Homemade Whole Wheat Pita

What could be better than a soft pita fresh from the oven?  Well... how about if that pita was soft and fresh from your oven??

With only 4 ingredients, homemade pita is easier than you think.  Adaptable to your tastes, either all-purpose or nutty whole wheat flour can be used with equally successful results, and before you know it, the aromas floating from your oven will draw family members away from their personal tech devices and you'll have smiling faces actually chatting in your kitchen.  Well... I can't promise they will put the tech gadgets down, but if they don't it's probably just because they're posting to Instagram (just like I did!).

Hot Bread!!

Served warm, pita is a delight with hummus or simply spread with plain ole butter.  But the "pocket" in the pita is what makes this bread unique.  Whether it be spread with hummus and stuffed with cucumber, arugula, tomato, onion and avocado (my personal favorite), or turned into a ham and cheese pocket, pita makes an ideal meal to go.

Make your own, and make them often.  You'll never be able to go back to store bought.

Homemade Whole Wheat Pita
Adaptable to your tastes, feel free to use all all-purpose flour in place of the whole wheat.
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Recipe ~ Kim Kelly | Liv Life 

1 cup warm water
1 tsp yeast (we prefer Red Star Active Dry Yeast)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup - 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

Place warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer and add the yeast.  Begin mixing with the regular beater on low.  Add the salt and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.  Switch to the bread hook, and add another 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.  Continue adding flour by 1/4 cups until the dough ball cleans the side of the bowl.  Allow to continue mixing for 6-7 minutes.

Place dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to oil all sides.  Cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm location for about an hour to rise.  (Note... if our house is a cold as mine - heat a cup of water in a coffee mug to boiling in your microwave.  Keep the steaming water in a corner of the microwave and place the bowl with the dough into the microwave.  It keeps the bread nice and warm!).

Preheat oven to 425ºF and place a baking sheet in the middle of the oven to heat.

Dump the dough onto a well floured surface, and cut into 6-7 pieces.  Allow to rest a few minutes, then place one piece in the middle of a board well dusted with flour.  Flatten the ball, then roll to about 1/4 of an inch thick.  Proceed with remaining pieces.

Place the rounds onto the preheated sheet in the oven and bake for about 6 minutes, or until the pita has puffed and is lightly browned.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool... or alternatively, eat immediately!

Liv Life Note:  We make this recipe so often I no longer measure the ingredients... to make a slightly larger batch, place about 1 1/4 water in the bowl, add yeast, 1 cup of all-purpose flour, and the salt and mix.  Simply add more flour (either whole wheat or all-purpose) until the dough ball cleans the sides of the bowl.  Follow the rest of the directions as above.

Liv Life Note 2:  Occasionally my pita doesn't puff... after much research, I still haven't come to a good reason why, but whether it puffs or not, it's still wonderful!