Pita Bread: Bread Machine

Since we're back in the States I am thoroughly enjoying having access once again to my bread machine. Except lately I'm only using the dough cycle. It seems to be a good compromise: perfect, well-risen, easy, convenient dough, but the desired shape that comes from baking in the oven. I have also found lately that the "secret" (for me anyway) for getting the second rise seems to be covering the dough with cling wrap, then a clean dish towel, and putting it on top of the warm oven.

I found a pretty good pita dough recipe adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe for the dough cycle of the machine.

Makes 8 pitas.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c warm water
1 t olive oil
3 1/2 c bread flour
1 t sugar
1 t salt
2 1/4 t bread machine yeast

Directions:

Place ingredients in order given (or order instructed by your bread machine manual!) in bread machine pan. Select dough cycle (2 lb).

Toward end of dough cycle, preheat oven to 500 F, and place pizza stone in oven.

When dough is ready, punch it down and divide into 8 balls, keeping all lightly floured and covered.
Rest covered balls for 15 minutes.

Roll the rested dough balls into flat, 8 inch, smooth rounds. Keep covered and do not stack.

Put 2 pita rounds on pizza stone for 4-5 minutes and watch carefully, until they're puffed and a pale golden color. They cook quickly.

Cool on rack. They will naturally deflate, leaving a pocket in the center.

Wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft.

I have used these for falafel as well as for pizza crusts. I like to brush the top with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and heat right before serving.

Pita Bread

I was surprised at how easy this recipe was, and how great it turned out. The first time around, we never got to using the pita for falafel or anything else I had planned it for, because we just snacked on them. In South Africa things like pita bread and tortillas are expensive, otherwise I never would have thought to have tried this on my own. The recipe is from The Fresh Loaf, and it's worth checking out the link because there is a lot of great info there about pita and bread baking techniques.

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 T sugar or honey
2 t yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 c water, roughly at room temperature
2 T oil or shortening or butter

Directions:

If using active dry yeast, follow the packet directions to activate. Otherwise, if using instant, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add oil and water and stir with wooden spoon. All the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick, add more water.

Place ball of dough on clean surface and knead with your hands or mix in a mixer on low for 10 minutes.
Place the kneaded dough in a bowl lightly coated in oil. Roll the ball around till it has been coated in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or damp dish towel. Set aside in draft-free place, about 90 minutes, till it has doubled in size.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down, divide into 8 pieces (or however many good size pita balls you can make - I made more than 8). Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp dish towel, and let rest 20 minutes.

While the dough is resting, preheat oven to 400 F (204 C). Preheat a baking stone or upside down cookie sheet on middle oven rack, that you will back the pita on.

After the dough has rested, take each ball and roll to 1/8-1/4 inches thick on a lightly floured surface.
Put as many pitas as you can on the preheated tray in the oven. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes.

Quick Biscuits

Quick, easy biscuits, scone consistency.

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
5 T butter or margarine
2/3 c milk

220 C/ 428 F
Sift dry ingredients into bowl. Cut butter in to make crumbs. Make well in middle and pour in milk. Mix, divide into 9 sections. Put on greased, floured baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Miss Betty's Super Quick Dinner Rolls

Found this at All Recipes when I didn't have any yeast for bread rolls. Delicious and really, really easy.

Ingredients

1 cup self-rising flour
2 T mayonnaise
1/2 c milk

Optional - add seasonings such as: 1 t garlic powder, 1 t rosemary, 1 t Italian seasonings

Heat oven to 175 C (350 F), mix ingredients together, grease 5 normal size muffin tins, pour in batter, bake about 15 minutes.

French Boule - Simple Artisan Bread

I finally found a bread recipe (NOT using a bread machine) that actually worked for me! I found this lovely book called, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, (check it out here) that makes baking so simple. Here is the master recipe they present in the beginning of the book. They suggest to make the dough and refrigerate it for up to 2 weeks. You can make four 1-pound loaves from that dough. I tried it today and it was great, and so easy to make. I made the dough yesterday as they suggested, and baked one loaf today. However, the loaf is small and yummy, so I may bake 2 at a time next so that I have more bread.


Ingredients (for four 1-pound loaves):

3 c lukewarm water
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T salt
6 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose white flour
Cornmeal or whole wheat flour for pizza peel

Directions:

Warm the water slightly. Add yeast and salt to the water in a large bowl. Mix in the flour (no kneading required). Mix with wooden spoon or using dough hook on mixer. Cover bowl with a lid (not airtight) that fits well to the container you are using. Allow mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, approximately 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).



