This comes from my friend at Kitchen Challengers and I made it vegan. You might think making your own pita bread would be a hassle (or a pain in the ass) but actually, it was quite easy and what a huge difference! They were soft, fluffy and not one bit dried out like store-bought pitas. Go for it! Check out my gyro recipe using these pitas.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup warm water
3 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm soy milk
olive oil to coat bowl
DIRECTIONS:
Mix yeast and warm water, set aside for about 10 mins until it bubbles. Fit a dough blade into the mixer and combine the flour and salt. Gradually add the milk and the yeast mixture while continuing to turn the flour. Continue mixing until the dough forms a ball–for me it took about a minute. The dough will be a bit sticky, so plop it onto a floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. Shape into a smooth, pretty ball. Place in a very large, lightly oiled bowl. Turn to coat all side of dough and let rise in a warm area for 1 hour.
When dough has at least doubled in size, punch it down and tear off handfuls of dough. You can make anywhere from 8-12 pitas. I made about 10 by rolling out a pieces to about 6-7″ in diameter on a very lightly floured surface. Rolling is also a great way to rid the dough of air bubbles. Place rolled out sections on lightly oiled cookie sheets, cover with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel and let rise for 30 mins.
Preheat oven to 500. I baked the pitas in batches (4, 4 and 2). After the first minute in the oven, the dough will begin to rise. Brush the top with olive oil and bake for another 5-8 mins. I know that’s a big spread of time, but every oven is different. Mine baked in about 7-1/2 to 8 mins. The tops will get a beautiful golden brown. Just keep an eye on them.
Let cool completely and store in large Ziploc bags–don’t slice until you get ready to use them. I found that after you slice one in half, place it in the microwave for 15-20 secs and then slice carefully down the middle to open up the pocket and fill. Enjoy!
Looks good, what do you think the sub would be if I wanted whole wheat pitas?
I’ve thought about that, too. Maybe half/half. 3 cups WW flour and 3 cups regular flour. I figured I’d attempt that next time I make these. Let me know if you do and how they come out.
Just made these and they came out great! I ended up doing 4 cups whole wheat/2 cups white and added a little extra milk.
I’m so glad! I will have to try using whole wheat flour next time. Did you whole wheat pastry flour? Or just regular?