1 packet instant yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons, or 4 ounces) |
1 teaspoon honey |
1 1/4 cups warm water (divided) |
2 cups bread flour (plus additional for dusting the work surface) |
1 cup whole wheat flour |
1 teaspoon kosher salt |
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil |
cornmeal for sprinkling the baking pans |
special equipment: baking pans or cookie sheets, pizza stone (optional) |
makes eight 6-7 inch pitas |
procedure |
1.mix the yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup of warm water in a large bowl. let rest for 5 minutes, or until the yeast mixture starts to look foamy. (if it doesn’t foam, throw the whole mixture away and start over – this means your yeast was dead.) |
2.combine the two flours in a medium bowl. |
3.whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour mixture and keep whisking until the mixture is very smooth. cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour, or until doubled and bubbly. |
4.stir the salt into the remaining flour mixture. |
5.mix in the remaining flour, 3/4 cup water, and olive oil. stir until a shaggy dough forms. |
6.turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. |
7.lightly spray a large, clean bowl with cooking spray (or coat with olive oil). place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat in the oil. let sit in a warm spot for at least an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. |
8.sprinkle 3-4 baking sheets with cornmeal. be generous – you are not actually going to bake your pita on the baking pans. |
9.punch down the dough (it’s fun) and cut into 8 fairly even pieces. |
10.lightly flour a work surface. |
11.roll each dough piece into a ball between your hands. flatten one of the dough balls, then roll out on your floured work surface to 6-7 inches in diameter. transfer the pita to the cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. repeat with each dough ball. |
12.let the dough rest, loosely covered with a clean kitchen towel, for 30 minutes. |
13.if you are baking your pita on a pizza stone, place the stone on the oven floor, and remove the middle oven rack (move the second oven rack to the top position, out of the way). if you don’t have pizza stone, remove the top oven rack, and place the second rack in the lower middle position. |
14.preheat the oven to 500°f. |
15.transfer the pitas, two at a time, to the pizza stone or oven rack. bake for 2 minutes on one side, gently flip with tongs or a long spatula, and bake on the other for 1 minute. |
16.remove pita to a cooling rack. cool for 1-2 minutes, then stack to keep warm. |
17.serve warm. |
