Kitchen Science

Ingredients
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour (may be pastry flour—white wheat flour is traditional)
1 cup water, 80 degrees F.
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ to 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Directions:

1. Blend the whole wheat flour, water, yeast and salt until well mixed, stirring about 2 minutes.
2. Stir in all purpose flour, ½ cup at a time, until a dough ball forms. Turn onto lightly floured counter and knead, adding only small amounts of flour while kneading. Knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer needs flour to handle.
3. Place dough in a bowl, cover loosely with lid and let rest (ferment) 30 and 45 minutes (timed) In a draft free warm (78-82 degrees F.) place (unheated oven, cupboard, microwave oven).
   Note: Both Dough 1 and Dough 2 must be placed in the same environment.
4. Punch down the dough. Form into a log and divide into 30 equal pieces. Shape these pieces into round, smooth balls and cover with a damp clean non-terry towel or turn the bowl over them to prevent drying. Let rest 15 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 475 to 500 degrees F. (very hot). Roll and flatten each round piece of dough until very thin, using a small amount of flour if needed to prevent sticking. Let circles rest and re-roll so they are almost transluscent.
6. Bake very briefly—just until surface begins to brown and “freckle” with color, one to two minutes.

TIP: If breads puff up like a pita, your may roll thinner—or simply opt for pita pocket breads!
Recipe source: Sharon P. Davis, Home Baking Association—www.homebaking.org