Читать книгу Home Cooking Made Easy - Lorraine Pascale - Страница 25

Puffed-up pitta bread

I LOVE making these! They are so much fun, easy and a real showstopper. These pitta breads have become an absolute firm favourite in my house – wonderful served with curries, dips or soup.

Makes 8 pitta breads (V)

100g wholemeal flour

270g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 x 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast

1 squidge of honey

200–250ml water

Oil, for oiling

Put all the ingredients into a bowl except the water and oil and stir for a second to combine. Gradually add the water, mixing with a spoon as you go, until you have a soft dough. I used 220ml, but this can differ with how much water there is in the atmosphere! Put your hands in and take the ball of dough out and knead it for 10 minutes until it is very smooth. To test if the dough is ready, prod a floured finger into the side; if it springs back, then it is ready. If you are doing this in a machine, knead with a dough hook for 5 minutes. Once the dough is kneaded, cover it with oiled clingfilm and leave until it is almost doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour or so.

After about 45 minutes preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6 and put a flat baking tray into the oven to heat up. Divide the dough into eight pieces and roll each one out to about the thickness of a £1 coin, then form into a flattish circular or oval shape slightly thicker in the middle than around the sides.

Spray some water into the oven to create a steamy atmosphere. I usually spray 8–10 squirts with a spray gun, then remove the hot tray from the oven and put four of the pittas on it. Slide the tray back into the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pittas are nicely puffed up and firm, usually about 7–9 minutes depending the thickness of the pitta. Once they are cooked, remove them from the oven, transfer to a plate and pop in the other four.

Occasionally there are one or two pitta breads that do not want to play puffball, but they should puff up beautifully.