Pita Patter

I almost died in the process (okay fine I just burned my hand in the oven), but I successfully made my own whole-wheat pita! I weighed myself this morning and decided it was time for phase 2 of South Beach, which means I can slowly reintroduce some fruits and whole grains back into my diet. I racked my brain for something I could make myself, and at first I thought about making a loaf of bread, but most recipes call for dry milk (??) and I do not have that. (Seriously, what is dry milk?)

Anyway, I decided on homemade whole-wheat pita bread. The recipe is simple, and even with my crude and unrefined technique, I managed just fine. So basically, that means just about anybody can do it. I also got to use my brand new baking stone that I got for my birthday! The pita got all puffy in the oven just like they were supposed to, and they taste great, just as good as (if not better than) pita that you would buy in the store. And did you know that pita splits naturally? I thought that when you bought store-bought pita, the pita-people split the pita for you so you could make it into a sandwich. Turns out that just happens on its own. Magic!


After my pita were done I decided to stuff them full of delicious goodness, limited only by my imagination. No, actually I was limited by what I had in my refrigerator. Fortunately I dug up some chicken sausage, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. After adding a dash of salt and pepper, I was in heaven.


Whole Wheat Pita
Makes about a dozen little pita

• about 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 package yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups warm water

Stir 2 cups of flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water gradually; beat until smooth. Add 3/4 cup more flour; beat again. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough - about another cup. Beat well. Turn out onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise 1 hour; should be doubled. Punch down; let rise 30 more minutes. Divide into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Roll out into 5- to 6-inch circles. Bake on a baking stone on the bottom rack at 450 degrees for about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes on each side until pitas puff and both sides are brown.