Month: June 2010

I’ve always wanted to make homemade pita bread.  So, this weekend, I finally gave it a try.  It wasn’t too difficult..it just involved time, like most bread recipes.   You had to do a bit of stuff and wait….do a bit of stuff….then wait 3 hours…do a bit of stuff and wait…

My plan was to make homemade pita bread and then homemade hummus.   I have a delicious hummus recipe that my aunt gave me…but at the last minute I realized I didn’t have enough chick peas…and I really didn’t feel like going out to the store…so I tried to use what I had..but I ended up adding too much tahini paste…oh well.

But I did think the pita turned out nicely.   The first batch..I cooked too long and they are a bit chewy.  I think I will freeze some of them and see how they taste after being frozen.  We like to use them for little mini pizzas when we need a quick meal.

You had to bake them at 500°, so the entire kitchen got incredibly hot…maybe next time I won’t pick a 94° day to make pita!!  Next…I am going to make tortillas……

Pita Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Preparation:

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

Combine flour and salt in large bowl.

Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.

Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.

Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.

Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Aunt Loretta’s Hummus Recipe

• 1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Aunt Loretta’s Hummus Recipe

• 2 cups cooked chick peas
• 4 to 5 garlic cloves, mashed
• 1/2 cup tahini paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 lemon
• 2-6 teaspoons water

Add all in food processor and blend til paste.  Garnish with paprika and parsley.

For Baba Ganoush  –   follow same recipe but use eggplant instead of chick peas and no water