homemade pita bread * baba ghanouj

Many apologies for the neglect of my blog! Firstly, I have to say that I've decided to move (back) to LA. Leaving the East Coast is the last thing I had planned on doing, but for now this is what's going on. More to look forward to in Westwood...

Anyway, I know that's no excuse for the terrible blog neglect. I was bouldering (rock climbing on lower walls but without rope) last week and stupidly jumped off the wall cause I got tired... and POP! Sprained my ankle like a fool. Despite my injury, I'm still hopping around the kitchen (literally - I can't bear weight on my right foot) and trying to make messes as much as I can. Needless to say, hopping around and carrying a camera is less fun.

Eggplants were on sale at the store, and since I'm moving and I basically want to cook everything I have at home, I decided to make more hummus and some healthy baba ghanouj, and try my hand at pita making. Holy crap - homemade pita is nothing like the dry flatness you get at the store. It's moist, chewy, and when it actually puffs it's pretty cool. Just don't burn yourself on the steam while you're poking it in admiration. That would be dumb. Who would do that? -_-

I've read a bunch of things about obtaining that pita puffiness but I realized after making 16 pitas that you absolutely have to roll it out with a rolling pin. The photo below is how to make UNPUFFY pitas. They were seriously delicious too, but not what you think from a pita. Use a rolling pin or a can or whatever... but the uniformness, it turns out, is the trick to puffiness. The dough is really sticky... it's supposed to be. The water in the dough is what causes the puff. OK that's all xx

pita bread
makes 8

3 cups flour
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
1 1/4 cups water, about room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Mix all of the ingredients in your mixer and mix at low speed for about 10 minutes, or (what I did) throw it all into your food processor for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until it's sticky but it's one mass.

2. Lightly coat a bowl with nonstick spray or oil, and make a sticky ball out of the dough and put it in the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap. Either let it rise at room temp till doubled, about 90 minutes, or stick it in the fridge for up to 8-10 hours. I made them both ways and I think I liked the slower rise better, but whatever's most convenient for you! I like to do it in the morning and then it's ready to bake by the time I get home.

3. Once it's ready, split it into 8 semi-equal pieces and roll them into balls. Put on a  lightly floured surface and let rest, covered with wrap, for about 20-30 minutes. Preheat the oven and a pizza stone to 400 degrees. If you don't have a pizza stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and use that. Or a cast-iron skillet. Whatev.

4. Lightly flour a surface and roll out each little ball with a rolling pin. Don't stretch it with your hands if you want it to puff up like a balloon... but if you don't care, do whatever you want. It's still deeelicious. Honest.

5. CAREFULLY slide your flat pita onto the hot surface, and cook for about 3 minutes. You don't really want brownness for these - have you ever seen a pita before?! But again, some of my pita flatbreads that didn't puff were especially tasty with a little brown, so experiment.

6. Eat now. Don't burn yourself. The end.


baba ghanouj
1 eggplant
2 cloves garlic
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 bunch parsley, if you have it... or if you want to add it - I used some green onion slivers for garnish
Salt and pepper

1. Roast your eggplant, halved, on a greased baking sheet in a 375 degree F oven for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the bottom - you don't want it to get toooo brown. Let cool completely.

2. Peel away the skin and take the flesh (ew) into a mesh draining thing (sieve, colander, whatever term you know) for about 15 minutes, and let some of the liquid drain out. Blend it up with the other ingredients in a food processor, and add salt and pepper to taste. You might want to add a little lemon juice or tahini to balance out the flavors - eggplants are all different sizes.  Do you like what I did there?

3. Serve with other middle easterny stuff like hummus. mMMmm.