If you are passionate about Middle Eastern cuisine, you absolutely must try this Lebanese bread recipe, commonly known as pita bread, at home. Thanks to just two ingredients, you will be able to see the dough rise during cooking. Discover this incredible technique!
Stir-fried Arabic bread or pita bread is a recipe that accompanies essential dishes such as the famous Hummus, the delicious shawarma or the incomparable fattouche salad. It can be prepared at home in just a few minutes. But that is not all. By mixing two famous ingredients you can observe a swelling of the dough, a phenomenon that occurs during cooking.
So what are the secret ingredients that make Lebanese bread dough rise?
Two ingredients allow you to double the volume of pita bread, the key element that accompanies many dishes known in the Arab world. To experience the phenomenon, you will need to prepare the recipe as follows:
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Pita bread, a dough recipe that puffs up without yeast
The pita bread recipe is simple to make, it will only take 20 minutes. Without the use of yeast, this Lebanese dough will be able to swell during cooking. Here are the main ingredients you will need:
- 25 cl of water;
- 300 g of flour;
- 1.5 teaspoons of salt.
In a bowl we begin to mix the salt and flour. Gradually add the water, mixing the ingredients by hand. Continue kneading for 5 minutes until you obtain a smooth and elastic dough. From then on, you will only need to divide the dough into 6 parts in the form of uniform balls. Leave on the heat under a pan and with the help of a rolling pin roll out the dough into 3 mm thick discs. Then, without using fats such as butter or oil, place the preparation on the preheated instrument and cook for 40 seconds on one side then on the other. By doing so, you will be surprised to observe an increase in volume in just a few seconds, without even having to use yeast. This bulge allows you to obtain the famous pocket for making succulent sandwiches based on falafel and raw vegetables or the incomparable Lebanese shawarma or gyros and many others.
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A well-hydrated dough allows for a voluminous pocket during baking
While preparing the Lebanese bread recipe at home, you will undoubtedly be curious to identify the ingredient or process that allows the dough to rise. One thing is certain, one of the conditions for a successful recipe is to prepare a very hydrated dough. For this you need a mixture of water and flour. Avoid drying out the dough by adding flour during kneading . Although the dough is sticky at first, it is necessary to maintain a high level of humidity. In fact, the lower the quantity of water, the lower the steam, which will not help the bread to rise during cooking. Furthermore, one of the other conditions to be respected to obtain a pocket in the center of the bread is to preheat the pan on high heat for at least ten minutes. This step will allow the water contained in the mixture to quickly transform into steam. By doing this, you can make your recipe like a pro and get an interesting volume to fill your bread later.
As you may have understood, only two ingredients are enough to increase the volume of pita bread. Once ready, this bread can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can remove it at any time and place it in the oven for a few minutes before eating it. Don’t hesitate to share this experience with the little ones who will be happy to observe this phenomenon.