PITTA BREAD

Pitta bread image

Rustle up homemade pitta bread to serve with dips or as a side dish to mop up juices. You can easily make them ahead and freeze them for a fail-safe snack

Provided by Sophie Godwin - Cookery writer

Time 1h

Yield Makes 8

Number Of Ingredients 4

Ingredients

2 tsp fast-action dried yeast
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Steps:

Mix the yeast with 300ml warm water in a large bowl. Leave to sit for 5 mins until the yeast is super bubbly then tip in the flour, salt and olive oil. Bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Don't worry if it looks a little rough round the edges.
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. Once kneaded, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to double in size, approximately 1 hour.
Heat oven as high as it will go (ideally 250C/230C fan/gas 9) and put a large baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven to get searingly 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.
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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 246 calories, Fat 2 grams fat, SaturatedFat 0.4 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 47 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 0.3 grams sugar, Fiber 2 grams fiber, Protein 8 grams protein, Sodium 1 milligram of sodium