By exploring the various European and Extra-European countries in the imagination, we discover different eating habits and new (interesting) recipes. Today I would like to focus our attention on a particular bread originating from Lebanon and Syria, typical of Middle Eastern cuisine. I am talking about the "PITA" bread, which is not by chance also called Syrian bread and Lebanese bread. It is prepared with a mixture of wheat flour, water, salt and sour dough or mother yeast. The distinguishing feature? The extraordinary softness and the absence of the crunchy surface crust. Let's roll up our sleeves.
Video of the Recipe
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Identity Card of the Recipe
- 217 KCal Calories per serving
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Ingrediants
For 6 pitas
- 250 g of Manitoba flour
- 150 g of white flour of type 00
- 40 g of dried mother yeast
- About 280 g of water
- 5 g of sugar
- 6 g of salt
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
To brush
- 1 spoonful of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of water
Materials Needed
- Pastry board
- Large bowl
- Wooden ladle
- Latex gloves (optional)
- Sieve
- Rolling pin
- Baking plates
- Baking paper
- Transparent film
Preparation
- Sift the flours and combine them in a bowl. Add the dried mother yeast and sugar, which is essential to promote leavening. Mix the powders.
Alternatively
It is possible to replace the dried mother yeast with 10 g of fresh brewer's yeast, or with 3 g of dry brewer's yeast.- Add the extra virgin olive oil, salt and as much water as required (about 280 ml) to obtain a smooth and soft dough.
- Leave the dough to rest in a bowl for a couple of hours or until doubled in volume. It is advisable to cover the bowl with cling film: any air currents could in fact alter the yeast fermentation process.
- After a couple of hours, divide the dough into 6 parts and obtain balls. Roll out each ball with a rolling pin to form a 4-5 mm thick disc.
- Arrange the bread discs on baking trays lined with greaseproof paper and brush the surface with a drop of oil and a little water.
- Leave to rise again for 50-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 240 ° C: put the pitas in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes. The loaves should not turn golden, but remain fluffy, soft and white.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack.
- Store the pitas in a tightly closed container or in a nylon bag.
Alice's comment - PersonalCooker
To preserve their softness, the "pita" should be stored in a nylon bag or in a container well closed and protected from the air. The pita are excellent to accompany hummus, a sauce prepared with chickpeas and sesame seed cream ( tahina). And if you are a lover of Arabic and Middle Eastern bread, also try the recipe for unleavened bread (unleavened bread).Nutritional values and Health Comment on the recipe
Pita - Arabic Bread - is a type of low-fat and cholesterol-free bread; the intake of fiber is of medium entity. There is no medium portion of Pita - Arabic Bread and its use derives purely from the subjective structuring of the diet.
