Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

Photo and Recipe from Tammy's Recipes.

This pitas are seriously so amazing. I will NEVER be satisfied with store-bought pitas again. I was very intimidated at first, thinking these would be so complicated to make. But they are VERY easy and so fun to watch puff up in the oven. The pockets are also HUGE and can be stuffed much fuller than other pitas. They are so good when they're warm...with a little bit of butter.

1-1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 Tbsp. oil

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

2-3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. gluten

1-1/2 tsp. dry yeast

1. In a large bowl combine water, oil, salt, and sugar. Add the gluten and 1 cup of the flour, along with yeast. Stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add more flour if necessary during kneading.)

2. Put dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost doubled in size.

3. Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6 or 7 ince circle.

4. As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured countertop or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy. (But the rounds will still be thin.)

5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire (cooling) rack. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. Warning: if bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.

6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.

7. Cut pita breads in half, or plit the top edge, and fill as desired.

8. Store pitas in a ziploc bag in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for longer. To re-warm pitas, wrap them in a damp towel and then wrap in foil. Place in a warm oven for about 20 minutes.