Yummy, Fresh Pita Bread

The pita bread recipe I use comes from The Bread Bible, an absolutely wonderful book by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

I've written the recipe using the variations I used, but in the book, Rose provides a hand-kneading method, an all-white pita, an all-wheat pita, and instructions for cooking the pitas on the stovetop using a cast-iron skillet.

Ingredients:1 1/2 c plus a scant 1/8 c unbleached all-purpose flour (Gold Medal, King Arthur, or Pillsbury)

1 1/2 c plus a scant 1/8 c white whole wheat flour.

2 tsp salt

2 tsp instant yeast (Fleischmann's Bread Machine Yeast or Rapid Rise, Red Star's QuickRise or Red Star's Instant Active Dry)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 liquid cups water, at room temperature.

Equipment:a baking stone or a baking sheet

Mixing Using the Mixer Method: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients. With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed (#2 if using KitchenAid) just until all the flour is moistened, about 20 seconds. Change to the dough hook, raise the speed to medium (#4 KitchenAid), and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should clean the bowl and be very soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch. Add a little flour or water if necessary.

Rising: Let the dough rise. Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough into a 2-quart or larger dough-rising container or bowl, lightly greased with cooking spray or oil. Press the dough down and lightly spray or oil the top of it. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape, mark the side of the container at approximately where double the height of the dough would be. Refrigerate the dough overnight (or up to 3 days), checking every hour for the first 4 hours and pressing it down if it starts to rise.

Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F 1 hour before baking. Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating.

Shape the dough: Cut the dough into 8 or 12 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. On a lightly floured counter, with lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk. Cover the dough with oiled plastic and allow it to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Roll each disk into a circle a little under 1/4 " thick. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before baking.

Bake the pita: Quickly place 1 piece of dough directly on the stone or baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes. The pita should be completely puffed but not beginning to brown. The dough will not puff well if it is not moist enough. See how the pita puffs, then, if necessary, spray and knead each remaining piece with water until the dough is soft and moist; allow to rest again and reroll as before. (However, those that do not puff well are still delicious to eat.) Proceed with the remaining dough, baking 3 or 4 pieces at a time. Using a pancake turner, transfer the pita breads to a clean towel, to stay soft and warm. Allow the oven to reheat for 5 minutes between batchs. The pitas can be reheated for about 30 seconds in a hot oven before serving.