LIVE TO COOK

“Pita Pockets”.

I first tasted Pita Pockets or pita bread sandwich in a theme park. It was my first vacation in US. After getting bored of cheese pizzas, we thought of eating something different. Veggie Pita Pocket was the only other non meat option available for us.

Since Pita bread was almost similar to our Roti and Naan, I liked the taste. Even though I never tried to make it at home, I caught up on making my own Pita breads when I established my Sourdough Starter. As bread consumption was very less in our house, I wanted to use my sourdough starter in recipes that can easily adopt to our lifestyle. Next to Naan, it was Pita bread that served the need.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Whole wheat flour
3/4 – 1 Cup Warm water
1/2 Cup Active Sourdough starter
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt

To serve the sandwich:

1/2 cup Labneh or Labni
Stuffed onion rolls for each pita pocket

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients other than water.
2. Knead into a soft and elastic dough using 2 Tbsp water at a time.
3. Grease a large bowl and put the ball of dough.
4. Cover and allow to double in volume.
5. Punch down and take a lemon sized ball of dough.
6. Roll in to 6 inch discs with a thickness of two tortillas.
7. Cover with a damp cheese cloth and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
8. Heat a cast iron griddle and place a rolled pita.
9. Allow to cook on one side and until the dough puffs up.

10. Turn and cook the other side until brown spots appear.
11. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Do not stack pita breads. Cool each one separately. This will help us to get the pocket shape when the pita is cut into half. Stacking of pita bread when warm will create moisture in between layers and won’t pull apart when cut.

12. Cut the pita in half and pull apart to get the pocket shape.
11. Spread a tablespoon of Labneh inside the pocket.
12. Place one stuffed onion roll inside and serve warm. We can use tomatoes, lettuce along with the stuffed roll too.

The recipe was awesome and the homemade Labneh enriched the taste. It is a lunch box and Picnic friendly recipe for sure. This is my entry for the event A.W.E.D – Middle eastern cuisine hosted by Siri.