Pita Bread

0 comments

Pita Bread is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas.

prep time

30 mins

cook time

1h 30 mins

serves

Ingredients

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
160 ml milk, at room temperature
80 ml water, at room temperature
320 g bread flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil + extra for brushing

Method

Combine the sugar, yeast, water and milk in a bowl. Set the bowl aside for 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to froth.
In another bowl, combine the flour, the salt and the chopped fresh thyme leaves and give it a mix to combine.
Add the oil to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture in batches. Make sure each batch is incorporated before adding the next.
Transfer mixture to a lightly floured working surface. Knead for 4-5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth.
Brush a bowl with some oil and add the dough.
Cover with a towel and let it rest for about 40 minutes, until it rises and doubles in size.
Place a pan over medium heat.
Press on the dough to remove the air and cut into 6 equal sized pieces.
Place pieces of dough on a lightly oiled working surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out each piece of dough to a circle 20 cm in diameter.
Cook the pita bread for 1-2 minutes on each side in the pan, until they puff up slightly.

Pita Bread is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, also known as Arabic bread, Syrian bread and other names, as well as pocketless versions such as the Greek pita, used to wrap souvlaki.The Western name pita may sometimes be used to refer to various other types of flatbreads that have different names in their local languages, such as numerous styles of Arab khubz (bread). Pita Bread is also a key component of Greek, Middle Eastern and Lebanese food.

Dietary Information

Nutritional Information

Typical values*	per Serving	contents
Total Energy		328 Kcal
Protein	14%	47 Kcal
Fat	9%	29 Kcal
Carbohydrates	77%	252 Kcal

Factoid

Pita has roots in the prehistoric flatbreads of the Middle East.There is evidence from about 14,500 years ago, during the Stone Age, that the Natufian people in what is now Jordan made a kind of flatbread from wild cereal grains. Ancient wheat and barley were among the earliest domesticated crops in the Neolithic period of about 10,000 years ago, in the Fertile Crescent. By 4,000 years ago, bread was of central importance in societies such as the Babylonian culture of Mesopotamia, where the earliest-known written records and recipes of bread-making originate, and where pita-like flatbreads cooked in a tinûru (tannur or tandoor) were a basic element of the diet, and much the same as today's tandoor bread or taboon bread. However, there is no record of the steam-puffed, two-layer "pocket pita" in the ancient texts, or in any of the medieval Arab cookbooks, and according to food historians such as Charles Perry and Gil Marks it was likely a later development.

Video