Pita Bread

You will need a large bread bowl, a rolling pin, and unglazed quarry
tiles or several baking sheets, or alternatively a castiron or other
heavy skillet or griddle at least 9 inches in diameter.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread bowl. Stir to
dissolve. Add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then 1 cup white
flour. Stir 100 times (one minute) in the same direction to activate
the gluten in the flour. Let this sponge rest for at least 10
minutes or as long as 2 hours.

Sprinkle salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well.
Add 2 cups white flour, one cup at a time. When the dough is too
stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured bread board and
knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Return
the dough to a lightly oiled bread bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise until at least double in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
Gently punch down. Dough can be made ahead to this point and then
stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 5 days or less.

If at this time you want to save the dough in the refrigerator for
baking later, simply wrap it in a plastic bag that is at least three
times the size of the dough, pull the bag together, and secure it
just at the opening of the bag. This will give the dough a chance to
expand when it is in the refrigerator (which it will do). From day
to day, simply cut off the amount of dough you need and keep the rest
in the refrigerator, for up to one week. The dough will smell
slightly fermented after a few days, but this simply improves the
taste of the bread. Dough should be brought to room temperature
before baking.

This amount of dough will make approximately 16 pitas if rolled out
into circles approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than
1/4-inch thick. You can also of course make smaller breads. Size
and shape all depend on you, but for breads of this dimension the
following baking tips apply:

Place unglazed quarry tiles, or a large baking stone or two baking
sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a one
inch gap all around to allow air to circulate. Preheat oven to 450
degrees. Divide dough in half, then set half aside, covered, while
you work with the rest. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and
flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece
to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter. You may wish to roll out all
eight before starting to bake. Cover rolled out breads, but do not
stack.

Bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on quarry
tiles or baking sheets. Bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until
the bread has gone into a full “balloon” or until it is starting to
turn lightly golden, whichever happens first. If there are seams or
dry bits of dough – or for a variety of other reasons – your bread
may not go into a full “balloon”. Don’t worry, it will still taste
great. The more you bake pitas the more you will become familiar with
all the little tricks and pitfalls, and your breads will more
consistently “balloon.” But even then, if you’re like us, it won’t
always “balloon” fully and you won’t mind because the taste will
still be wonderful. When baked, remove, place on a rack for about
five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large
kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft). When first half of
the dough has been rolled out and baked, repeat for rest of dough, or
store in refrigerator for later use, as described above. You can
also divide the dough into more, smaller pieces if you wish, to give
you smaller breads.

Yield : 16 pitas about 8 inches in diameter, or more smaller breads.