Pita Bread

In a large bowl, combine active dry yeast and sugar with lukewarm water. Whisk to dissolve.

• active dry yeast: 2 tsp
• sugar: ½ tsp
• lukewarm water: 1 cup

Add unbleached all-purpose flour and whisk to dissolve.

• unbleached all-purpose flour: 65 g

Let rest for 15 minutes , until frothy and bubbly.

Add salt, olive oil, and unbleached all-purpose flour, keeping the remaining 60 g of flour in reserve.

• salt: 1 tsp
• olive oil: 2 tbsp
• unbleached all-purpose flour: 220 g

Stir until the mixture forms a shaggy mass. Dust with some of the reserved flour, then knead in the bowl for 1 minute .

Turn the dough onto a work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes , let rest for 10 minutes , then knead again for 2 minutes . Use the minimum amount of your reserve flour. The dough should be soft, moist, and slightly tacky, while still being easy to handle.

Clean and lightly grease your large mixing bowl. Put the dough back in, cover it tightly with plastic wrap.

Let rise for 1 hour , until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 475 ºF. Place your pizza steel on the bottom rack of your oven to get it nice and hot for 1 hour .

After your dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 8 equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a little ball and place them on your work surface or a piece of parchment paper. Cover them with a damp towel.

Let rest for 10 minutes .

Working one or two at a time, take the balls and flatten them into disks using a rolling pin. You should be shooting for around 8 " in diameter and between 1/8" and 1/4" thickness.

Take your disks and place them directly on your cooking surface.

Let your pitas bake for 2 minutes on one side, at which point they will be nicely puffed. Then flip and bake for 1 minute . The pitas should be largely pale with some brown spots.

After removing from the oven, place them on a wire rack to cool.