Arabic bread/ Pita pockets
This is my last post with respect to the arabic platter I whipped up 2 weeks back (damn, I have become lazy at posting recipes). Just to re-iterate, I made falafels, hummus and baba ghanoush/ moutabel and served the whole platter along with some store bought lettuce leaves & pickles. The hummus & baba ghanoush were approved with both thumbs up with the folks at home. The falafels were also received well but they said they would prefer it deep fried :). This pita pocket didn’t exactly turn out the way I wanted it to and so I will have to do a repeat of the recipe. Nevertheless, it is still worth documenting because what came out was good and all that will be needed is either some tweaks to the ingredients or process. Anyways, those of you who are looking at this recipe and intending to try, my advise is – make them the way you would do a phulka roti. The taste and everything was alright but not all pita pockets fluffed the way I wanted it to. The 2 reasons I realised for this were the oven temperature (it was low and I made it high for the second batch) and the tray in which you are baking (I used the heavy duty one which absorbs a lot of heat and gets cooled down slowly) – I think I should have used the lighter one. Either ways, this recipe will definitely be updated very soon. So, watch out.
- 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant dry yeast
- 1/2 cup water + 1/8 cup warm water
- 1/8 cup olive oil
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Take a wide vessel and add all the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, salt & yeast. Mix well.
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Now add the warm water & olive oil. Knead well. You should have a smooth pliable dough. If required add 1-2 tbsp water more or less.
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Cover the vessel with a wet cloth and set the vessel aside for an hour or 2. The dough would have risen double its quantity by that time.
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Punch down the dough and roll into small 1 inch balls.
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Flatten to resemble the shape of a disc/ roti using a rolling pin.
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Bake in a preheated oven at 240c for 7-8 minutes.
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If you want browning on both sides, for the last 1 minute, flip the pita pockets.
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Serve the warm pita pockets with some falafel, hummus & veggies.
- You can make these pita pockets similar to how you make a phulka roti.
Stepwise pictures
Take a wide vessel & add all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, yeast and mix well.
Throw in the warm water & olive oil; Combine. If required add 1-2 tbsp water extra or less. What you should have a smooth pliable dough and not a tough one.
Leave it covered with a wet cloth for 1-2 hours. The dough would have risen to double it’s quantity after that.
Punch the dough and start making balls about 1 inch size.
Using a rolling pin, flatten out the pita balls to resemble the shape of a roti. I kept my pita discs fairly small.
Bake for 7-8 minutes in a preheated oven of 240c
If you want both sides to brown, then flip and let it bake for 1 minute.
Enjoy the warm pitas with some hummus, falafel & veggies stuffed. Yummm!
