"Do Not Muzzle An Ox"

I love days like today:

~Another fresh batch of yoghurt

~A fresh batch of pita

~Pieces cut for an apron

~Hoping to make peanut butter next

~Planning to go to the gym later

~Much-needed help from the children to make it all happen and still do school work

Pita is on this week's menu; but as there was none in the freezer, it was time to make more. I learned to make pita a few years ago while living in Alabama. A sweet Lebanese lady at our church invited a group of ladies to her home for a lesson, notebooks in hand. I carried my cute little toile-covered recipe journal and happily scratched down every tip she offered, and we continue to enjoy the fruits of that afternoon.

As Craig Grayson and Morgan worked to prepare our lunch today, I rewarded them with samples of our oven fare.

Here's part of the merry mess I made in the kitchen:

Anticipation:

Mmmm... Satisfaction:

Homemade Pita

(modified from Jenan's original recipe)

1 pkg. yeast 

(I use about 1T of instant yeast.)

4-5 C warm water

(If you're using packaged yeast rather than instant yeast, you'll need to dissolve it in the water first.)

pinch of Kosher salt 

(I add a bit more.)

pinch of sugar 

(I use honey or agave nectar.)

approx. 1T oil 

(I use light olive oil.)

3C white flour

+

3C wheat flour

(I use all freshly-ground whole wheat, although today I did mix fresh wheat with a tiny amount of store-bought white flour.)

Stir together. Add more flour as needed. Knead (I use a Bosch; otherwise, do this by hand). Shape dough into a ball and let rise, covered, in an oiled bowl in a warm place. (Jenan has said that if more time is needed, you may punch the risen dough down and let it rise a second time.)

Take some dough out to work with, leaving the rest covered to prevent drying. Squeeze off balls of dough & roll in flour, shape. Roll the balls flat, flipping as you go to avoid sticking -- and being careful not to flatten them so much that they won't puff. (On the other hand, the un-puffed pitas are the ones that we get to "poison" test.)

Place a baking stone into the oven, preheated to 500℉. Bake pita rounds (I do four at a time) until golden brown and puffed (approx. 5 minutes). Place on a rack to cool.

Here are a few ways in which we enjoy our pita:

~Dipped in oil (with salt, pepper, herbs, Feta, etc.)

~Filled with a big, yummy Greek salad with chicken, bacon, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, kalamata olives, etc.

~Filled with avocado salad

~Dipped in hummus, foule mudammas, tzatziki, or labneh

~with Nutella :-)

ENJOY!