Making Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

  So today I decided to make some homemade pita pockets to stuff with a chicken salad. It was way too hot to want anything hearty. So I pulled out the KitchenAid mixer and set out to make pita heaven with my daughters help, of course. Here is the recipe...

Makes:

8 pita pockets

1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115℉)
1 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tsp. rapid rise yeast (bread machine yeast)

Directions:
1. Put the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the gluten and 1 cup of flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add more flour if necessary during kneading).

If using a bread machine dump ingredients in pan, in the order listed, and use dough cycle. Skip ahead to step 3 if using the bread machine.

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

3. Punch dough down and put on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 6 or 7 inch circle.

4. As you roll the rounds place on a lightly floured countertop or table and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for 25-35 minuets, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though)

5. Preheat oven to 500℉. Place two rounds, side by side, onto a wire rack (metal ones used for cooling things). Place rack in middle of oven. Bake for 4-5 minuets, until puffy and just slightly browned. (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 split the top edge. Fill as desired.