Sourdough Pitas

A soft flat bread with a tang of sourdough.

Submitted to YeastSpotting.
Now on YeastSpotting

I love a good soft and fluffy pita.  They make great sandwiches and are wonderful for dipping.  Making pitas is pretty simple, but I haven't gotten the process perfected.  Maybe because I used sourdough, maybe because I added whole wheat flour (or both) these didn't puff all the way to make a pocket (I got some puff).  Even without the pocket these were delicious.

The recipe made 8 pitas, and it was getting late so I let half of the dough (rolled into 168g balls) rest overnight in the refrigerator.  These pitas had even more sour flavor and were delicious.  I made pita chips with the leftovers and that was fantastic too.  Even though I'm not an expert with pitas yet I plan to keep trying.  And even non perfect pitas taste great.

Ingredients:

200g barm (100% hydration),  active and at room temperature
481g bread flour
200g whole wheat flour
15g salt
87g honey
58g oil
305g water

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together barm, flour, salt, honey, oil, and water using the paddle attachment.  Stir until all flour is moistened and dough forms a ball.  It should take about 1 minute on low speed.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is slightly stiff, smooth and elastic.  Turn out into an oiled bowl, turning to coat all over, and cover with plastic wrap.

Let rise for 4 hours or until double in size.

Divide dough into 8-10 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.  Let dough balls rest for 10-15 minutes then roll out to 1/4 inch thick rounds.  (I rolled one at a time then baked it before rolling another, do what works for you)

Bake in a preheated oven at 500F directly on a baking stone (that has been preheated in the oven too).  Keep an eye on the pita and once it puffs count to 30(seconds) and remove pita to cooling rack and cover with a towel.  The whole baking process should not take more than 2-3 minutes.

Continue rolling and baking each dough ball.  You can refrigerate the dough balls, covered in plastic, for a day or two.  Allow dough to come to room temperature for about 1 hour before rolling and baking.

Makes 8-10 pitas.  Any leftover pitas can be cut and baked at a low temperature until dried out to make pita chips (toss with oil and spices to flavor but they also taste great plain).  Enjoy