Whole Wheat Pitas

(I promise this will be the last pita post this week. Try them. You'll get addicted, too.)

I secretly prefer the taste of white bread, even though I always make wheat.

Pitas are the exception. While white pitas are good, I definitely prefer whole wheat pitas.

This whole wheat pita recipe uses 1 part whole wheat flour to 2 parts all purpose flour. If you want a fully whole wheat pita, you would need to add gluten to the ingredients. (I haven't figured out exactly what gluten is...let alone found it in the store yet)

Whole Wheat Pitas (8 whole pitas, 3 hours)

1 1/4 c warm water
1 tsp honey

1/4 c oil (extra virgin olive oil adds the most flavor)

2 c bread flour (all-purpose can be used)

1 c whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

**If you have a bread machine, put all ingredients into bread machine in order listed. Use the dough cycle. Then skip to Step 3.**

1. In large bowl, combine yeast, honey, and 1/2 c warm water. Let sit for 5 min until foamy. Stir in oil, salt, and remaining water. Gradually mix in flour until a dough forms. Knead 8-10 min until you have a smooth, elastic ball.

2. Place dough in bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover with a kitchen towel. Set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, until almost doubled.

3. Punch down dough and divide into 8 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6-7 inch circle. As you roll out dough, place rounds on lightly floured surface and cover with a towel. Let rise for about 30 minutes, until slightly puffy. (They will still be thin) While rising, preheat oven to 500.

4. Place 2-3 rounds at a time, side-by-side, on a cooling wire rack. Bake for 5 minutes or until puffy.

5. Remove from oven and wrap breads in a damp kitchen towel to keep them soft. Allow breads to completely cool.

Notes:

*Pitas can be refrigerated in a ziploc bag for 2-3 days.

*I have only done this recipe with a bread machine - if you try it by hand, let me know!
*This recipe can be halved with great results.

There's some indescribable innate satisfaction in making your own pitas...makes me feel like a pioneer or something like that.

VERDICT:

Cost: Storemade: $2.98 for 6, Homemade: $0.50 for 8

Overall:
I will now be making whole wheat pitas instead of white pitas. These were delightfully soft and chewy, yet wholesome. As with the white pitas, they are much cheaper and higher quality than storemade pitas. There really is no comparison when it comes to taste. Of course, storemade pitas are convenient and I'm sure I'll still buy them occasionally. Now I just need to try freezing these!

And yes, the whole wheat ones puff up in the oven just like white ones.

My inspiration: epicurious.com recipe significantly modified directions

Today's Lesson: Always remember to put the blade back on the bread machine. It doesn't work without it. (Yup, had the dough cycle running and randomly noticed the blade sitting on the counter)

Pita Pockets

Stuffing pita pockets is tough.

The fillings won't fit.

Everything looks smashed in.

Sometimes the whole thing busts open.

I quit buying them to avoid feeling like a failure. So when I saw this recipe at Tammy's Recipes, I was excited to try it out.

It was everything she claimed!

Homemade Pita Pockets (8 pockets/16 halves, 2 hours)

1 c warm water

1 TB oil

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

3 c flour

1 1/2 tsp yeast

**If you have a bread machine, put all ingredients into bread machine in order listed. Use the dough cycle. Then skip to Step 3.**

1. Combine water, oil, salt, and sugar. Mix in 1 cup of flour and yeast. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary.)

2. Place dough in bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, until almost doubled.

3. Punch down dough and place on lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 8 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6-7 inch circle. As you roll out dough, place rounds on lightly floured surface and cover with a towel. Let rise for about 30 minutes, until slightly puffy. (They will still be thin) While rising, preheat oven to 500.

4. Place 2-3 rounds at a time, side-by-side, on a cooling wire rack. Bake for 4-5 minutes until puffy. Remove from oven as soon as any brown appears on the top.

5. Remove from oven and wrap breads in a damp kitchen towel to keep them soft. Allow breads to completely cool.

Notes:
*Pitas can be refrigerated in a ziploc bag for 2-3 days.

*This recipe can be halved with great results.

(You do not want your pitas to have dark brown spots on the bottom like in this picture. They will be stiff. If this happens, lessen the time in the oven.)

VERDICT:

Cost: Storemade: $2.98 for 6, Homemade: $0.55 for 8!

Overall:

These homemade pitas were surprisingly simple to make, especially with the bread machine. I will definitely continue making them. They were also delicious! They were so soft and pliable. I was able to fill the pitas easily without any cracking or breaking. The hole was plenty big! There was no comparison to storemade pitas.

Plus, it was fun to watch them puff up in the oven.

My inspiration: Tammy's Recipes' Homemade Pita Pockets

Honey Wheat Bread

I'm fascinated by this concept.

Wheat bread that's white?

I wonder if I could trick my husband Andy into eating it.

He is a staunch White Bread Only eater.

After our daughter Anna was born, I read an article about the health benefits of feeding children whole grains. It stated that if children grow up eating wheat bread, they will prefer the taste of it over white bread.

So I tried it with Anna.

