Pita Bread--with pockets

I LOVE pita bread, and a few years ago a friend of mine mentioned that she made her own pita bread.  The thought had never occurred to me.  So I gave it a try and it is awesome.  Easy and quick to make, it is also softer then the store bought bread.

Two options in pita bread:  pocket or no pocket.

I personally like both but usually strive for the pocket. 

Tricks to getting your pita bread to have a pocket:

1.  Let the dough rest after kneading but DO NOT let it rise

2.  Use enough water. The pocket is formed when steam is created in the cooking dough.  See how in the photo the pita bread has blown up like a balloon?  That is good if you want a pocket.  But to do this you must have water to turn to steam.  The dough should be very soft, almost sticky.

3.  When forming the pitas do not flour the counter top.  Instead spray it with cooking spray. This help keep the dough wet as you are not adding extra flour to the dough when you are shaping it.

4.  Cook on the bottom rack of your oven and only cook one pan at a time.  I have no idea why this makes a difference but it seems too.

5  The most important! Do NOT roll out to thin.  You are not making pie.  The pitas when rolled out should be kind of thick.

Pita Bread 

Printable Recipe

Think of all the things you can use this for: hummus, Panini, wraps, quesadillas, and the list goes on and on.

1 tbsp. active dry yeast 2 - 3 cups warm water 1 tbsp. honey 2 tsp. salt 6 cups flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Dissolve yeast in water, add the other ingredients. Mix well. Knead 5 minutes (10 minutes if kneading by hand)

Shape dough into 10 balls. let rest 10 minutes. Spray counter top with cooking spray.  To shape flatten ball with hand into an even circle, then using a rolling pin roll into a 7 inch round.  Do not make it any bigger than that.

Bake the rounds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and set on the lowest rack in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. This pita will be thicker than the ones you find at the grocery store. Wrap them in a cloth napkin until ready to serve. Makes 10 rounds.