I need a Gyro! Pita Breads Greek Style

Einkorn gyros are a wonderful healthy way to create a classic lunch or dinner platter, while offering variety and choice for even the pickiest eaters. In this recipe we’re utilizing einkorn whear flour to create pita.

 

This is my favorite way to make pita bread.
Pure fresh ground einkorn wheat makes a golden yellow flour that is fine and soft. While the dough is a little more tender and sticky than a modern wheat dough, making it a bit harder to handle, it’s incredible flavor and soft tender texture is well worth the extra effort.

The pita itself doesn’t take much work to make and cooks in almost no time at all. The longest part of the process is actually preparing the mezze plate of fresh vegetables, sauces, and meats to fill the gyro.

Pita ingredients:

1lb 5oz einkorn flour (or other wheat flour)
2 tsp salt
½ tsp instant yeast
2 cups water

Directions:

1. Mix flour with salt and yeast.
2. Mix water with dry ingredients into dough with spoon.
3. Allow the dough mixture to rise at least 30% in volume before using.
   After initial rise, limit further rising by keeping dough under refrigeration.
   This mixture will be good to use for up to one week if refrigerated.
4. Scoop 1/ cup to 1 cup of dough depending on the desired size and thickness of pita.
5. Roll out to 5-8 inches and ¼-⅛ inches thick.
   Thicker pitas can be patted into shape with the palm of your hand or for thinner pitas a rolling pin works best.
6. Use plenty of flour when patting or rolling your dough so it doesn’t get stuck. You can always brush off excess flour after baking.
7. Bake for one to 2 minutes per side on a hot griddle, in an oven at 300-500 degrees or over some charcoal on the grill.

Or if you are camping or want to get real ancient make a fire on a stone and after the fire burns for a couple hours brush of the stone and bake on the same type of hearth that our ancestors baked on almost certainly hundreds of thousand or even millions of years ago.

The most important consideration when baking pitas is not to over bake or under bake them. Since they are thin it is most easy to over bake them. They should be just set at an internal temperature of 195-200 degrees.

You can use a thermometer to monitor this, the bread is so thin it can be difficult to get accurate readings, so do your best to find the center of your pita bread without getting to close to poking through to the other side for the best reading.
If the first pita comes out a little dry, it isn’t the dough type it’s the amount of cook time.
You’ll know you overdid the bake if it’s dry and to let the next one cook for a little less time.

A little practice and you’ll have the knack for it.