Fresh Pita Bread

My boyfriend decided that tonight, he will be making steak for dinner.  I don't really like when my food is not the center of attention at any given meal.  Therefore, I will be making an appetizer that I know he will love. Booyah.

We went to this jazz bar a couple weeks ago, and had the most amazing appetizer I have ever had in my life (in theory). However, there was one major flaw that I will definitely be fixing tonight. The appetizer was this rich, creamy marinara sauce with big, melty chunks of goat cheese baked into it. Unfortunately, it was served with stale, store-bought, crusty pita bread.  I hate stale, store-bought, crusty pita bread.

So tonight I will make my own version of this delicious appetizer.  Only I will not make the mistake of serving it with terrible pita bread.  I will be serving it with homemade, soft, fluffy, warm, fresh-from-the-oven, delicious pita bread.  And the crowd will go wild.

Keep in mind you can serve this with pretty much anything.  In college, my roommates and I usually ate it with homemade hummus and grilled chicken or we made sandwiches.  The possibilities are endless.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/4 cups of warm water (between 105 and 110 degrees)
• 1 packet active dry yeast (about 2 teaspoons)
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Pour the yeast into the warm water, and give it a little stir.  Let it sit for about ten minutes.  Everyone always says the yeast should make the water foamy.  You can see from my picture that the water is not foamy.  This is how it always is for me, and it always works anyway. So, if it's not foamy, don't worry.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together your flour, salt, garlic powder, and olive oil.

After your ten minutes is up, add the yeast and water mixture to the flour mixture.  You can start stirring with a spatula, but you're going to have to get your hands messy anyway so I usually just dig right in and mix with my hands.  Knead the dough until it forms a ball and is pretty smooth.  (You can also use your mixer and dough hook.  Have fun with the extra dishes.)  Once you have a dough ball, sprinkle a little more olive oil on it and rub it all over so your dough doesn't get stuck to the bowl while rising.

Cover the bowl with a towel, and place it somewhere warm for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Afterwards, it will look like this:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Spread some flour on your work surface, and punch down the pita dough.  Divide the dough into 8 equal sized balls, about 3 ounces each.

Roll the dough ball into discs a little bigger than a CD.

Put them into the oven for 4-5 minutes on each side.  Look how yummy!

If you like your pitas with pockets in the middle, stack them on a piece of foil, and close it up.  If you like it without a pocket, let them cool on the counter.

I desperately tried to save all 8 of these for dinner tonight, but I found a single serving of hummus in my refrigerator that expires today.  What would you have done?

xo Chrissy