Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Whole Wheat Pita Bread...This 100% whole wheat bread has no white flour added! I normally do a white flour version of pita bread but, when I came upon this recipe on Big Oven, I decided to try it. 100% whole wheat ?!...no white flour?! well, I tried it and actually liked the results. Since it is quite good for you, I am posting it (just in case you would like to try it... for the health benefits of course:) ). Really, for being 100% whole wheat it is not bad at all. It is especially good when you make a sandwich with it, make a pita pizza or even toast it and make pita chips for a hummus dip, eggplant dip, etc. If you don't care for 100% whole wheat , you can easily adjust flour amounts to include some white flour. Hope you enjoy...

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon instant yeast

4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. In a mixer bowl, add flour , instant yeast, salt and sugar.
2. Add water and oil . Mix til smooth and elastic about 3-5 minutes.
3.Place dough in a warm, oiled bowl, turning dough over to coat surface.

4. Cover bowl with a dry cloth and set in a warm place, allowing dough to rise until double in volume (about 2-3 hours).
5. Punch dough down and knead for about 2 minutes.
6.Form into smooth balls the size of small oranges, rolling them gently between the hands.
7. Place balls on a dry cloth (lightly floured) in warm place; cover with another cloth and let rise for about 30 minutes.

8. Preheat oven to 500F.
9. On lightly floured board, roll balls one at a time into circles about inch thick.

I used a baking stone(preheated for 30 minutes) for mine. If you don't have a baking stone you can use a cookie sheet. Spray cookie sheet lightly with oil.
10. Bake the pitas 5 to 8 minutes on a preheated baking sheet with the oven rack in the center. The bread will puff up like a balloon during baking and will collapse when cooled.

The oven needs to maintain the high heat for the pitas to balloon up. If you have the oven door open for too long the temp will drop and the pitas will not puff up. So, it is best if you close the oven door quickly between batches or wait for the oven to come up to temp before putting in the next batch.
11. Loaves may be eaten immediately or frozen for long-term storage. Warm frozen pitas briefly in the oven before serving.