Molly Yeh’s Whole Wheat Pita
Makes 12 Pita
Bread is one of the first recipes I mastered as an at-home cook. It’s always come pretty naturally to me, but I’ve picked up a few tricks and tips along the way—some of which are listed below.
I was excited to try Molly Yeh’s pita because pita are delicious and I liked she had a whole wheat version included in her cookbook Molly on the Range. I didn’t alter this recipe (except the moment when I added the salt), and they turned out great. With each batch, I was equally delighted to see the pita puff up beautifully. Each one produced a large, lovely pocket to be stuffed with sandwich ingredients. I enjoyed them with my easy hummus.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups warm water (Let the faucet run until the water is hot to the touch.)2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt3 tablespoons olive oil1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour2 cups white bread flour (Molly suggests more for dusting, but I didn’t need any additional flour.)
Instructions:
1. Add yeast and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.2. Add warm water and stir until combined and the sugar is dissolved.3. Let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy. (This is where you’ll find out if your yeast is alive. If it doesn’t foam, discard and start again.)4. With the mixer on low, add oil. (Molly suggests adding the salt here, too, but I wait to add salt to my breads until after the flour has been added so not to inhibit the yeast.)5. With the mixer off, add flours. 6. Mix on medium low until the dough begins to combine.7. Add salt. 8. Continue mixing until the dough is well combined. (I did have to do a bit of kneading by hand in the bowl. I found the dough dry, but it did come together nicely.)9. With the mixer on medium, knead the dough 5-7 minutes until it pulls away from the bowl. (Molly says the dough should be sticky, but I found mine smooth and slightly dry. I did have to encourage the dough into a ball. It kept forming itself into a log and wanting to launch itself out of the top of the mixer. I just shut the mixer off and pushed the dough in to a ball and returned to the mixer for more kneading—I did this 3-4 times. I knew the kneading was done when I pulled a piece of dough from the ball and could stretch it enough that the light shone through without tearing—this is called the windowpane test.) 10. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. (I found my dough grew quite quickly, but I did wait the entire two hours.)11. When the dough has doubled, transfer to a clean work surface. (This may be where you need additional flour.)12. Separate the dough into 12 equal pieces. (I use a food scale for this. I weigh the dough and dived by 12—that’s how many grams each ball of dough should be. Then I measure each ball of dough out separately to the weight needed.)13. Place each ball of dough on a parchment-lined baking pan about an inch apart. 14. Cover with tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes. 15. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. 16. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (I used one pan. I could fit four on a time. I rolled each pita when it was ready for the pan instead of rolling all at once. Because they bake so fast, these extra steps didn’t bother me.)17. Roll each ball of dough into a ¼-inch thick disc with a rolling pin. (The dough didn’t stick for me and kept its shape nicely.)18. Place on baking sheet.19. Bake for 5 minutes until cooked through and puffy. (Molly suggests five minutes because she likes them “quite doughy” since they’ll be warmed in the toaster or microwave later. I wanted to eat mine for lunch, so I baked the first batch for seven minutes and the second and third for six minutes. I preferred the texture of the six-minute bake. The seven-minute bake had a crisper top crust. 20. Remove from pan immediately and cool on a baking rack.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container. I froze the leftovers and found them just as delicious brought to room temperature. Lightly squeeze the pita to release the air before storing.
I was excited to try Molly Yeh’s pita because pita are delicious and I liked she had a whole wheat version included in her cookbook Molly on the Range. I didn’t alter this recipe (except the moment when I added the salt), and they turned out great. With each batch, I was equally delighted to see the pita puff up beautifully. Each one produced a large, lovely pocket to be stuffed with sandwich ingredients. I enjoyed them with my easy hummus.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups warm water (Let the faucet run until the water is hot to the touch.)2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt3 tablespoons olive oil1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour2 cups white bread flour (Molly suggests more for dusting, but I didn’t need any additional flour.)
Instructions:
1. Add yeast and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.2. Add warm water and stir until combined and the sugar is dissolved.3. Let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy. (This is where you’ll find out if your yeast is alive. If it doesn’t foam, discard and start again.)4. With the mixer on low, add oil. (Molly suggests adding the salt here, too, but I wait to add salt to my breads until after the flour has been added so not to inhibit the yeast.)5. With the mixer off, add flours. 6. Mix on medium low until the dough begins to combine.7. Add salt. 8. Continue mixing until the dough is well combined. (I did have to do a bit of kneading by hand in the bowl. I found the dough dry, but it did come together nicely.)9. With the mixer on medium, knead the dough 5-7 minutes until it pulls away from the bowl. (Molly says the dough should be sticky, but I found mine smooth and slightly dry. I did have to encourage the dough into a ball. It kept forming itself into a log and wanting to launch itself out of the top of the mixer. I just shut the mixer off and pushed the dough in to a ball and returned to the mixer for more kneading—I did this 3-4 times. I knew the kneading was done when I pulled a piece of dough from the ball and could stretch it enough that the light shone through without tearing—this is called the windowpane test.) 10. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. (I found my dough grew quite quickly, but I did wait the entire two hours.)11. When the dough has doubled, transfer to a clean work surface. (This may be where you need additional flour.)12. Separate the dough into 12 equal pieces. (I use a food scale for this. I weigh the dough and dived by 12—that’s how many grams each ball of dough should be. Then I measure each ball of dough out separately to the weight needed.)13. Place each ball of dough on a parchment-lined baking pan about an inch apart. 14. Cover with tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes. 15. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. 16. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (I used one pan. I could fit four on a time. I rolled each pita when it was ready for the pan instead of rolling all at once. Because they bake so fast, these extra steps didn’t bother me.)17. Roll each ball of dough into a ¼-inch thick disc with a rolling pin. (The dough didn’t stick for me and kept its shape nicely.)18. Place on baking sheet.19. Bake for 5 minutes until cooked through and puffy. (Molly suggests five minutes because she likes them “quite doughy” since they’ll be warmed in the toaster or microwave later. I wanted to eat mine for lunch, so I baked the first batch for seven minutes and the second and third for six minutes. I preferred the texture of the six-minute bake. The seven-minute bake had a crisper top crust. 20. Remove from pan immediately and cool on a baking rack.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container. I froze the leftovers and found them just as delicious brought to room temperature. Lightly squeeze the pita to release the air before storing.
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