You can use a portion of the dough after this period and refrigerate the rest. Fully refrigerated dough is best to work with (overnight or at least 3 hours).

To bake:
Sprinkle surface of dough with flour. Pull up and cut off 1-pound (grapefruit size) piece. Hold mass of dough in hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
Rest the loaf and let it rise on a pizza peel (I didn't have one so I used a plate), dusted with cornmeal or whole wheat flour. Let dough rest for 40 minutes, uncovered.
Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 F, with a baking stone placed on middle rack and empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread (I put mine below the shelf the bread would be on).
Dust top of loaf liberally with flour and slash a tic tac toe pattern (or other pattern as desired) on top of loaf with bread knife.
Slide loaf onto preheated baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour about 1 c of hot tap water into broiler tray and close oven door to trap steam. Bake about 30 minutes, or till crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.
Allow to cool completely.

Store baked loaf cut side down on a plate or clean counter, not in a bag.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread (Bread Machine)

This is one of my new favorite breads! This recipe is for a medium (1 1/2 lb) loaf.

Ingredients:

1 c warm water
1/4 c butter
1 egg
2 T sugar
2 t salt
2 c bread flour
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c oats
(1/4 c wheat germ - I didn't have so I left it out)
1/4 c nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 t yeast

Directions:

Combine ingredients in bread machine pan, set on whole wheat setting.

Spicy Arugula and Chicken Sandwiches

From Cooking Light. Delicious!

Ingredients:

round focaccia (recipe follows), halved horizontally
2 t olive oil
2 6 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 T fajita seasoning
1/4 c mayonnaise
3 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 t grated lime rind
1 T fresh lime juice
1 medium ripe tomato, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c trimmed arugula

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Cover chicken, pound to 1/4" thick. Sprinkle both sides with fajita seasoning. Add chicken to pan, cook 2 minutes each side or till done. Cut to 1"thick slices. Meanwhile combine mayo, cilantro, rind, juice. Spread over cut sides of bread. Arrange chicken on bottom halves of bread, top with tomato and arugula. Cover with top half of bread. Cut into 4 wedges to make 4 sandwiches.

Focaccia:

Ingredients:

1 c warm water
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 t salt
3 c bread flour
3 T sugar
1 t rosemary or Italian seasoning
2 1/2 t yeast

Directions:

Put ingredients in bread machine pan. Select dough setting. Remove, put in greased round baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and rosemary. Bake 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

This was my brother's famous recipe. Don't ask, but he even made a cooking video of it once...



Ingredients:

2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 c oil
1 t vanilla
2 c shredded raw zucchini
3 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1 t ground cloves
1/2-1 c chopped nuts (optional)
1/2-1 c raisins (optional)

Directions:

Combine sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, zucchini. Stir well, then combine and add dry ingredients. Heat oven to 325. Grease and flour two 5x9" loaf pans. Bake about 1 hour or till done. Cool 20 minutes, remove from pans. Cool well before slicing.

Bread Machine Sweet Rolls

My mom always made these rolls growing up and people always asked for them. Great with soup or a pot roast dinner.

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/4 c applesauce
3/4 c milk
3/4 t salt
1/2 c sugar
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 t yeast

Directions:

Put all ingredients in bread machine pan. Select dough/pasta setting. When cycle is done, grease baking sheet. Form dough into 12 balls on baking sheet and cover with a clean cloth. Leave in a draft-free place to rise. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Cheddar Biscuits

Makes 8-12 biscuits, a good last-minute bread to serve.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c all-purpose flour.
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t ground mustard
4 medium green onions, sliced
1/3 c cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 c buttermilk
3 T vegetable oil

Directions:

Heat oven to 450. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, soda, mustard. Stir in onions and cheese. Mix buttermilk and oil separately, then stir into flour mixture until soft dough forms.
Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or till golden brown. Serve warm, with butter.

Bread Machine Wheat Bread

My bread machine is one of my favorite kitchen appliances. I love to try different breads. Mostly I love the smell of bread cooking!

Ingredients:

1/2 c warm milk
1/2 c warm water
1 egg
3 T honey
2 T applesauce
1 1/2 t salt
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
2 1/4 t active dry yeast

Directions:

Place all ingredients in order given in bread machine pan. Basic bread setting, 1 1/2 lb loaf, light crust. Check dough and add 1-2 T flour or water as needed.

Note: I use the sub applesauce for fat trick to make the recipe healthier. Also, I grease the measuring spoon for the honey to make it easier to add. I always use unbleached flour as it is healthier.