Pita Bread

I have always wanted to try to make my own Pita Bread, it is really not that hard.  Like all breads, you only need the time to let the dough rise and patience.  Now that I know how to do it, it will be really easy to do whenever I prepare a Mediterranean meal.

Recipe
Pita Bread (adapted from The Joy of Cooking):

1. In a mixer, blend in 3 cups of bread flour,1 1/2 each of tbsp and salt (my family thought it could have used less salt) and 4 tsp of active dry yeast
2. Add 2 tbsp melted butter and 1 1/4 room temperature water and turn on the mixer and blend on low for 10 minutes
3. Remove from mixer and need for a couple of minutes – this is key because working it in your hands really gives you a chance to feel the consistency.  You want the dough just a slightly sticky.
4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let double in size about 90 minutes – cover the bowl
5. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees, place your pizza stone on the middle rack
6. Take the dough and roll into 8 round balls and return to oiled bowl for another 20 minutes
7. Lightly flour a surface and roll out the balls one at a time
8. Mist the pizza stone and let steam develop for 30 seconds then place in the rolled dough
9. The dough only needs 3 – 4 minutes; it will puff up while cooking.  I was probably closer to 4 minutes because I wanted a little bit of browning on my pitas
10. Repeat with each of the other balls, when you finish cooking each one place on a rack to cool.