Rosemary Whole Wheat Pita Bread

I have recently been trying to change the way I eat, to become a healthier person, and to loose some weight. So needless to say I have been trying to go more towards whole grains. The switch to whole grains hasn’t been that hard on me or my family, we’ve been eating whole wheat bread and pasta for quite some time now, but I’ve only recently started baking with it. Whole wheat flour is different then normal flour so it’s not always a simple substitution. I have been lucky enough to find good whole wheat recipes so far. On that note I want to talk a little about this whole wheat pita recipe. I love pits. I love making pita. But, this was my first attempt at making whole wheat pita. It turned out awesome! Sure, you can’t use it for pita pockets but it tastes DELICIOUS! I also added the left over rosemary infused olive oil from the hasselback potatoes I made the other day. The infused oil gave it the nicest rosemary hint, without over powering the delicious whole wheat flavor. Please give this recipe a try!

Rosemary Whole Wheat Mini Pita Bread
Makes 16 mini pitas
cals per pita:113 carbs:18g fat:4g protein:3g sugar:1g

Ingredients:
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. honey 1/2 tbs
1¼ cups warm water (105˚-115˚ F), divided
1½ cups bread flour, divided
1½ cups whole wheat flour, divided
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (see note on how to make rosemary infused evoo)
1 tsp. salt
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer add yeast, honey, and 1/2c water. Stir gently to combine.

Add 1/4c flour and 1/4c whole wheat flour. Whisk until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 45 minutes or until doubled and bubbly. (Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of that part…)

Add remaining ingredients to the bowl, and knead on low with a dough hook for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. (Again, forgot to take a pic. My girls were being a little needy this morning…)

Place dough ball in a clean bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Turn once to coat and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Allow dough to sit in a warm spot for about an hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 500F, and place a baking stone (pizza stone works great, or you can do this straight on the rack) on a rack in the middle of the oven.

Remove dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Punch down the dough a bit (it shouldn’t need much), and divide into 16 equal pieces. (I made a half batch, hence the 8 pieces)

Roll each portion into a ball and flatten out into a disc. Place each disc on a cornmealed baking sheet. Cover with a clean towel and allow to sit for 30 minutes.

Place on your baking stone, and cook for approx 5-6 minutes, turning after 4 minutes.

Place on a cooling rack, allow to cool to an edible temp. and enjoy!

Note
To make rosemary infused olive oil simply place 1/2c olive oil and 4 sprigs fresh rosemary in a small pan and heat on medium-low for 8-10 minutes