Freshly made pita, warm from the oven, is a great pleasure. It feels somehow decadent, especially when served with home-made hummus, but pita, like so many other flatbreads, is easy to make.

Home-Baked Pita Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon honey or 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 3-4 cups flour*
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Dissolve the honey or agave in the warm water and stir in the yeast. Set aside to proof for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the salt and 3 cups of the flour. Add the yeast mixture and the oil. Mix with your hands or a sturdy wooden spoon, adding additional flour as necessary, until the mixture forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a spot on your work surface and place the dough there. Cover with a lightly dampened towel and a large inverted bowl, and allow to rise until doubled (about 1 hour).

Punch down the dough and divide into eight equal pieces with a bench scraper or sharp kitchen knife. Form into balls, cover with the damp towel, and allow to rest for another 20-30 minutes. Place a baking stone, sheet pan, or inverted cookie sheet onto the center rack of your oven and preheat to 450° F.

When the oven is hot, begin rolling your pita to a scant 1/4″ thickness. Place each in the oven immediately after rolling and bake for 2-5 minutes (2 minutes for soft, chewy bread; 5 minutes for crispy bread resembling pita chips). The bread will puff as it bakes and deflate slightly when it cools.

Serve warm or room-temperature with hummus, tuna salad, or your favorite spread or dip. Makes 8 pockets.

*I find that a 50/50 mixture of wheat and white (all-purpose) flour works best, but have had good results with all-white flour.

Chef’s Tip: Kneading is a great workout for arms, shoulders, and core (helps you work off the bread in advance!) Not in the kneading know? There are as many kneading styles as there are bread recipes out there. Search your favorite “how-to” or video site for ideas, or check out this guy; I chose this video because his style is fairly similar to mine.

I am a hardcore bread fanatic. Wheat, sourdough, deli rye, potato — even the plasticine white sandwich bread you can buy for $0.69 has its place in my heart. I tried for a number of years to make my own bread, but ended up with more hockey pucks than dinner rolls. One day I decided to experiment by combining bits and pieces from several different recipes, and struck gold with this.

The use of coarsely ground wheat flour adds extra texture and depth to these rolls; if you can’t find it at your grocery, it can be had from most bulk suppliers and health food centers.

Honey Wheat Hamburger Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups white flour (all-purpose is fine)
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups coarsely ground wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• 2 eggs, eaten and at room temperature
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons very hot water
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups of each flour and set aside. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Immediately add yeast mixture, salt, eggs, and 1 cup oil to flour. Mix until dough comes together, adding remaining flour if needed. When dough holds its shape but is still loose, turn out onto a well-floured board and knead for ten minutes, or until the dough is elastic and smooth.

Wipe the inside of a large clean bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a draft-free place until the dough has doubled in volume, about 45-50 minutes. Punch down the dough and recover. Let the dough rise again. This second rise will take less time (about 30 minutes).

Punch down dough and cut into 12 equal portions. Sprinkle cornmeal on your baking sheet. Form each dough portion into a round bubble, and set them on the baking sheet, evenly spaced. Cover the rolls with a damp tea towel and let them proof until double, about 20 minutes.

While the dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the hot water and honey to make a glaze. When the dough has finished rising, remove the tea towel and gently brush the top of each roll with the glaze. Bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls sound hollow when knocked. (Mind the glaze when you’re knocking — melted sugar makes for nasty burns!)

Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack. Allow to cool and split for hamburgers, or serve warm as large dinner rolls with butter.

Makes 1 dozen rolls.