Pitta Bread

Pitta Bread

I have a day off work today so decided to make some pitta bread for our lunches for the rest of the week.  They are really easy to make and require minimal effort.  I used a recipe from Paul Hollywood’s How to Bake.

 

First strong white flour, salt and fast action yeast are mixed together with water and a little olive oil.  The mixture is then kneaded to form a smooth dough.  This is left in a covered bowl to rise for about 2 hours (in my fairly cold house) or until doubled in size.

 

The dough is then knocked back and split into even sized pieces; I am a bit pedantic about this and weigh the dough!  The pieces are rolled in to balls – keep them covered so they don’t dry out and form a skin.  Preheat the oven at this point to about 220C.

 

Roll each ball out on a floured work surface to form a rough oval which is about 3-4 mm thick.  Keep them covered until they are ready to cook; I just put a tea towel over the top of them.

 

The pittas are then cooked on preheated baking sheets or baking stone – I used one of each, there was no difference in the finished pittas.  Initially the bread is really puffed up – this is the pocket where your filling will go.

 

Cover them with a clean tea towel as they cool – this will keep them soft.  They gradually deflate and end up looking remarkably similar to those you get in the supermarket.

 

I had one for my lunch with some homemade broccoli and stilton soup – just what is needed in weather like this…