let my pita go

it’s no secret that i’ve had a year-long steamy love affair with yotam ottolenghi, the swarthy chef & author of “plenty.”  a cookbook about vegetarian cuisine, though by no means a vegetarian cookbook (there’s a difference), “plenty” has enriched the plates of my family for the past year, consistently serving up delicious, nutritious, and only occasionally faffy recipes.  yotam puts lentils on a pedestal, he marvels at mushrooms, and he says in his best swayze impression that nobody, but nobody puts eggplant in the corner.  my kind of chap.

(sadly, eggplant is still, i think, a much-maligned vegetable.  it’s the kind of ingredient that, when mentioned, people often flinch at slightly, whether they mean to or not.  much like when you hear the word “kardashian.”  or perhaps when you hear that they’ve made another fast & the furious movie.  (we get it.  there are cars.  they’re fast.  and also quite possibly furious.)  loosen up, people, eggplant’s not that bad.  it’s actually delicious, it probably won’t release a sex tape anytime soon, and it has nothing to do with vin diesel.  whew.)

back to yotam and the recipe at hand.  i recently got my mitts on his newest tome, “jerusalem,” and blimey, wouldn’t you know it, he’s done it again.  mazel tov, yotam!  inspired tri-fold by my new favourite book, by my mensch of a friend, and by my 3-yr-old daughter’s recent conversion to judaism, i decided to show a little chutzpah and cook up a yotam-worthy feast.  we had shawarma, preserved lemons, pipelchuma chili paste, a bunch of other pungent and piquant dishes, and to wrap it all up in, some homemade pita bread.  

this was a first for me, but buoyed by no recent major baking catastrophes, i decided to give it a go.  much like baking baguettes, or making your own bacon, let’s be honest, we’re talking some faff here.  it’s not going to be easier (or cheaper) than just buying some from the shop.  but, by god, it’s going to be better.  these were the lightest, fluffiest, tastiest pitas i’ve ever had, with wee pockets inside just perfect for stuffing with deliciousness.  oh, baby.  and sometimes, at least in my eyes, a little faff goes a long way.  so go ahead: crank the dirty dancing song on the stereo, let yotam grab you by the hips and throw you into the air, and get ready for the time (or at least the pita) of your life.

homemade pita bread (adapted from “smitten kitchen”)

3 cups plus a scant 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 7g packet instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature

the day before you plan on baking the pita, prepare the dough:

combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.  then, using the dough hook, knead at medium speed for 10 minutes. the dough will be very soft and smooth and a bit sticky.

sprinkle a bit of the reserved flour onto the counter and scrape the dough onto it.  knead for 5 minutes, adding as little of the reserved flour as possible.  use a scraper to help you gather it as you knead - you’re going to need its help as this is by now the stickiest dough you might ever encounter in your life.  it’s like glue, people.  cover it with an upside-down bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. 

knead the dough for another 5 to 10 minutes, knead and scrape, knead and scrape, until it is soft and smooth and just a titch sticky.

scrape the dough into a lightly greased large bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap.  refrigerate the dough overnight (or up to 3 days), checking every hour for the first 4 hours and pressing it down if it starts to rise (mine didn’t need this).

on baking day:

preheat the oven to 475°F one hour before baking. place an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone, cast-iron skillet, or baking sheet on it for preheating.  i used a cast-iron skillet, so for the purposes of this recipe, we’ll go with that.

cut the dough into 12 pieces and cover with a damp cloth.  on a lightly floured counter, with lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk.  cover the dough with greased plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.

roll each disk into a circle a little under 1/4 inch thick. allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before baking.  lightly spritz or brush each pita with water roughly 3 minutes before baking.

working quickly, place 1 disk of dough directly on the skillet, and bake for 3 minutes.  it should puff up marvelously, but not brown.

repeat with the remaining pitas, letting the oven get back up to temperature halfway through if it dips.  keep pitas warm in a clean towel, or reheat later for a minute or two in a warm oven.

stuff with shawarma, hummus, or whatever filling you desire.  use it to break bread with friends and family this holiday season, whatever their faith may be.  merry christmas, joyous kwanzaa, and shalom.