Pita Bread- Serves 8.
Ingredients:
1 1/8 cups warm water
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Directions:
Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select Dough setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will beep. If you don’t have a bread machine, proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar, then mix together into a dough using a mixer with a bread hook.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
Preheat oven to 500°. Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas are softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months. Serve as gyros or replace bread with pitas for lower carb sandwiches.
