Bread Machine Magic (41 page)

5
. Once the pitas are softened, either cut in half, or split open the top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag for several days or in the freezer for 1 to 2 months.

BAKE CYCLE:
Dough

Small recipe yields 6 pitas

Medium recipe yields 8 pitas

Large recipe yields 12 pitas

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER PITA

Calories 172 / Fat 2.6 grams / Carbohydrates 33.5 grams / Protein 6.4 grams / Fiber 5.9 grams / Sodium 269 milligrams / Cholesterol 0 milligrams

T
IPS
FOR
S
UCCESS

1. The pitas puff up during baking owing to steam, so avoid using too much flour while rolling them out. Keep the unrolled balls covered to prevent them from drying out.

2. Those that don't puff up perfectly during baking were probably torn or creased in handling. Handle the pitas with care while rolling and transferring from counter to cake rack.

3. Avoid overbaking—they'll turn crisp and brittle. You'll end up with something resembling a tortilla chip rather than pita bread.

4. Don't give up if your pitas don't all turn out perfectly the first time. With a little practice and patience, you'll be turning out pita bread like a pro!

 

Peppy's Pita Bread

Be sure and peek in the oven while these bake. It's like magic, watching the dough puff up into little balloons! The result is pita bread that far surpasses anything you can buy in the market.

SMALL RECIPE

WATER
¾ cup

OIL
2 teaspoons

SUGAR
1 teaspoon

SALT
1 teaspoons

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
2 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND
ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
1½ teaspoons

MEDIUM RECIPE

WATER
1
¹
⁄
₈
cups

OIL
1 tablespoon

SUGAR
1½ teaspoons

SALT
1 teaspoons

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
3 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND
ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
1½ teaspoons

LARGE RECIPE

WATER
1
³
⁄
₈
cups

OIL
4 teaspoons

SUGAR
2 teaspoons

SALT
2 teaspoons

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
4 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND
ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
2 teaspoons

1
. Place dough ingredients in bread pan, select Dough setting, and press Start.

2
. When the dough has risen long enough, the machine will beep. Turn off bread machine, remove bread pan, and turn out dough onto a lightly floured countertop or cutting board. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12-inch rope.

For the Small Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into 6 pieces.

For the Medium Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces.

For the Large Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into 12 pieces.

3
. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6- to 7-inch circle. Set aside on lightly floured countertop; cover with a cotton dish towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.

4
. Position oven rack in middle of oven; preheat oven to 500°F. Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack; bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover with a damp cotton dish towel until soft.

5
. Once the pitas are softened, either cut in half or split open the top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag for several days or in the freezer for 1 to 2 months.

BAKE CYCLE:
Dough

Small recipe yields 6 pitas

Medium recipe yields 8 pitas

Large recipe yields 12 pitas

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER PITA

Calories 190 / Fat 2.2 grams / Carbohydrates 36.6 grams / Protein 5 grams / Fiber 1.4 grams / Sodium 268 milligrams / Cholesterol 0 milligrams

T
IPS
FOR
S
UCCESS
:
See
here
.

 

Christin's Oatmeal Pita Bread

As we experimented with various breads for this chapter, baking pita bread for the first time was probably one of our biggest thrills. We laughed at how they puffed up in the oven; we thought we'd created a true culinary oddity. When they turned out to be as good as, if not better than, any pita bread we'd ever eaten, we were ecstatic! So if you feel like having some fun in your kitchen, try making these chewy oatmeal pita pockets. Invite friends or family to join you; young children, in particular, are quite impressed.

SMALL RECIPE

OLD
-
FASHIONED
ROLLED
OATS
½ cup

WATER
⁷
⁄
₈
cup

OIL
1 tablespoon

SUGAR
1 teaspoon

SALT
1 teaspoon

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
2 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND
ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
1½ teaspoons

MEDIUM RECIPE

OLD
-
FASHIONED
ROLLED
OATS
1 cup

WATER
1¼ cups

OIL
1½ tablespoons

SUGAR
1½ teaspoons

SALT
1 teaspoon

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
3 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND
ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
1½ teaspoons

LARGE RECIPE

OLD
-
FASHIONED
ROLLED
OATS
1¼ cups

WATER
1
⁵
⁄
₈
cups

OIL
2 tablespoons

SUGAR
2 teaspoons

SALT
1½ teaspoons

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
4 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND
ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
2 teaspoons

1
. Place dough ingredients in bread pan, select Dough setting, and press Start.

