the way. If I put just 1 in then it works! Not sure if there is any real reasoning behind it but it’s what always works for me.
Thanks for the tip about just putting one in at a time. I did use my baking stone, however I was baking three at a time. I will try just one next time. Although, I did love them the way they turned out.
I made these tonight to go with the hummus I’ve been craving. They turned out fabulous! Mine were darker than yours but I had to use molasses because for some reason I was out of honey. (How does that even happen? You’d think I’d remember throwing away the old honey container…) They poofed perfectly! I did them two at a time on my pizza stone. Two minutes on one side and one on the other. My only complaint is that mine aren’t nice and round like yours. >.< They look more like misshapen amoebas. Guess I'll just have to practice.
I am so glad that you enjoyed them! I think that they are fabulous!