Mary Makes Pita Bread!

I'm staying with the mid-Eastern theme for one more day. I asked my daughter to bring some pita bread home from the grocery store. It was so dry and tough...the polar opposite of what I had enjoyed at the Lebanese restaurant. So, I decided that since my granddaughter and I had all afternoon together, we should try our hand at making homemade pita bread. It turned out tender and absolutely delicious. I'm sure that Mary had a lot to do with that!

Mary helped form the loaves. The hardest thing for us to do was wait for the loaves to rise, but the reward was worth the wait!

Mmmmmmm, Mimi...this is really really good!!!

What a beautiful stack of pita loaves! Here's the recipe:

The Hungry Fox's Pita Bread

1 pkg. rapid-rise yeast
1 T. sugar
1/2 c. lukewarm water
6 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 c. milk
1 1/2 c. lukewarm water

-Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 c. lukewarm water until foamy.
-In bowl of food processor, briefly pulse 6 c. flour and 2 tsp. salt.
-Pour into flour mixture the yeast water, 1 1/2 c. warm water and 1/3 c. milk. Pulse until combined and starting to pull together.
-Process with stop & go motion until dough pulls together and becomes smooth and elastic.
-Pour dough out onto floured counter top and briefly knead until able to form a ball.
-Lightly grease large bowl with olive oil, add dough to bowl and turn to coat all sides with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and then clean cotton dish towel. Set over pot of tap-warm water for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Turn out onto lightly floured counter top.
-Knead and shape dough for 2 minutes. Form into long rope, about 3 inches in diameter.
-Heat oven to 475 degrees. ( Heat baking stone, also, on bottom rack.)
-Cut into slices (orange-size) and form into balls. Place on baking sheet, cover with clean cotton towel, and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Pat each ball into flat disc, then roll thinly (less than 1/4 inch) in shape of circle. Return to sheet; cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
-Place each disc directly onto heated baking stone or baking sheet.
-When bread is puffed, turn and continue baking for 2 minutes. Timing depends upon thickness of your bread. Do not overbake and it is not necessary to brown this bread.
-Remove loaves to cooling rack. Cool completely and store in plastic zipper bags for one day at room temperature and longer in fridge or freezer.
-Makes 11 -12

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie