Why does pita bread puff

You might wonder for the reason and if I were you even I would have given a thought about the same. You might have observed whenever we try to roll a naan or kulcha made of maida, it often shrinks back to the original size and sometimes becomes difficult to roll too.

Rolling is one of the important steps that help to get that perfect puffy pita bread. And this is exactly where our good old Atta or Whole Wheat comes handy. Due to the addition of that little flour, it makes our job of rolling much much easier. Choose to use active dry, fresh or instant variety, any kind of yeast would work as long as it has not crossed the expiry date. If you are using the active dry kind variety, you might be knowing the drill which is to activate the yeast before proceeding with the recipe.

Since I am using the instant variety of yeast I would skip this step and directly add everything to the flour mixture. Too hot you would end up killing the yeast, too cold you won't be able to activate the yeast in the first place. The optimum temperature of water to make this perfect pita bread is preferably around 90 to degree Fahrenheit. Now that you know that you just need a couple of basic ingredients that you probably have it even at this point of time, all you need to do is just get up and start baking this bread along with me right now!!

Because as promised in my Best Buttercream Frosting post, this year I want to try and push and motivate you guys to start baking and start believing in the mantra that,. And if you are intimidated by the world of bread baking then this is one of those perfect basic pita bread recipe to start your journey of bread baking. That is because if you have ever made chapati at your home or even watched your Mum making one you can easily master making pita bread.

Even if you have not done either of the above things you will still crack the recipe because I am going to share the mistakes that I did in my first attempt so that you do not do it. That was a pathetic rhyming..

Pita is a yeast-leavened flatbread which means it has to undergo the usual stages of bread making - Kneading, First Proofing, Shaping, Second Proofing and Cooking. That brings us to the first step. Also every now and then I would be referring the art of making pitas to our good old grandma style of making a chapati because I guess with a connection to something that we eat on a regular basis it becomes easier to understand.

First and foremost make sure that the liquid that is water, in this case, is at the optimum temperature which is 90 to degree Fahrenheit in this case. Yes in each and every bread dough the temperature of water varies. Secondly, if you are using the active dry yeast make sure to activate it first before proceeding with the recipe.

Since I am using the instant variety, let's just mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl - 2 types of Flour, Salt and Sugar. Now add the liquid, and just combine everything using a wooden spatula and in the later stages just combine everything to a blob of sticky mass using your clean hands. Once you see no dry bits of flour just transfer the dough to the worktop and sprinkle some plain flour on top.

As it is just a handful of dough, I mean the quantity is so less I am using my hands to knead the dough. If you are using a stand mixer , straight away knead the dough for 8 mins and proceed with the next step. Firstly if you are new to bread baking I highly recommend you to watch this video on how to knead dough, this step would really help you understand the right way to stretch the dough while bread making. The bread dough is going to be super sticky, but that is absolutely fine just keep on kneading.

In just about 3 to 4 mins you will observe that the dough has started to come together and your hands are getting cleaner. Keep kneading, just sprinkle little flour only if needed.

I used about 2 tbsp of flour while kneading the dough. Y ou will notice that the dough is becoming less sticky while you continue to knead, as the gluten develops and the flour becomes more hydrated from the liquid. In about 8 mins you will observe that your hands are all clean, the dough has become super soft and is not as sticky as the way you started with but it is still tacky. The major characteristic of a pita dough is its puff.

The big pockets that it creates while baking is what makes it a different kind of flatbread. This is what enables us to make those delicious pita bread fillings that we binge upon guiltlessly. I believe now you figured the inter-linking. Yes, absolutely the moisture in the dough is the reason. What happens is in the hot oven or on top of the hot stove, the outside of the bread quickly sets whereas the heat converts the moisture into steam and this steam is pushed outwards commonly termed as oven spring in culinary terms causing the push in the bread to create the puff.

And since the outside of the bread is already set by the heat the push of the steam creates a pocket in the bread leaving a soft and chewy end product for us to enjoy. Three issues will rolling out will prevent pitas from pocketing well:. Any of the above will cause the dough to compress in spots, and the top of the dough will not separate from the bottom. You'll either get a malformed pocket or none at all. The reason behind getting some pitas puffy and others not as you said is 1 enough water and 2 heat.

You need an oven that produces higher temperature than regular ovens such as the portable ones they use in the Arab world. Or TOG ovens with 30 liters capacity and power not less than watts and bypass the thermostat as I did in my house. With these you will get high enough temperature and all your pitas will come out just fantastic. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.

Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How do I ensure that pita forms a nice big, even pocket when baking? Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 8 months ago. Active 6 years, 2 months ago. Viewed 12k times. Improve this question. Community Bot 1. In the meantime, here's my current go-to recipe. Mix to combine.

Add in warm water, olive oil, and yogurt. Since ingredients at the same temperature mix together more easily, I like to bring my yogurt to room temp I cheat by heating it in the microwave for a bit rather than adding it straight from the fridge.

Mix on low to create a cohesive dough. If mixing by hand, knead on counter or in bowl helps with the stickiness issue for about 10 minutes, until the dough is very smooth and tacky. Oil a medium-sized bowl, add dough, and cover to rise until doubled takes 1 to 1. If you'll be using a baking stone, start preheating oven to or as high as it goes about minutes before you think the dough will be done rising. If not using a baking stone, you can hold off on preheating the oven for a bit.

After dough rise is completed, turn out onto a clean surface. If you have a digital scale highly recommend! This will be the approximate weight for each little dough ball. Mine usually comes about around 75 grams each. Using a dough scraper or kitchen knife, divide dough into 12 equal pieces. If you don't have a digital scale, no worries!

Just eyeball it. It won't be a problem- your pitas may vary in size slightly, that's all. Once you have 12 pieces of dough, form each piece into a round ball. Here's a one-minute video from KAF showing the classic technique of shaping small dough balls. It's actually really fun, and you'll be so impressed with yourself and the extremely circular dough you end up with. When you've shaped all 12 pieces, cover with a damp-ish kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

If you haven't yet preheated your oven to or at least , now's the time to do it! If you're planning to bake the pitas on a preheated pan, you should put that in the oven at this time. I roll them out as thinly as I can. Cover the rolled-out circles with a damp tea towel and let rest for about min, until they are slightly puffy. If you're planning to bake on a non-preheated baking sheet, you can put the rolled-out pitas on it for the resting period.

A few minutes before putting the pitas in the oven, flip them optional- to help with even air dispersement and spritz lightly with water. Now for the baking finally! If you're using a normal baking sheet, put them all in the oven at once. If you're using a preheated baking sheet or a baking stone, bake them a few at a time I do two at a time. Baking time for these pitas can vary. Turn your oven light on and watch them as they bake so you can see when they puff it's fun!

I've read that you should start checking them at 5 minutes, but mine never take more than 3 minutes to puff. It's honestly totally up to you and you'll quickly figure out how long your pitas need to be in the oven. Once you see a complete puff, give them about a minute-ish more and then take them out, wrapping the fresh pitas in a kitchen towel.

I highly recommend eating one warm. Thank you so much for writing this! I made pita bread for the first time tonight and thought I was on the right path to pita puffiness But I ate them anyway. You give me hope for next time! I just made them and they all puffed up and are as light as a feather. I love this recipe. I did exactly as you said and success! Thank you so much. Just a warning, putting the oven on at was abit brutal as my kitchen got all smokey, nothing that opening a few windows didn't resolve though!

Thanks so much! Great detail! I'm going to try your tips. Hopefully I can actually get a pocket this time! This worked out really well for me - I realize I had been doing a combination of things wrong in the past: oven not hot enough, and not letting the rolled-out disks rise before cooking. Finally made some perfect Pitas. Thanksgiving Holidays Main Dish.

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