Pitta bread is a staple of middle eastern dishes and as a device for all sorts of sauces and dips. A good chickpea hummus with olives and a side salad provides the perfect opportunity to use pitta bread when it’s broken into pieces. It can also be a pocket for doner kebabs.
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Ingredients:
- 2 tsp fast-action dried yeast
- 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Preparation:
- Mix the yeast with 300ml warm water in a large bowl. Leave to sit for 5 mins until the yeast is forming lots of bubbles. Tip in the flour, salt and olive oil. Bring the mixture together into a soft dough.
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Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 5-10 mins until you have a soft, smooth and elastic dough. Try to knead using as little extra flour as possible, just enough so that the dough doesn’t stick – this will keep the pittas light and airy.
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Once kneaded, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to double in size, approximately 1 hour.
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Heat the oven as high as it will go – 250ºC/230ºC fan/gas 9) and put a large baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven to get extremely hot. Divide the dough into eight balls then flatten each into a disc with the palm of your hand. On a lightly floured surface, roll each disc into an oval, around 20cm long, 15cm wide and 3-5mm thick.
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Carefully remove the hot tray from the oven. Dust with flour then place your pittas directly onto it – you may have to do this in batches. Return swiftly to the oven and bake for 4-5 mins, or until the pittas have puffed up and are a pale golden colour. Wrap each hot pitta in a clean tea towel once it’s baked to keep it soft while the others cook.
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