Supported by
First Time’s the Charm With Fresh Pita
I’m giving you a great recipe for a kind of rustic homemade hummus. And I’m going to tell you how to make your own pita bread at home.
Why ever would you do that? It’s simple: because that’s the way you get the freshest pita.
The other reason: making pita is actually a lot of fun. Once you get the hang of it, it’s one of the easiest bread-baking projects for the home cook, usually with good results on the first try. If you make the dough the day before and give it a cool rise in the refrigerator, it’s even easier.
Which isn’t to say that it takes no time; it does. That’s the nature of baking bread. Still, the active cooking time is minimal. The dough keeps its own company for the most part.
Start off by making a sponge in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve some yeast in warm water and add enough flour to make a thick batter. When it is bubbly, add salt, more flour and a little olive oil. Stir it all together (I like to use a pair of chopsticks for stirring) until it forms a rough, shaggy lump.
Now press the contents of the bowl together. This is your dough. Turn it out onto the counter and knead it for a couple of minutes until it begins to look smooth. You will notice that the dough has become firm and tight. Normal. Cover it with the inverted bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes. You will see that the dough has relaxed; knead it again. If kneading makes you tired, you’re doing it wrong. Just lean against the dough, then lift it, turn it and lean again. Cover the dough to keep it warm and take a break for an hour.
Get your oven hot and put a heavy pan on the bottom shelf. Take a piece of dough and roll it into a thin circle. Toss the dough onto the hot pan and quickly close the door. When you peek into the oven a minute later, you’ll see that the flat bread has puffed itself up rather dramatically, and is now verging on spherical.
Fun, right?
Recipes: Homemade Pita Bread | Mediterranean Smashed Chickpeas
More on Food and Dining
Keep tabs on dining trends, restaurant reviews and recipes.
Flamboyant displays of fake flowers at restaurants have turned into a maximalist design movement, with one man as a chief trendsetter.
Perloo, a supremely comforting one-pot rice dish, is a Lowcountry staple with roots in West Africa.
Some of the greatest meals pair exalted wines with foods considered humble. Exploring beyond the conventional can be joyous, like the timeless appeal of Champagne and fried chicken.
For many Jamaicans, spice bun is a staple of Lent. But there’s nothing restrictive about this baked good, so named for its bold seasonings.
For Ecuadoreans, fanesca, a labor-intensive lenten soup served just during the lead-up to Easter, is a staple of Holy Week festivities.
Sign up for our “The Veggie” newsletter to get vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.
Eating in New York City
Once the pre-eminent food court in Flushing, Queens, for regional Chinese cuisines, the Golden Mall has reopened after a four-year renovation. A new one in Manhattan is on the horizon.
At Noksu, dinner is served below the street, a few yards from the subway turnstiles. But the room and the food seem unmoored from any particular place.
You thought Old World opulence was over? A prolific chef gives it a new and very personal spin at Café Carmellini, Pete Wells writes.
Eyal Shani’s Port Sa’id challenges the conventional wisdom that you can’t get good food in a restaurant with a turntable.
Advertisement