Cornell Pitas

(from simsyobby’s recipe box)

Source: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1365

Categories: Bread

Ingredients

  • 51/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup soy flour
  • 1/4 cup non-fat dry skim milk powder
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
  • 11/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
  • 41/4 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons of whole seed mixture for sprinkling on top crust:　 sesame, flaxseed, caraway, raw sunflower, poppy, and or anise

Directions

  1. Measure the dry ingredients into a 5-quart bucket or bowl, and whisk them together (you can also use a fork, or if it’s lidded, just shake them well).　 Mixing the dry ingredients first　prevents the　vital wheat gluten from forming clumps once water is added.

  2. Add the water and mix with a spoon to form a wet dough. Cover loosely (leave lid open a crack) and allow to rise for two hours at room temperature.　 NEVER PUNCH DOWN or intentionally deflate.　 The dough will rise and then begin to collapse.　 Refrigerate and use over the next 5 days, tearing off quarter-pound lumps for pitas as you need them, or grapefruit-sized balls if you want to make a loaf bread (see end of recipe for instructions on loaf breads). The dough can be used immediately after the two-hour rise but is easier to handle when cold.

  3. On baking day, pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees for 30 minutes, with a baking or pizza stone on any shelf in the oven. If you don’t have a stone, a cast-iron pan works well.

  4. Cut off a peach-sized piece of dough (about a quarter-pound), using a serrated knife or kitchen shears. Quickly shape into a ball by pulling the top around to the bottom while rotating quarter-turns as you go.　 DON’T KNEAD or otherwise overhandle—you don’t want to knock gas out of the dough. Place the dough on a pizza peel or wood cutting board (preferably with a handle). Using a rolling pin and dusting with flour, roll out in a circle-shape to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Use enough flour so the dough doesn’t stick to the board.

  5. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top with water and sprinkle with seed mixture.　 Slide the bread onto the pre-heated stone or cookie sheet and bake for about 5 to 7 minutes and bread is just beginning to brown. Whole grain pitas don’t puff quite as much as white pitas.

  6. Wrap with a clean cotton towel for the softest, most authentic result. Allow to cool inside the towel.

  7. Split open with a fork and enjoy as a sandwich bread or with dips.

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