Pita, Anyone?

My brother's incessant demand for pita bread got me diligently making them one morning. It is the first time I made pita breads, not counting when we made them in cooking school, of course. Well, the instructions were pretty simple. The recipe calls for yogurt, which is great, as I am sure the dough would be malleable and the bread soft (cultured bacteria found in yogurt, sour cream and buttermilk makes cakes more tender, as well). I dissolved the yeast in lukewarm water and let it stand for 5 minutes. Technically, when using instant yeast, it can be mixed in with the dry ingredients. I only dissolved it to let it develop some flavors. I combined all the dry ingredients and dumped it all in the yest mixture. Taking note that the salt doesn't come in direct contact with the yeast, which can inhibit its growth. I let it beat witha dough hook for 2 minutes, slowly at first then picking up speed, just until they come together. The yogurt went it next and the olive oil. I just let it run till the whole thing becomes shiny and no longer sticky. And as I scoop the dough out of the bowl, it felt soft and supple! It is everything I have imagined it would be! I applied some shortening, kept it covered and let it rise.

Rising time was short. Scaling them was easy. After some rest, I flatten them using a mini rolling pin, I made some really thin, tortilla style and some in pita bread style. A quick stint in a 400degree oven produced soft tortilla and pita breads, which can be rolled easily for burritos and fajitas! It had been a joy making them! It didn't took much of my time, and it didn't require a lot of effort at all! I should've done this a long time ago!

I made two doughs actually, but two different formulas. Same method but I grilled them instead. Personally, I like it better. It had a nice smoky flavor. But the disadvantage is, they got tough rather quickly.

They didn't last long. I made them all yesterday, and now they're all gone.