We made pitas with all purpose flour for Week 4: Pita. This time around we’ve used whole wheat flour and baked them in the oven, rather than the stove top. This would be fun to make with the kids; they’re sure to enjoy shaping the balls of dough, rolling them out, and then watching them puff up in the oven.

This recipe comes our way via Molly Yeh, who met with the folks at Hummus Place in New York, and wrote Pita – Fresh From Your Oven in forward.com.

This makes 6 pitas. They are best eaten fresh, so I only make what we can eat right away.

Step 1: Make dough

• 1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2-1/4 tsp yeast (1 packet)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup warm water

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine
2. Add the water and then the olive oil on top of the water
3. Place bowl in the stand mixer, and with the dough hook, mix on medium speed to combine, scraping sides with a rubber spatula to made sure verything’s incorporated. You might have to turn it off, and lift the hook up so you can get the dry bits from the bottom.
4. Once it’s mixed, lower to #2 and knead for 10 minutes, unitl it comes away from the bowl. If it’s still sticking to the sides, add 1 tablespoon of four, but no more.
5. Cover and let proof in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.

Step 2: Shape

1. Preheat oven to 550, or as high as it will go
2. Cut 3 sheets of parchment paper the size of your baking/cookie sheet.
3. Place cookie sheet in oven — without the parchment paper sheets.
4. Scrape dough out of the bowl onto a heavily floured countertop and divide into 6 pieces
5. Form into balls by stretching out the sides then folding them in towards the center. Turn over and shape into a ball. View “Shaping into a Ball” on the Video page.
6. Cover and let rest for about 45 minutes.
7. Dust the countertop with flour, and the tops of each ball, then roll out to about 5 inches diameter. If they spring back, let it rest, move on to another one, then go back to it.
8. Place 2 pitas on each sheet, and let rest 15 minutes.

Step 3: Bake

1. Put the pitas close to the oven.
2. Open the door, slide the rack out that has the cookie sheet, then carefully lift the parchment with one set of pitas and place them on the cookie sheet
3. Slide back in and close door.
4. Bake 2 minutes, then flip the pitas with tongs and bake another two minutes. Try to move fast, so the oven doesn’t loose too much heat.
5. Repeat two more times. Make sure to wrap the baked pitas so they don’t dry out as they cool.