Bakery-Style Pita Bread (Khebz Aarabi)
A recipe for Bakery-Style Pita Bread (Khebz Aarabi) from the cookbook, Bayrūt. This round, chewy bread comes together with only a handful of ingredients.
Servings 6 Pita Bread
Ingredients
- 300 grams (2 1/2 cups) strong/bread flour plus extra for dusting
- 50 grams (1/3 cup) wholemeal/whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
- 7 grams (2 teaspoons) instant dried yeast
- 200 milliliters (scant 1 cup) warm water
- Olive oil for oiling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flours, salt, sugar and yeast.
- Make a well in the middle and pour in the water.
- Bring the flour mix in and work with a wooden spoon or your hands. Knead until the dough starts to come together away from the sides of the bowl.
- Coat the dough with a little olive oil, cover the bowl with a dish towel and set aside for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F, gas 6) and place a large baking sheet inside to heat up.
- Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Divide into 6 pieces and shape each piece into a ball by pinching the sides down and rolling the ball in the palm of one hand against the work surface. Cover again and let rest for 10 minutes.
- On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll each ball of dough into a circle about 8 millimeters (3/16th inch) thick. Let rest, covered, while you roll the other balls.
- Slide the breads onto the heated baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes or until puffed and browned.
- Alternatively, you can bake them on the stovetop in a hot dry frying pan (skillet) until they puff up, flipping them over to brown on both sides.
- Eat them rest out of the oven, or cover them with a dish towel, then store in a bag to keep them soft.
- Best consumed within 2-3 days; otherwise toast or fry for fattoush or fatteh.