Arabian pita bread
Middle Eats · ♥ 10.8K likes · 334.4K views · 10 min video
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 8 g salt
- 7½ g yeast
- 13 g sugar
- 20 g olive oil
- 85 g milk
- 85 g water
- 300 g all-purpose flour
Warm the milk and water slightly, to about room temperature and no hotter than 45 Celsius, since heat kills the yeast.
Blooming the yeast
Add the flour and salt to the mixer and mix about 20 seconds to distribute the salt.
Make a well in the flour, add the yeasty liquid and the olive oil, and mix on the lowest setting to a dough ball, about two minutes in the mixer or four by hand.
Knead about 8 minutes on low speed, or about 30 minutes by hand, until the surface is soft and smooth and only slightly sticky.
Flour the worktop, turn the dough out and form a ball by cupping the underside and rotating it.
- oil
Put the ball in a lightly oiled large bowl and turn it to coat; split between two bowls if it needs room to double.
- flour
Knock the air out, flour the worktop and form the dough into a rectangle.
Roll each portion into a ball, stretching the sides downwards and tucking them under for a smooth surface.
Flatten a ball, dust it, and roll it out with a rolling pin to an oval, rolling outwards from the centre only; turn 90 degrees and roll the other way, to about 2 mm thick.
Pull the rolled dough off the worktop slowly, set aside and cover; prove 20 to 30 minutes before cooking, rolling in batches so none over-proofs.
Place a clean oven tray upside down in the oven and crank the oven to its hottest temperature to preheat fully.
Oven versus stovetop method
Stove-top alternative: preheat a pan and flip the pita every 30 to 45 seconds until it puffs up.
Toss a pita onto the preheated tray and bake until it puffs and the edges brown; 3 minutes 30 seconds at 240 Celsius or 460 Fahrenheit.
Baking until puffed
Stack the cooked pitas on a plate or tray and cover with a kitchen towel 15 minutes so they steam and soften.