Pita Please?

In an ongoing exploration of my passion for home breadmaking, I made pita bread today. What can I say, it was a slow day at work...


Talk about a blast - if you're a foodie dork like me, that is. These little guys are a miracle - cute soft little balls of dough that mutate and puff from a flat 6-inch circle into an airy soft pocket of goodness. I used the recipe out of one of my favorite cookbooks ever - Williams and Sonoma's "Bread", except I substituted-in some whole wheat flour to give a little more nutrition, flavor, and texture.

It doesn't get much more simple that flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water, and a little olive oil. All it takes is one rise, and you're ready to roll out each pita. The trick to get the pitas to puff is baking at a very high heat - 450F to be exact. The blast of heat causes the water in the dough to rapidly expand, creating the puffing action and the characteristic pocket.

So for dinner I baked some tofu with ginger teriyaki glaze, chopped up some lettuce, tomato, onion, and carrot, and stuffed it all into the fresh pita halves. Serve it with a side of sriracha greek yogurt sauce for dipping and some curried parboiled baby potatoes and you have yourself a beautiful meal for a beautiful spring evening.