Everyone's baking bread, which is GREAT. But some people need something a bit simpler. (Not that bread is that hard, but still...) So, here's the pita recipe I make with my 5th grade cooking class every year. If they can do it, you can too!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup, plus 2 cups warm water, divided
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 cups bread or all-purpose flour
¼ cup olive oil
Method:
Pour ½ cup of the water in to a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let rest for 2 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam. Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer on low, add the yeasted water slowly to incorporate. Then slowly add more water and the oil. Mix until a smooth ball of dough forms. It should not be sticky. This can take up to 8 minutes and may not use all the water, or may require more.
Place the ball of dough in a lightly oiled bowl cover with a clean cloth and let rise for one hour, until it has more than doubled in size. Remove the dough from the oiled bowl and knead briefly by hand until it is smooth, then divide in to 12 equal sized balls.
Roll out each ball of dough to a diameter of about 6 inches and 1/8 inch thick. The key is to roll it out evenly. If it is thicker in one place it doesn’t puff up evenly.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add the rolled out dough pieces one at a time and let it puff. This might take two minutes. Use tongs to turn the pita over when it is inflated and continue to cook for 1 minute. Do not worry if it doesn’t puff up.
Alternatively, you can bake all of the pita at once on a parchment lined sheet pan in a 500F degree oven.
Serve warm or store in an airtight container for up to two days.
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