Wholewheat Pita Bread

This is a wholewheat version of the versatile pita bread, also known as pita pockets. They can be served filled as sandwiches or toasted and brushed with garlic butter to serve with soups. Use them as a quick and easy pizza base – top with pizza sauce, cheese and topping of your choice and grill until the cheese melts. One of my favorite ways of eating them is also the simplest – warm the pita in the oven (or make them fresh), dip in olive oil and grind rock salt on top. What ever way you prefer to eat them, the wholewheat is high in fiber and helps reduce the risk of heart disease.

Ingredients:
2 tsp active dried yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 T olive oil
3 cups wholewheat flour

Instructions – bread machine:
Measure all ingredients into the mixing tin. Set the machine to dough cycle (also known as the ‘pizza’ cycle on some machines) and press START. Then follow baking instructions below.

Instructions – hand kneading:
Add all ingredients except the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of the wholewheat flour and mix thoroughly with a spoon or whisk. Cover and leave for 15 minutes in a warm place to activate the yeast. Stir in the rest of the flour. Tip dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary to remove stickiness. Rub 2-3 teaspoons of oil onto dough, put back into mixing bowl and cover with plastic film. Leave to set for 30 minutes before taking dough out and kneading lightly. Then follow baking instructions below.

Instructions – baking:
Turn oven on high. Place an oven tray on the rack in the middle of the oven.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured board and cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a 15-18 cm circle. Leave to rise for 10 at least minutes.

Using a ‘pizza peel’, or makeshift peel from a floured piece of cardboard, place one circle at a time onto the floured peel. Open the oven, position the peel over the oven tray and shake the peel, slowly drawing it back toward you as the circle begins to move off the peel onto the oven tray. Try to do this as quickly as possible to prevent too much heat from escaping.

Bake for 2-3 minutes, the bread should puff up and then collapse slightly. Use tongs to lift out the cooked pita and insert the next one.

Related products you might be interested in:

• Pizza Peels
• French Rolling Pin

Related posts:

• Wholewheat Pizza Dough
• Bagels
• Wholemeal Bread – Bread Machine Recipe