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Perfect pita.
As a child my family hosted a family from Iran for several months as they got used to Canada, learned English, etc. I have fond memories of eating pita and hommous with a salty soft white cheese, like feta but soaked in brine. I recently bought some soft Bulgarian sheep feta at a local deli and it made me want that pita and cheese again. So I found this recipe at about.com (odd, I know) and got to it.
Mix:
1/2 c warm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 package)
1 tsp sugar (I would use honey next time)
Let yeast flower.
Mix:
3 c flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
Form hole in middle of flour. Pour yeast liquid into hole, add 1 c warm water and stir. Knead for 10-15 minutes, until dough is elastic. Let rise until doubled in size. Punch down. Form about 10 balls from the dough. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Roll out dough into circles, 5-6 inches across, 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 500F on preheated sheet for 4 minutes until it puffs up, then flip and bake for 2 more.
This is working wonderfully; the pictures should tell the tale well enough. I am so pleased with this. The recipe is prefaced with this: "It is very hard to duplicate in a home kitchen". Well, thanks for the warning, but no need. The recipe is simple, and these are great.
One minor thing: Next time I won't knead for so long, as they are a bit chewy.
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Doubled in far less than the suggested 3 hours.
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Waiting for the rolling pin.
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This was a pretty magical experience; until they puffed up I didn't quite believe that they would.
3 comments:
Ooooooooh! I am SO impressed. Those look delicious, and now I want soft white cheese.
I just had one with melted cheese in the pocket. It brought me back to my early teens, when it was my favourite snack. I think I'm about to go on a bread binge: buns are next on my list.
those are magic.
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