I just cannot believe that it has more than a week since I blogged. Time seems to be slipping through my fingers like sand. Last week was rather hectic with back to back photography assignments. It was fun, but when you are cooking, styling and photography all in one, it becomes rather taxing. I really love the process, but I tend to overdo it by obsessing about the smallest details. And let’s not even start talking about the clean up….there was a time when, I would clean while cooking, so clean up was not a stressful chore. I remember all my spices and daals, well almost all the ingredients in my kitchen were labeled and neatly stacked. If you see me working now, seriously, it is not the same person, you will see stuff on every inch of the counter space and strangely I am more productive than I ever was. It started as a one off thing and over the months it has become a habit. Its something I need to address this year. Will see how that goes ;)
It has been a while since teen has been asking me to bake pita at home. I sincerely thought it was a long drawn process and was keeping the baking for a relaxed weekend. This bread is so easy that I feel rather stupid waiting for a weekend to bake this. This is THE quickest bread I have ever made and I just love the soft fluffy texture. I can eat this without filling, just with hummus. If you are looking for a hummus recipe, click here.
Pita bread
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast (platinum)
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, let it sit for 5 min now add the salt and 1 1/2 cups flour. Mix it up to a soft batter-like consistency. Add remaining flour until the dough starts to come together. Add enough flour to form a soft dough that clears the sides of the bowl and knead for 4-5 minutes with an electric mixer or 8-9 minutes by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll the dough pieces into a ball shape. Lightly cover the balls of dough and let them rest for 10-15 minutes. Roll each dough ball into a thin disc, about 1/4-inch thick. Keep even thickness throughout the entire disc Keep the rolled disc on a floured surface ( so it does not stick to the surface) covered for 30-40 min, it will rise a little bit and become fluffy.
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F, gently flip them to a baking sheet. Make sure you flip them so the side that was resting on the counter is now facing up. Spritz with water, so surface is mildly wet.
- Bake the pitas for 10 minutes, until they are starting to brown very lightly on top and they have puffed. All of my pitas were fluffy and I think this was because I rolled the bread evenly and the surface of the pita was wet before I put them in the oven. Good for 3-4 days, refrigerated.
For the stuffing
handful of paneer
1/2 cucumber finely sliced
1 small tomato deseeded and diced
few leaves of baby spinach
few leaves of lettuce torn
1 small red onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp corn cooked ( optional)
few pitted olives
1 tbsp of hummus for every half of pita sandwich
1/2 tsp cumin powder1/2 tsp chaat masala
1/2 tsp red chilli
1/4 tsp garam masala OR tandoori masala
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp mint chutney
hummus recipe
mint chutney recipe
Replace the paneer with tofu and you have a vegan pita sandwich.
In a pan heat oil and add roast the panner till golden brown, add all the masala. Let it cool.
slice pita in the middle and stuff with the raw salads, paneer, hummus and mint chutney. Dash of salt and red chili powder. Do not over stuff the bread, serve fresh with hummus on the side.
Recipe adapted from here.
A fantastic meal, Simi. Your pita pockets turned out really great!
ReplyDeletePita pockets looks damn gooood. Fabulous clicks as always
ReplyDeleteThis looks awesome Simi! The bread looks perfectly baked
ReplyDeleteMind blowing photos as always. Love the burst of colors and the beautiful pitas.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pitta bread and sandwiches¨There's nothing quite like homemade bread.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Rosa
As an Israeli, I can attest that your pitas are perfect - fluffy little pockets like those produced by every great corner bakery back home. And so unlike the thin, giant sheets they call pitas here (I think they're Lebanese-style?) Thank you so much for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteYour photos look amazing and mouth watering, I really love your photos.
ReplyDeleteI will try your recipe, looks easy..thanks for sharing.
It is superb!
ReplyDeletewow..u got the pockets perfect dear...yummy stuffing and amazing clicks too :)
ReplyDeleteFeel like just grabbing them right away !
ReplyDeleteAmazing photography !!! great blog I love it.
ReplyDeleteMy kind of lunch! We love all your pictures and recipes and would love to have you share your pictures with us at foodieportal.com.
ReplyDeleteFoddie : will love to join your site, will go and open an account asap. Thanks so much for the invite.
DeletePerfect pita bread!! and your photos are wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteIn my country it's super popular, and we all just looooooooooove it.
We usually eat it with hummus and tehini (and salad)
Wow, these pitas are so puffy! I love how they create a pocket that you don't have to pull apart to get to. And the sandwiches look like they are just up my alley - I'd just use the tofu instead of the paneer. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletePretty pretty pretty! What a delicious riot of colour! FAB styling and shots too! Now I'm HUNGRY!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the recipe. I tried this last week with falafal and thahini and it was a super duper hit !!!
ReplyDeleteShared your recipe with mom, she is trying now - will keep you posted.
ReplyDelete