Make the Bread, Buy the Butter - Jennifer Reese [12]
PITA BREAD
The trick to getting pita to form a pocket is to put a baking stone on the lowest rack of the oven and heat it to 550 degrees F at least 30 minutes before you bake. (You really need a bakery store for this recipe.) A baking stone absorbs and holds heat, and when you put the flat bread on top, it immediately starts cooking the crust. But even on a hot baking stone, sometimes pita just won’t bubble. Nevertheless, warm homemade pita, with a pocket or without, is more supple and flavorful than the pita you buy at the supermarket—and you can just fold the pita around the filling. Or you can cut the pita in triangles and eat it with hummus, which requires no pocket.
Make it or buy it? How much do you need that pocket? Make it.
Hassle: Moderate
Cost comparison: The ingredients are humble, and homemade pita is cheap. Ounce for ounce, store-bought pita, such as Sara Lee, costs 5 to 10 times as much.
1¼ cups warm water
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ cups whole-wheat flour
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
Neutral vegetable oil, for greasing
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt, and whole-wheat flour until creamy. Add the all-purpose flour ½ cup at a time, until you have a smooth dough (you might need a little extra if the dough seems sticky).
2. Switch to the dough hook, or knead by hand, until the dough is velvety and springy.
3. Lift the dough out of the bowl, oil the bowl, and cover with a clean, damp dish towel. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.
4. At least 30 minutes before you bake, preheat the oven to 550 degrees F with a baking stone set on the bottom rack.
5. Gently deflate the dough and divide it into two portions. Cover half with the damp towel to keep it from drying out. Divide the dough you’re holding into 8 chunks of roughly equal size and form each into a ball. Let rest 10 minutes while dividing the rest of the dough into 8 portions.
6. Dust a work surface with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6-inch circle, about ¼ inch thick. Loosely cover the circles with a few clean, dry dish towels.
7. Transfer the breads to the blazing hot stone, as many as can fit without crowding, about three at a time. Do not open the oven door for 8 minutes, then check the pitas. They should be puffed and light brown. Remove to a rack and repeat with the remaining pitas. Eat immediately, or cool and store in a bag at room temperature for up to a week. Freeze, tightly wrapped, for longer storage.
Makes 16 pitas
HUMMUS
Rich, nutritious, filling, and inexpensive, hummus is one of those foods that make vegetarianism seem doable.
Make it or buy it? Make it.
Hassle: Once you have the chickpeas, there’s little more to making hummus than turning on the blender.
Cost comparison: Homemade hummus: $0.85 per cup. Sabra: $3.10 per cup. Athenos brand: $4.45 per cup.
4 garlic cloves, peeled
4 cups drained cooked chickpeas (recipe follows) or canned
Liquid from the chickpeas
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Pinch of ground coriander
5 tablespoons tahini
Juice of 3 large lemons
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
Salt
In a blender or food processor, puree all the ingredients until smooth. Thin with chickpea cooking liquid and some additional olive oil, if necessary. Salt to taste. Add another squeeze of lemon if you think the hummus needs more acid. Store in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about a week.
Makes 4 cups
CHICKPEAS
Dried or canned chickpeas? Some people don’t mind canned, but for me there’s a sliminess to them that comes through even in hummus. Plus: expensive.
Dried or canned chickpeas? Dried.
Hassle: Slight
Cost comparison: