Pita Bread

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 500 F.
2. Put your kettle on, or boil some water however you do it.
3. Mill the grain into fine flour.
Prepare Dr. Mel's Quick No-Wait Yudane:
4. Place the yudane flour at the bottom of your mixing bowl, and pour the boiling water over it.
5. Quickly mix the flour and boiling water together into a paste.
6. Mixing the Bread:
7. Add the cold water to the mixing bowl, followed by the remaining ingredients. This allows the water to cool the yudane so it doesn't kill your yeast.
8. Knead with your dough hook until the dough looks smooth and shiny and fully cleans the bowl. This will vary greatly depending on the mixer you have. Mixers with bottom motors will need a rest between mixing so dough is not overheated OR the flour and the water must be very cold. You will see a smooth and elastic dough that is slightly tacky but not sticky.
Divide and Rest
9. Divide into 8 equal pieces (~ 100 grams each)
10. Shape into balls and let rest 15-20 minutes under a damp towel or plastic wrap.
Shaping
11. Roll each ball into a 6-7 inch round, about 1/4" thick.
12. Rest rolled pitas for at least 10 minutes while the oven is preheating, along with a baking stone, steel or inverted sheet pan.
Bake
13. Bake a few pitas at a time, depending on how many you can fit on your baking surfact, 2-3 minutes, until they puff. Flip if needed, for extra browning.
14. Pitas puff best with steam, so if you have a steam oven, using it would be great! If not, you can add a soaked towel or a container of hot water to the bottom of the oven.
15. Alternatively, you can bake them individually on a skillet heated to medium-high. It may take a little longer this way. If you can cover the skillet with a glass lid, it will puff up better.
Wrap and Steam
16. Stack and wrap hot pitas in a clean towel to keep them soft and flexible.