Pita Pita!

I made homemade pitas yesterday. There's been a recipe floating around on pinterest so I decided to give it a go. I'm not completely sold. Maybe I needed to roll them out a little more or my expectations were too high (we live next to the best pitas in Philly). They were good but more of a pita-english muffin cross. It was fun watching them puff up as they bake. There are some other recipes out there that tweak the ingredients that I might try out. 

Homemade Pitas

(found on Pinterest, from Under the High Chair)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon yeast
1 ¼ cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3- 3 ½ cups flour
Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast in water for about 5 minutes in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add salt and 1 ½ cups flour and with the dough hook, beat to make a batter. Add additional flour until a rough, shaggy mass is formed. Knead 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour if it is too sticky.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into six pieces for large pitas or ten for smaller. I make all sorts of sizes to suit different snacks and meals. Form dough into balls, then flatten with a rolling pin into ¼ inch thick discs. Try and keep an even thickness as this is what helps them ‘puff’.
3. Let rest on the floured surface 30-40 minutes until slightly puffed.
4. Preheat oven to 425F. With a large spatula, flip the rounds of dough upside down on to a baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes until light golden. Stick around for the first five minutes of baking when the pitas perform their magic and puff up from flat pancakes to proud, four inch high pitas.