Whole Wheat Pita Bread

We ordered pizza for dinner last night, mostly because I didn't really feel like cooking and neither of us felt like going anywhere. We don't have pizza delivered very often because its pretty unhealthy and expensive, but every now and then it's really nice to sit at home on your couch while someone else brings you your dinner. So, needless to say, I thought it would be a good idea to have something light for dinner tonight, to balance out all of the empty carbs and cheese from yesterday. I made this pita bread recipe from Pure&Yummy. It was pretty simple to make and it turn out really soft! Much better than the store-bought variety. We filled ours with grilled chicken, sauteed onions, homemade salsa, and some fresh lettuce. I also sprinkled a little cheese on mine....I can't help it, cheese makes everything tastier! The bread is so delicious, so you can fill it with pretty much anything. Or you can eat it by itself...dipped in salsa...like me. Let me know what you filled yours with, I would love some new ideas!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread
From: Pure and Yummy

2¼ tsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. honey
1¼ cups warm water, divided
1½ cups bread flour, divided
1½ cups whole wheat flour, divided
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, honey and ½ cup of the water.  Stir gently to blend.  Whisk ¼ cup of the bread flour and ¼ cup of the whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture until smooth.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

2. Remove the plastic wrap and return the bowl to the mixer stand, fitted with the dough hook.  Add in the remaining ¾ cup of warm water, 1¼ cups bread flour, 1¼ cups whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt.  Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.  Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and let rise in a warm draft-free place, about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.

3. Place an oven rack in the middle position.  Place a baking stone in the oven (if using) and preheat to 500˚ F. Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces.  Form each piece into a ball.  Flatten one ball at a time into a disk, then stretch out into a 6½-7 inch circle.  Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or other work surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.  Once all the rounds have been shaped, loosely cover with clean kitchen towels.  Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.

4. Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, onto the baking surface. (I place mine right on the oven rack.) Bake 2 minutes, until puffed and pale golden.  Gently flip the pitas over using tongs and bake 1 minute more.  Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.  Repeat with the remaining pitas.  Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.