By Shidonna Raven, Chef Editor
By Eli K. Giannopoulos
Recipe Source: My Greek Dish
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Photo Source: Unsplash, Vicky Ng
From our Family's Table to Yours
While we craft our own recipes, we do enjoy a recipe from others cooks to chefs and cooks. During the Holidays we made a few dishes, some our own and some from others. The Clean Cooking Series: The Holidays in Review is an opportunity for you to Journey with us Cooking & Eating Clean (One of Our Health Features) designed to empower you to lead a healthy life in many forms and fashions, in this instance via clean cooking and eating. Clean cooking or eating is a recently coined term simply aimed at distinguishing between those foods grown or raised with (organic or natural) or without chemicals such as pesticides. Ideally these farms are not agricultural complexes where plants and animals grow having never seen or been exposed to the actual SUN.
Naturally, clean cooking and eating begins with sourcing foods that haven been grown under organic and nutritious conditions, which Eliot Coleman points out in his book: The New Organic Grower.
We will be reviewing the clean dishes we prepared this past Holiday season. All dishes are simple, many traditional classics and easy to make at home.
Karibu Chakula / Bon Appetit - Swahili / French
The easiest homemade Pita Bread recipe!
Description
The very best homemade Greek pita bread recipe! And the best part, made with only 4 ingredients. Find out how to bake them to perfection with this super easy recipe.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 min
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 6 pita breads 1x
Category: Breads
Method: Fried
Cuisine: Greek
Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
500–530g (17-18.5 oz.) strong white bread flour or 50% white and 50% whole-wheat flour
360g (12.7 oz.) lukewarm (40C/ 104F)
3 tsp dry instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Instructions
To prepare this pitta bread recipe add in a mixer’s bowl the yeast, sugar and water and blend to dissolve the yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until yeast froths.
Add the flour and salt and mix using the dough hook for 6-8 minutes. Alternatively you could mix the ingredients by hand.
Depending on the flour used, the dough may need a little bit less or more flour than this pita bread recipe calls for. After mixing for a while the dough for your pita bread should become an elastic ball and a bit sticky.
When ready, coat the dough with olive oil, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let it sit in a warm place, for at least 20 minutes or until it doubles its size. This is an important step for this pita bread recipe. The first proof makes the pita bread fluffy and soft. If it is winter, turn the oven on for a minute or two, until it’s a little warm, switch it off and then let the dough rise in it.
Take the dough out of the bowl and gently deflate with your hands. Use just a tiny bit of flour to help you if it is too sticky. Split into 6 evenly sized balls around145g/ 5 oz. each.
Let the pita bread balls rest for 15 minutes before shaping. This is the second proof and will allow your dough to relax and become easier to shape.
To form the pita bread, you can either use a rolling pin, or stretch it with your hands, about 20cm in diameter. A rolling pin will make a crunchier pita, while hand stretching a softer, fluffier one. If the dough springs back, set it aside for a few minutes to rest and then continue rolling again.
For a more traditional look on your pita bread, press the dough firmly with your fingertips forming dimples or use a fork to make some holes on top.
For a faster baked pita, heat a non-sticking frying pan to medium heat and add just a little bit of olive oil and wipe off any excess. Bake each pita bread for about 3 minutes on each side, until slightly coloured and still soft. If your pan has a lid, place the lid on while baking them to keep the moisture in.
For a fluffier pita use the steam method. Cut a piece of aluminium foil to the size of your pan. Generously sprinkle and spread some olive oil on it. Shape and place your pita on the foil. Pour a large glug of water in your plan over medium low heat – it should start steaming immediately! Place your pita immediately in it and cover with the lid. Let it steam for 12-15 minutes. Take it out, flip it over and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the foil.
To give it more colour, when you flip your pita bread, push it lightly with a wooden spoon on the pan.
Nutrition
Serving Size: 1 pita
Calories: 308kcal
Sugar: 0.2g
Sodium: 4.7mg
Fat: 0.9g
Saturated Fat: 0.1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 64.1g
Fiber: 2.6g
Protein: 9.1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
How to Cook & Eat CLEAN
How can you introduce Whole Grains / Wheat (Breads) from your garden into your diet? Why? How could that improve your health? How could that improve the environment?
Share the wealth of health with your friends and family by sharing this article with 3 people today.
If this article was helpful to you, donate to the Shidonna Raven Garden and Cook E-Magazine Today. Thank you in advance.
How can you introduce Wheat / Whole Grains (Breads) from your garden into your diet? Why? How could that improve your health? How could that improve the environment?
Share the wealth of health with your friends and family by sharing this article with 3 people today.
If this article was helpful to you, donate to the Shidonna Raven Garden and Cook E-Magazine Today. Thank you in advance.