pita obsession
I know, I know. You're thinking how many posts can this guy milk out of something as simple as pitas. Well, I think this is the last one. Promise!
I did make the pita bread yesterday as planned though I didn't start it around 10am as planned, but rather in the late afternoon. Since the process takes around 4 hours, this changed from a late lunch into a late dinner. No problem though, it still tastes the same!
The picture to the left is the top pita, on a stack of them separated by cloth towels while they lasted then paper towels at the end. I only have 5 hand towels for the kitchen but there were 16 pitas. The recipe was perfect for 16 pitas though I used my mixer instead of kneading by hand. I've got incipient arthritis in my hands so I try not to aggravate it by excessive squeezing. One thing, you don't want to roll these too thin. Maybe 20% thicker than you would for a pie crust.
On the left there you can see some of the finished pitas. This was about half way through the baking process. I didn't have a pizza stone so I used a very heavy aluminum baking pan I have.
Since you're only baking for 4 minutes--the recipe called for 3 minutes but probably due to the relatively lesser heat retention of my metal baking pan, I had to up the baking time by a minute--you need to get in and out of the oven quickly. I used tongs to remove the pitas from the pan so I didn't need to keep the door open long.
You can also see the garlic butter I prepared in the saute pan. I added a little bit of that to the inside of the pitas to give them a little boost in taste. Mmmmm.
Here's a picture of the pitas once I'd loaded up the inside with bruchetta mixture, some onion, and some cheese mix. I had feta in there but also some Romano, Provalone and Parmesan. Ha! It's like a listing of districts in Italy.
Was it worth it to make the pitas from scratch? I don't know. They tasted quite good but I'm not sure they were that much better than any you'd buy in a store. It was neat though to see how the dough, when baked, just formed pockets without any intervention. You cut open the baked pita and it's in two layers. Neat!
As you can see from the picture, it was fun to fill that pocket! I even had one for breakfast today.
I did make the pita bread yesterday as planned though I didn't start it around 10am as planned, but rather in the late afternoon. Since the process takes around 4 hours, this changed from a late lunch into a late dinner. No problem though, it still tastes the same!
The picture to the left is the top pita, on a stack of them separated by cloth towels while they lasted then paper towels at the end. I only have 5 hand towels for the kitchen but there were 16 pitas. The recipe was perfect for 16 pitas though I used my mixer instead of kneading by hand. I've got incipient arthritis in my hands so I try not to aggravate it by excessive squeezing. One thing, you don't want to roll these too thin. Maybe 20% thicker than you would for a pie crust.
On the left there you can see some of the finished pitas. This was about half way through the baking process. I didn't have a pizza stone so I used a very heavy aluminum baking pan I have.
Since you're only baking for 4 minutes--the recipe called for 3 minutes but probably due to the relatively lesser heat retention of my metal baking pan, I had to up the baking time by a minute--you need to get in and out of the oven quickly. I used tongs to remove the pitas from the pan so I didn't need to keep the door open long.
You can also see the garlic butter I prepared in the saute pan. I added a little bit of that to the inside of the pitas to give them a little boost in taste. Mmmmm.
Here's a picture of the pitas once I'd loaded up the inside with bruchetta mixture, some onion, and some cheese mix. I had feta in there but also some Romano, Provalone and Parmesan. Ha! It's like a listing of districts in Italy.
Was it worth it to make the pitas from scratch? I don't know. They tasted quite good but I'm not sure they were that much better than any you'd buy in a store. It was neat though to see how the dough, when baked, just formed pockets without any intervention. You cut open the baked pita and it's in two layers. Neat!
As you can see from the picture, it was fun to fill that pocket! I even had one for breakfast today.
Comments
When I went to your area, I was on Morrow Mill Road.
Wow, you're amazing. Michele sent me today and it's been quite a trip!
If you havn't already - then try an Arab شاورم version - I used to eat a lot of pitta when in Saudi Arabia and Turkey ideally with some kind of spiced chicken shwarma filling, garlic mayo and even a light toasting to the outside of the bread. If veggi then garlic, cardamon, cinnamon, lettuce and tomato. I shall go do this myself and hmm - I don't normally do recipes!
Here today from Michele's.
rashbre
Michele sent me
however i do like it very much. especially filled with felafel, grated cheese and salad, hummus is also a fave, but you really should try them filled with smelly brie or camembert cheese and fresh coriander leaves you can also add chicken if really hungry.. yummy scrummy*
I love the little tiger on your blog... do you know him or just love tigers?
They are one of my favorite animals!
Smiles,
Chrissie
michele says HI>
Michele sent me over to drool over pita bread posts.