Make Yer Own Pita Bread

I am staring down the bread aisle. Three bucks plus for six pitas. Having a growing family, we are needing more pita loaves. (loaves? circles? slices?) We need more like eight for our favorite recipes; pita pizzas, pita tostadas, Moroccan garbanzo pitas! But six dollars? Sheesh!

That is what prompted me to look up just how hard it might be to make pitas? Turns out the answer is: well, kinda hard. But kinda worth it.

1 pkg. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
3 c. flour (I used 2c. white and 1 c. wheat- mostly because I ran out of white flour)
1 1/4 tea. salt
1 tea. sugar
1 c. lukewarm water

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit 10-15 mins. until frothy.

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a depression in the center and pour yeast water in.

Slowly add 1 c. lukewarm water, stir until elastic. Place on a floured surface and knead for 10-15 mins, until the dough is no longer sticky.

Coat a large bowl with vegetable oil, toss in the dough ball, then turn it over so the whole ball is coated. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 3 hours, until doubled in size.

Once doubled, roll out to be a rope, and pinch off small pieces- about 10-12. Place the balls on a floured surface and let sit covered for 10 mins.

Preheat oven to 500 and make sure the rack is on the bottom. Put the baking sheet in there as the oven preheats.

Roll out each dough ball into circles about 5-6 inches and 1/4 in. thick.

Bake for 4 minutes, until it puffs up. Then turn flip them over and cook for another 2 mins. Remove each pita with a spatula and press the extra air from the bubble out. Immediately place in storage bags.

Can store in the pantry for up to a week or freeze in freezer bags for up to a month.