Quick Easy Homemade Pitta Bread

Wow, homemade pitta pockets are so easy (and relatively quick) to make.

I've been reading a lot about Ultra Processed Food over the summer. More than half the calories the average person in the UK eats come from ultra-processed foods. 

Ultra-processed foods contain ingredients that you wouldn’t add when cooking homemade food such as chemicals, colourings, sweeteners and preservatives. Recent studies suggest an association between diets high (85%+) in ultra-processed foods and obesity, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. 

The most commonly eaten ultra-processed foods in the UK are: industrialised bread (11 per cent), pre-packaged meals (7.7 per cent), breakfast cereals (4.4 per cent), sausages and other reconstituted meat products (3.8 per cent).

So, top the list, time to get making homemade bread.

Makes 6-10 pittas

350g strong bread flour, I used 100g wholemeal + 250g white

210ml water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp quick yeast

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Mix all your ingredients in a bowl (food processor with a dough hook, or bread machine). Knead the dough for 10 minutes, then cover and leave to prove for 30 minutes.  I used the dough cycle on my bread machine which runs for 45 minutes including kneading.

Tip the proved dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knock back. Divide into 6 or 10 equal pieces, depending on whether you want normal or small pittas, and shape into a ball.

Cover the balls a large bag, ensuring the plastic does not touch the dough by using strategically places tall glasses or similar. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

After resting, turn on the oven to 230C and place 2/3 baking sheets in to heat up. Whilst the oven is heating up, flatten  then roll out each dough ball to an oval pitta shape about 5mm thick. Place the rolled out pitta on a piece of baking paper the size of your heating up baking sheets.

When the oven is up to temperature, carefully slide the baking paper with the pittas on onto the the hot baking sheets. Bake for 5-6 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack until cool enough to handle.

We made gyros out of my first ever batch. My next batch is destined to to be used for koftas, and possibly pitta crisps.

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