2
. When the dough has risen long enough, the machine will beep. Turn off bread machine, remove bread pan, and turn out dough onto a lightly floured countertop or cutting board. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12-inch rope.

For the Small Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into 7 pieces.

For the Medium Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into 10 pieces.

For the Large Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into 14 pieces.

3
. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6- to 7-inch circle. Set aside on lightly floured countertop; cover with a cotton dish towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.

4
. Position oven rack in middle of oven; preheat oven to 500°F. Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack; bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover with a damp cotton dish towel until soft.

5
. Once the pitas are softened, either cut in half or split open the top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag for several days or in the freezer for 1 to 2 months.

BAKE CYCLE:
Dough

Small recipe yields 7 pitas

Medium recipe yields 10 pitas

Large recipe yields 14 pitas

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER PITA

Calories 189 / Fat 2.9 grams / Carbohydrates 34.7 grams / Protein 5.3 grams / Fiber 2 grams / Sodium 214 milligrams / Cholesterol 0 milligrams

T
IPS
FOR
S
UCCESS
:
See
here
.

 

Lavosh (Armenian Flatbread)

This recipe produces a thin, semicrisp cracker bread that is popular in Eastern European countries. You can soften the cracker by wrapping it in damp cotton dish towels for an hour or so. When it is bendable, spread with a curry mayonnaise and add layers of meat, tomato, cucumber, and lettuce, all sliced paper thin. Roll it up, cut it into 4-inch-wide sandwiches, and you have a fabulous and unusual late-night snack for a card party.

SMALL RECIPE

WATER
¾ cup

SHORTENING
3 tablespoons

SUGAR
2 teaspoons

SALT
1 teaspoon

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
2 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
1½ teaspoons

MILK
2 tablespoons

SESAME
SEEDS
to taste

MEDIUM RECIPE

WATER
1 cup

SHORTENING
¼ cup

SUGAR
1 tablespoon

SALT
1½ teaspoons

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
3 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
1½ teaspoons

MILK
3 tablespoons

SESAME
SEEDS
to taste

LARGE RECIPE

WATER
1¼ cups

SHORTENING
6 tablespoons

SUGAR
4 teaspoons

SALT
2 teaspoons

ALL
-
PURPOSE
FLOUR
4 cups

R
ED
S
TAR
BRAND ACTIVE
DRY
YEAST
2 teaspoons

MILK
¼ cup

SESAME
SEEDS
to taste

1
. Place all ingredients except milk and sesame seeds in bread pan, select Dough setting, and press Start.

2
. When the dough has risen long enough, the machine will beep. Turn off bread machine, remove bread pan, and turn out dough onto a lightly floured countertop or cutting board.

3
. Shape dough into a log. Grease 2 baking sheets or pizza pans. Preheat oven to 400°F.

For the Small Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into either 3 pieces for large crackers or 8 pieces for small crackers.

For the Medium Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into either 4 pieces for large crackers or 10 pieces for small crackers.

For the Large Recipe

With a sharp knife, divide dough into either 6 pieces for large crackers or 16 pieces for small crackers.

4
. With a rolling pin, roll each piece into a circle that is paper thin. To pick up and move the dough, wrap it around the rolling pin, then gently unroll it onto prepared baking sheets or pizza pans. With a fork, prick the surface of each cracker several times. Brush crackers with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

5
. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned.

6
. Remove from oven; cool crackers on wire rack. Once cooled, wrap in foil and store at room temperature.

BAKE CYCLE:
Dough

Small recipe yields 3 large or 8 small crackers

Medium recipe yields 4 large or 10 small crackers

Large recipe yields 6 large or 16 small crackers

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SMALL CRACKER

Calories 190 / Fat 5.6 grams / Carbohydrates 30.1 grams / Protein 4.2 grams / Fiber 1.1 grams / Sodium 323 milligrams / Cholesterol .2 milligram

 

Soft Bread Sticks

These thick and chewy breadsticks belong in a tall glass on a checkered tablecloth with a big bowl of minestrone soup and “Volare” playing in the background.

DOUGH

SMALL RECIPE

WATER
¾ cup

EGG
YOLK
1

OLIVE
OIL
1½ tablespoons

SUGAR
1 tablespoon

SALT
1½ teaspoons