Just got back from a trip to Central TW… in Taichung there is a good Italian deli (called Fingas, I think) that sells pita bread!
Too bad I live in Taipei. Since I won’t be going back to Taichung any time soon, does anyone know where I can buy real pita bread in Taipei??
Pita bread is the kind that has a pocket right? If so, you can find them at Florida Bakery. There’s one on Ren Ai by Tun Hwa (I think); also one on the corner of Chung Shan N. Rd. Sec 2 and Nungan Street. That’s between Mintzu and Minchuan.
HTH,
Jennifer
Pita Bread, finally I can stop eating my Hummus like it was porridge!
I guess i’ll have to walk in circles to find the Florida Bakery. I’de ask which corner it was on but considering its called Ren Ai Circle … that might be tough.
[quote=“roseha”]Pita Bread, finally I can stop eating my Hummus like it was porridge!
I guess I’ll have to walk in circles to find the Florida Bakery. I’de ask which corner it was on but considering its called Ren’ai Circle … that might be tough.[/quote]
It’s on Ren Ai Rd between Ren Ai Circle and Fu Hsing Rd on the same side as Ren Ai Hospital.
Also very easy to make on your own if you have one of those little ovens. It’s fun to watch them puff up. (Usually they actually do.) Basically, like most bread, it’s just flour, water and yeast.
Tried the pita bread from Florida Bakery and I’de have to give it a thumbs down. I like my pitas flat and a little tough. These were fluffy and puffy. I could use them as flat pillows … not very mediterrean. 
Wellman’s in Tienmu has pita (frozen): 8 semicircles for $135.
Sababa also sells fresh pita and hummus in bulk.
Does anyone have a successful homemade pita recipe? I’ll be buying some from each of the locations mentioned above, but would like to try making it fresh too.
I’ve seen recipes online, like this one, but haven’t tried any yet:
[quote](turkish pide)
500 g flour
25 g yeast
125 ml water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 hour 40 mins prep
Sift the Flour.
Mix yeast and water together, add the flour and knead with salt into a dough.
Cover with a wet towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 2 pieces.
Form 2 round cakes about 20 cm.
Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle sesame seeds over it.
Bake at 180 C for 20 minutes.[/quote]
I used this one in Taiwan:
2 cakes yeast
2 c lukewarm water
8 c white flour
2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t salt
Dissolve the yeast in the water, mix the flours and salt, and then mix the yeast/water into the flour. You will get quite a stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch it down and mold it into chunks about 3" around. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour or so.
Bake in minimum 525 degree F oven (I forget the Celsius conversion, my oven only had Celsius in Taiwan). Roll each ball of dough out into about an 8 inch circle, one at a time. Slide onto cookie sheet in the oven. The bread will puff up and develop light brown spots. Take it out and stack between towels while you bake the rest.
My yeast is in a bag; how much is 2 cakes? :help:
Actually I had to Google that; I’d completely forgotten. I used to use loose yeast too and I knew the conversion at the time.
This recipe works well for me. (per four pita, whole circles)
Mix 1.5 c unbleached medium gluten flour, a rounded 1/2 t salt, a rounded t. instant (not active dry) yeast, 1 T honey, 1 T XV olive oil, 5/12 c water at room temp (you’ll use between 1/3 and 1/2 c); and 1/2 c (optional) ripe sourdough starter. Mix to ball, and knead 10 minutes on a floured surface until smooth, satiny and not tacky. Should be firmer than French bread dough but softer than bagel dough.
Put in an oiled bowl, turn, and cover. Rest 60-90 minutes, until doubled. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 250C with a flat cast iron grill or skillet or pizza stone on the bottom. Mist counter with spray oil or dust lightly with flour. Divide dough in four, roll balls, and press flat. Roll out with rolling pin, to slightly less than 1/4" thick. Don’t go thinner or they won’t puff. Put on pizza peel or back of a flat cookie sheet and slide onto the baking surface. Flip when they have fully puffed up, about 5-7 minutes, and bake about 2 more minutes, until just very lightly browned in spots. Cool on a rack 5-10 minutes before cutting.
(my adaptation from a Peter Reinhart recipe; I rounded the two tsp. measures and added the sourdough bit, optional. If you have active dry yeast instead of instant, use about 1.5 tsp, I guess)
Hummus - easy to make, and super healthy. Pita - prolly easy to make, but I haven’t put in an oven yet. I get them from from a Lebanese fella or Metro. Working towards making my own though.
I think you can do it on a skillet too; I saw the Masterchef Australia contestants doing this the other day. The puffing might not be as reliable, based on a post I read over at thefreshloaf.com. I’ve not tried it but it would be worth a go.
Do you have a wok? It’s quite easy to make in a wok, but you have to be careful not to heat it up too much or you’ll burn the pita’s. Put the lid on when you cook them and they puff up quite nicely.
Have you a recipe?
Have a look to four or five posts above.
[quote=“Dragonbones”]…
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 250C with a flat cast iron grill or skillet or pizza stone on the bottom
…[/quote]Have you seen something like this that would fit inside a medium local oven? (Bigger than a toaster oven but nothing like a full size western oven.)