Some people have tried a flat cake made from wheat or wallpaper flour. In the Middle East, it has a special name - pita. The recipe for this baking has come to us from time immemorial. The first mention of such bread can be found in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, the name of the tortilla sounds like “stalemate of bread,” which means “big bread pita.”
Tortilla with a "pocket"
A distinctive feature of traditional Arabic pita is water vapor, which is formed in the dough during the manufacture of cakes. It accumulates in the center of baking in the bladder, separating layers of dough. Thus, a large cavity is formed inside the bakery, which the chef calls a "pocket". It can be opened with a sharp knife, cutting the edge of the cake. In the "pocket" put meat, salads and other mouth-watering stuffing.
Similar flour products
About twenty centimeters in diameter has an average Arab pita. The recipe for this cake will be described below. In the meantime, we'll talk about analogues of this delicious bread. In the world there are many varieties of pitta. For example, in Georgia, pita bread is baked, which is a large magnificent loaf without a "pocket". In Iraq they make a very thin cake - Lafa, and in India they make chapatis. In our article we will talk about how to bake traditional Arab pita. A recipe for cooking with a photo will help you master the technology of this dish in a matter of minutes.
Pita without yeast. Ingredients
Useful and tasty pita is just baked enough. The recipe (without yeast) states that the following products are needed to create this tortilla:
- wheat flour - 550 grams;
- milk (sour) - 50 milliliters;
- water - 225 milliliters;
- salt - 1 teaspoon.
Pita without yeast. Sourdough cooking
First of all, you should prepare the leaven. To do this, knead a dough of 200 grams of flour, 50 milliliters of milk and 50 milliliters of water. After that, you need to put it in a warm place for three days. By this time, bubbles form on the surface of the dough. In addition, the product will have an acidic smell characteristic of the fermentation process. This means that the leaven is ready for use, it can be removed for storage in the refrigerator, and then reused as needed.
Before use, the product must be refreshed. To do this, you need to take 100 grams of sourdough from the refrigerator, mix it with 100 grams of flour and 50 milliliters of water and put in a warm place again. After a couple of hours, the dough should increase by half. It happens that fermentation takes more than the specified time. If the process dragged on, then the leaven should be refreshed again.
The main microorganisms of this product are acetic acid and lactic acid bacteria. Bread baked on such a sourdough does not deteriorate for a long time. In addition, with its regular use in food in the human body, a favorable environment is created for the development of beneficial microflora and the destruction of pathogenic. From time immemorial, our ancestors baked bread not on yeast, but on leaven. This product, proven over the centuries, will be very useful these days.
Pita without yeast. Cooking method
- Now you can start making cakes. First of all, you need to take 125 grams of sourdough, 125 milliliters of water and 250 grams of flour. Often used different varieties when preparing pita. The recipe allows mixing ¼ white flour and ¼ rye. To knead the dough, you must first add warm water to the sourdough and mix everything thoroughly. Next, the salt must be dissolved in the liquid and only then add flour to it.
- Then you should knead the dough and set it aside for an hour and a half, so that it has time to rise.
- After that, you need to turn on the oven and leave it to warm up to 250-270 degrees.
- Now the finished dough can be put on a chopped flour board. Then you need to divide it into several small balls.
- Then from the pieces you need to form round cakes and carefully lay them on the wire rack.
- It only takes three minutes to cook the pita. As soon as the cakes are swollen and rise, they need to be pulled out of the oven and wrapped in a towel so that it absorbs excess moisture.
- Bread should not be kept on fire for a long time, otherwise it will brown and become crispy. If you bake a cake at too low a temperature, it will turn out to be pale and too dry. So the correct temperature is of great importance.
So the Arab pita is ready. The recipe for cooking at home is very simple. All family members will be glad that a new unusual dish has appeared on the table. However, in the Middle East, this cake is not perceived as a separate dish. It is rather a "packaging" for a variety of fillings. We will talk about what can be put in the "pocket" of the pit below.
Filling
Juicy balls of falafel, smeared with a mixture of chopped lettuce, hummus and tahini, with spicy sauce and fresh tortilla dough, create the perfect tasteful Mediterranean ensemble, loved by many tourists. To recreate this culinary masterpiece at home is quite difficult. However, you can make a lot of delicious dishes in which the main ingredient is pita. The filling recipe involves the use of simple and affordable products.
For example, you can make fried pizza. To do this, cut the cake into two circles, lay one of them in a frying pan with butter, break the egg on top so that the yolk is not damaged, and bake like an ordinary fried egg. Or you can create a pit toast. Here, too, everything is very simple. It is necessary to incise the edge of the tortilla, put in it circles of tomatoes and slices of cheese, place in a toaster with a corrugated surface and keep until ready. The output should be crispy fried bread with melted cheese inside. So simple and very tasty pita is prepared. The recipe for cooking, filling this dish will not cause any difficulties even for a novice cook.
Pita yeast
Arab cakes can also be made in a pan. The truth is then better to cook pita with the addition of yeast. The ingredients are as follows:
- water - 1 cup;
- white flour - 500 grams;
- vegetable (preferably olive) oil - 2 tablespoons;
- dry yeast - 10 grams;
- salt - 1 teaspoon.
Cooking method
- First you need to knead a thick dough from the above ingredients. Then it should be put in a bowl and left for a couple of hours in a warm place. In the process of raising it is necessary to knead the dough two to three times.
- After this, the mass must again be thoroughly kneaded for 5-8 minutes and divided into ten pieces. They should be covered with a towel, left to exfoliate the dough for half an hour.
- Next, each portion needs to be rolled into a flat cake with a diameter of 15-20 centimeters and a thickness of 1 centimeter. Then, flour products should again be covered with a towel.
- Now you need to thoroughly heat the pan, pour it with olive oil, put pita on it and fry until it is swollen and becomes golden brown. After that, it must be carefully turned over and browned on the opposite side. This should take no more than one minute.
- Then the finished cakes should be laid out on a towel, trying not to overlap. Eating such bread should be hot, placing various goodies in the "pockets".
This is done with the addition of yeast Arab pita. The recipe for cooking in a pan does not require a lot of time.
Garlic bread
This delicacy is now served in many restaurants, but you can make it at home. To do this, ready-made pita must be cut in half lengthwise and grated with garlic on the inside. Then pour olive oil and sprinkle with zaatar (Middle Eastern seasoning mixture). After that, the bread should be placed in the oven for about five to seven minutes. Not worse than in any restaurant, you get garlic pita. The recipe for cooking can take pride of place in the cookbook.
Now you know the secrets of cooking fragrant Arabic cakes. These pastries will be a great alternative to traditional bread. Enjoy your meal!