Pita Bread - Part 2

Ingredients in Part 1 The dough will smell slightly fermented after a few days, but this simply improves the taste of the bread. Dough should be brought to room temperature before baking. This amount of dough will make approximately 16 pitas if rolled out into circles approximately 8 to 9" in diameter and less than 1/4" thick. You can also of course make smaller breads. Size and shape all depend on you, but for breads of this dimension the following baking tips apply: Place unglazed quarry tiles, or a large baking stone or two baking sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a 1" gap all around to allow air to circulate. Preheat oven to 450~. Divide dough in half, then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9" in diameter. You may wish to roll out all eight before starting to bake. Cover rolled out breads, but do not stack. Bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on quarry tiles or baking sheets. Bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until the bread has gone into a full "balloon" or until it is starting to turn lightly golden, whichever happens first. If there are seams or dry bits of dough ~ or for a variety of other reasons - your bread may not go into a full "balloon". Don`t worry, it will still taste great. The more you bake pitas the more you will become familiar with all the little tricks and pitfalls, and your breads will more consistently "balloon." But even then, if you`re like us, it won`t always "balloon" fully and you won`t mind because the taste will still be wonderful. When baked, remove, place on a rack for about five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft). When first half of the dough has been rolled out and baked, repeat for rest of dough, or store in refrigerator for later use, as described above. You can also divide the dough into more, smaller pieces if you wish, to give you smaller breads. Bakers` Dozen, Alford and Duguid, TVFN. MM Waldine Van Geffen [email protected]. -----