Pita bread

Heat the water and milk to around 40 degrees Celsius, add the yeast and the sugar, whisk until dissolved and leave somewhere warm 15 minutes until frothy.

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, pour in the yeast mixture, add the olive oil and mix to combine.

Knead in the bowl until shaggy, then on a clean worktop 12 to 15 minutes by hand or 8 to 10 in a mixer, until a piece stretches well before tearing.

Form a ball, oil the bowl, cover and rest somewhere warm for an hour.

Halfway through the rest, preheat the oven to 240 degrees Celsius with a heavy metal sheet pan upside down inside or a pizza stone.

Punch out the gas, form a log and divide into 8 pieces of 60 to 65 g, keeping them covered while shaping each into a neat ball.

Roll each ball into an evenly thick 6 inch circle on a floured worktop and transfer to a floured baking tray, covered.

Rest the rolled pitas 15 to 20 minutes, then bake in the order they were rolled.

Throw a pita onto the hot tray, close the oven and bake 3 minutes while it puffs; drag it out with a wooden spoon, golden on the bottom with minor browning on top.

Keep the warm bread covered while baking the rest; tear in half for pockets.