Pita Bread Salad Food

FATTOUSH ( TOASTED PITA BREAD SALAD )

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 400ºF
• Cut the bread into small (1 inch) pieces, place on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5-10 minutes until crisp and light brown.
• In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, cucumber, spring onions, garlic, parsley and mint.
• Toss with the lemon juice and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Now add the toasted bread and mix well.
• Serve immediately.

PITA BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Arrange pita wedges in single layer on baking sheet.
• Bake 5 minutes or until lightly toasted; set aside.
• In small bowl stir together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, zest, sugar, salt and pepper until well combined.
• In large bowl combine cucumber, tomatoes, chickpeas, onion and pita wedges.
• Pour dressing mixture over vegetable and pita mixture until well coated.
• Cover and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend and bread to soften, at least 30 minutes or overnight.
• Serve at room temperature sprinkled with feta cheese.

PITA BREAD

Steps:

• You will need a large bread bowl, a rolling pin, and unglazed quarry tiles or several baking sheets, or alternatively a castiron or other heavy skillet or griddle at least 9 inches in diameter.
• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then 1 cup white flour. Stir 100 times (one minute) in the same direction to activate the gluten in the flour. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes or as long as 2 hours.
• Sprinkle salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add white flour, one cup at a time. When the dough is too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Return the dough to a lightly oiled bread bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least double in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Gently punch down. Dough can be made ahead to this point and then stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 5 days or less.
• If at this time you want to save the dough in the refrigerator for baking later, simply wrap it in a plastic bag that is at least three times the size of the dough, pull the bag together, and secure it just at the opening of the bag. This will give the dough a chance to expand when it is in the refrigerator (which it will do). From day to day, simply cut off the amount of dough you need and keep the rest in the refrigerator, for up to one week. The dough will smell slightly fermented after a few days, but this simply improves the taste of the bread. Dough should be brought to room temperature before baking.
• This amount of dough will make approximately 16 pitas if rolled out into circles approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4-inch thick. You can also of course make smaller breads. Size and shape all depend on you, but for breads of this dimension the following baking tips apply:
• Place unglazed quarry tiles, or a large baking stone or two baking sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a one inch gap all around to allow air to circulate. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough in half, then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter. You may wish to roll out all eight before starting to bake. Cover rolled out breads, but do not stack.
• Bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on quarry tiles or baking sheets. Bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until the bread has gone into a full "balloon" or until it is starting to turn lightly golden, whichever happens first. If there are seams or dry bits of dough - or for a variety of other reasons - your bread may not go into a full "balloon". Don't worry, it will still taste great. The more you bake pitas the more you will become familiar with all the little tricks and pitfalls, and your breads will more consistently "balloon." But even then, if you're like us, it won't always "balloon" fully and you won't mind because the taste will still be wonderful. When baked, remove, place on a rack for about five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft). When first half of the dough has been rolled out and baked, repeat for rest of dough, or store in refrigerator for later use, as described above. You can also divide the dough into more, smaller pieces if you wish, to give you smaller breads.

HERBED TOASTED PITA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Split each pita into 2 rounds and toast on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow pitas to cool and break into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper. Add the oil and whisk to incorporate.
• Toss the lettuce, parsley, scallions, mint, cucumber, and tomatoes together in a large bowl.
• Right before serving, add the pita and dressing to the salad. Toss well to coat.

PITA BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush bread with 2 tablespoons oil. Rub with 1 pressed garlic clove. Cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces and arrange on heavy large baking sheet. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack and cool.
• Mix tomatoes, lettuce, parsley, mint, green onions, onion, cucumber, bell pepper and toasted pita bread in large bowl. Whisk lemon juice and garlic clove in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup oil. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water.
• Combine the all-purpose flour, pastry flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture and applesauce and knead. Dough shouldn't be sticky, but it shouldn't be dry either. If too sticky add 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour till you get the right consistency. If too dry, add 1 tablespoons of water at a time till you get the right consistency.
• Roll out into a rope and cut into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and roll out till it's anywhere from a 6 to 8 inch circle
• There are two ways to cook pita bread. The flavor is a bit different with both. To Bake Pita: Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) and put a pita on a wire cake rack. Toss in the rack and cook for 3 minutes or until the bread stops puffing up. When you take it out, smash down the pita (Careful, its hot!) and quickly put it in a plastic freezer bag. To Fry Pita: Heat olive oil in a skillet over high heat. When almost smoking, place a pita in the pan and cook for a few minutes on each side, till brown spots begin to appear. It should look something like a tortilla when you're done. Put in a plastic bag once it has cooled a bit.

GARDEN VEGETABLE PITA BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Beat olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper and garlic in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended.
• Add remaining ingredients just before serving; toss lightly.

TOMATO, CUCUMBER, AND PITA SALAD

Steps:

• Marinate olives:
• Stir together all olive ingredients in an airtight container and marinate olives, chilled, at least 8 hours. Bring to room temperature before using.
• Make pita toasts:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Brush rough sides of pita halves with oil and sprinkle with za'atar. Cut each round into 8 wedges, then halve each wedge diagonally. Arrange triangles, oiled sides up, on 2 baking sheets and bake in batches in middle of oven until crisp and pale golden, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.
• Assemble salad:
• Add lemon juice to marinated olives, then close container and shake vigorously. Divide olive mixture between 2 large salad bowls. Divide romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, feta, and pita toasts between bowls, then sprinkle with za'atar and toss.

SHRIMP SALAD PITA

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 2 teaspoons salt and the shrimp, and cook until bright red and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer shrimp to ice bath, and let cool. Drain and pat dry.
• Peel shrimp, and place in a large bowl. Add capers, lemon zest, and mayonnaise, and stir to combine. Add remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and dill. Refrigerate shrimp salad until ready to use.
• Slice pitas in half and open, being careful not to rip the bottom. Fill with shrimp salad, lettuce, and cucumber slices.

CHEF JOHN'S PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Place yeast into the work bowl of a stand mixer and add 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. Whisk together and let stand 15 to 20 minutes for mixture to rise and make a loose sponge. Mixture will bubble and foam.
• Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and salt into sponge; add 1 3/4 cup flour. Mix at low speed, using a dough hook attachment, until dough is soft, supple, and slightly sticky. If dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, a little at a time.
• Knead dough with machine on low speed until slightly springy and still soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and form into a ball.
• Wipe inside of bowl with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil. Turn dough around in bowl to cover with a thin film of oil; cover bowl with foil and let sit until dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Remove dough from bowl and place onto a floured work surface. Lightly pat into a flat shape about 1 inch thick. Use a knife to cut dough into 8 pieces.
• Form each piece into a small round ball with a smooth top, pulling dough from the sides and tucking the ends underneath the bottom.
• Cover dough balls with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a work surface and top of a dough ball; gently pat dough ball flat with your fingers, forming a flat, round bread about 1/4 inch thick. Let dough round rest for 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
• Brush a cast-iron skillet with remaining 3/4 teaspoon olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Lay pita bread into hot skillet and cook until bread begins to puff up and bottom has brown spots and blisters, about 3 minutes. Flip, cook 2 more minutes, and flip back onto original side to cook for about 30 more seconds. Pita bread will begin to puff up and fill with hot air. Stack cooked breads on a plate; when cool enough to handle, break breads in half and open the pocket inside for stuffing.