Homemade Pita Pockets

 Freshly baked pita pockets.

Today I made pita pockets!

I've made pita pockets twice before, years ago. If I remember right, they weren't that great. Of course, that was in the days before I could cook or at least, cook well consistently.   

Practice and determination makes all the difference in cooking, folks. I am living proof!

Anyways, back to my pitas. I love pitas. They are so good stuffed with all kinds of yummy.

Back when I was single , my sister and I used to enjoy eating at a little restaurant called Sprouts. They had this huge array of fresh salad fixings and you could choose whatever you wanted in your pita. I would sometimes meet my sister at her office and we would walk about a block to Sprouts for lunch. Their soups were fantastic, too.

I've been meaning to make pita bread for a while but finally got to it today. I used this recipe for whole wheat pitas from Tammy's Recipes. I used freshly ground hard white wheat and then rolled them out in unbleached white flour. They turned out really soft and moist.

Pitas are not difficult to make but do require a few steps and space. What I really liked about this recipe was the complete and detailed instructions and the fact that it's a pretty small recipe and only made eight , which was so much easier and quicker to deal with than a bigger batch!

Pita pockets should have a hollow middle that creates a "pocket" when cut. We filled some with egg salad for lunch. Of the two I used, only one had a really nice hollow middle. The other, I had to carefully work all the way open using my fingers and a knife. From what I understand, a lighter touch when handling the dough creates a nice hollow center. This takes practice, I think!

Whether these all open perfectly or not, they are still delicious. Pitas also make great crusts for quick pizzas!

What kinds of good stuff have you been baking lately?