Now she's 2 (and a half) years old, eating wheat bread, and doesn't know the difference.

Now that I'm making my own bread, I've wondered if I could get Andy to compromise...

So I tried this one with half white flour, half wheat flour.

Honey Wheat Bread (1 2 lb loaf, 4 hours)

1 2/3 c water, room temperature

2 tsp butter or margarine, softenend

1/4 c honey

2 tsp salt

2 1/4 c whole wheat flour

2 c bread flour

2 tsp yeast

1. Add water, butter, and honey to bread machine bowl.

2. Add flours and salt.

3. Make a well in the flour. Pour yeast into the well.

4. Snap bowl into bread machine. Select wheat cycle and desired crust. Start!

Notes:

*The original recipe also called for adding 2/3 c slivered, toasted almonds with the dry ingredients. The bread was delicious without them, but they would add some crunch to it.

VERDICT:
Cost: Storemade cost $2.29, homemade cost exactly $1.00
Overall: This homemade bread wins. I tried the Sara Lee loaf when it first came out and remember thinking, "Hmm, this is okay tasting, but nothing special." This homemade loaf definitely wins in both the taste and cost categories. It was best warm out of the bread machine.
Andy tried it. He said, "It's okay. It's still too dark." He is a man of few words when it comes to food. I thought it was excellent bread. It was soft, yet hearty - a perfect blend of wheat and white. Contrary to Andy's comment, it was a light-colored bread. It wasn't as good with grilled cheese as the white bread, but the honey in it made it a perfect compliment to peanut butter. I would be satisfied eating this bread every week. Time will tell if Andy will feel the same...

My Inspiration: Oster Bread Machine manual, modified

Click here for a link to anything you could possibly want to know about White Wheat bread. It made me want to hunt down some white wheat flour and try it out.

A couple people have asked about making the bread recipes by hand instead of a bread machine. I'm working on finding out if there's a reasonable way to do it!

Pizza Crust

1,000 frozen pizzas.

That's a lot of pizza.

That's also a conservative estimate of how many my husband has eaten.

Now he's limited to 5 each month. I hit the 5/$11 deal at Woodmans and when they're gone, they're gone.

I'm a mean wife.

But I do make homemade pizza. I'm eternally searching for the perfect pizza crust. Great taste, little effort.

This recipe made 2 pizzas for us. The first night I thought the crust was just okay. The second night I liked it a lot.

Maybe I was just hungry, but it's worth a try.

VERDICT:

Cost: Home

Convenience: Store

Taste: Home

Health: Home

Overall:

Homemade wins every time in my world. Storemade wins in my husband's world. But he's an addict. I liked the ease of using the bread machine (you can make it by hand, too). The crust rolled out easily. I baked it on a pizza stone, and the edges had the perfect crisp. The honey gave it a subtle sweetness, which I liked more than traditional recipes with sugar. I'll definitely make it again, but I'm still searching for a homemade recipe that my husband will like more than frozen.

Mitch's Basic Pizza Dough (2 medium pizzas, 2 hours total)

3 1/2 c flour

1 c warm water

2 TB yeast

2 TB honey

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1. Pour water, honey, and olive oil into bread pan.

2. Add flour and salt.

3. Make a well in the flour. Pour yeast into well.

4. Snap pan into bread machine, select Dough setting, and push Start! (1 1/2 hours)

5. Roll out crust on floured surface. Poke holes in it with a fork to prevent bubbles. Add sauce, cheese, and desired toppings.

6. Cook at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Notes:

*Can be made by hand - see link below

Today's Bread Machine Lesson:

Pay attention. Otherwise you might end up dumping honey into the actual bread machine rather than the bread pan. This will make a huge, sticky mess and add an extra 20 minutes.

(yes, I did that)

My inspiration

White Bread

Trying to be cheap, I've been buying the cheapest loaves of bread at the store. What I've learned? Store-bought bread doesn't taste good unless it costs at least $2 a loaf.

Then Mom handed over her breadmaker.

I'm hooked.

My biggest hangup about making bread was that the bread wouldn't be usable for anything except that - plain bread.

Oh was I wrong.

It made the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Ever. My 2 year old and I just sat here eating, not saying a word. I'd make breadmaker bread just for the grilled cheese sandwiches.

VERDICT
Cost: Homemade (.83 to .98)
Convenience: Storemade (5 seconds to 3 1/2 hours!)
Taste: Homemade (3 thumbs up)
Health: Homemade
Overall:
Homemade bread wins by a mile. The crust was a too crispy for me, so I'll experiment more. However, it was so easy and perfect for sandwiches. I'm going to try to make a loaf every Sunday.

Wheat bread soon to come...

Traditional White Bread - 2 lb loaf

1 + 1/3 c water
4 tsp softened butter or margarine
4 c bread flour
2 TB sugar
4 tsp dry milk
2 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast

1. Pour water into the bread pan.
2. Add butter.
3. Pour flour into the pan. Follow with sugar, dry milk, and salt.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour yeast into the well. Yeast should NEVER touch liquids.
5. Snap pan into breadmaker and start it up!