May 9, 2013 - 9:48am
fun with pita!
I made pita bread using the recipe here on TFL. It was way cool watching the pitas puff up in the oven.
I was also able to use my grandma's bowls and rolling pin to make the pitas. It is great to be able to use her things and keep conected through the generations. I just recently received the bowls, and they are now my bread making bowls. 
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It seems every time we make them, one side of the puff is thicker than the other, sometimes twice as thick and I have no idea why this is so. I always thought there must be some trick to making the thickness the same. Are yours the same thickness on each side? If so what is your process?
They all seemed to puff the same, that is, the ones that puffed. The first four just puffed up after about 2 minutes in the oven. The last four bubbled up more than puffed. I think that I lost too much heat putting them in the oven and taking them out. The next time I make them, I am going to roll out 2, bake them, then roll out the next 2 letting the oven come back up to a higher temp.
When I cut the pitas in half, they all split open evenly, even the ones that bubbled vs. puffing. They toasted up very yummy - there will be chicken going on the grill this weekend to be stuffed with avocado and sweet peppers into whats left of the pitas. Somehow a couple got eaten right out of the oven, lol.
Very nice!
I was getting almost none until I read some advice on here to do 2-3 at a time right on the oven rack in an oven cranked to the max. After that it seemed to click and I got the pitas I was after.
I think that you hit it with the high heat - my first 4 puffed up great, but then I think my oven lost too much heat, even baking them on a stone. It sure was a kick to watch them puff - makes me want to make more!
I haven't made pita for many years - I'm too impatient to do just 2 at a time, and most flatbreads I do on the stovetop now, though even 6 at a time is slow (fortunately, I don't have to make corn tortillas!). However, I remember baking in an oven at 450º (it probably wouldn't go higher!), and baked them on heavy black metal baking sheets (this was before stones were on the market), and very one of them would puff. I would even have to lower the heat to 425º after several batches, as the heat came back faster, and those black metal pans would char the pitas, if I didn't watch it. Never tried them on my stones, so I don't know how they would compare.
Nice Puff!
-khalid
This is a time that being full of hot air is a good thing!