Fresh Pita and Cucumber Sauce

Today we have our first ever guest post from my friend, Emily of Candy Calamity. She is a great cook, baker, and artist. You can follow her blog here.

The recipe looks great. I can't wait to try it myself: 

Hi Churros Con Chocolate readers!!!  I’m nuts about flatbreads (focaccia, naan, pita, Chinese onion pancakes, and tortillas to name a few favorites) and I’m so glad Laura is letting me share this recipe with you, because it is way easier to make fresh pitas than I thought it would be.  Plus they are amazing with cucumber sauce which is perfect to cool down on a hot summer day.

Fresh Pita and Cucumber Sauce

Make the cucumber sauce first (it’s recommended to let it sit overnight – but I never have the patience for that).  You will need:

1 cucumber

1 cup plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, minced

lemon juice

Start by peeling the cucumber, slice in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds.  Grate the cucumber halves into a bowl.  The secret to nice thick sauce is to get as much water out of the cucumber as possible.  Hold the pulp in your hand and squeeze it so the water can drain, you can also pat it dry with paper towels.  Once the pulp is ready, stir in the other three ingredients and let sit in the fridge while you work on the pitas.

I adapted my pita recipe from http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread

You will need:

1 ¼ cups warm water

1 T sugar

1 pkt active dry yeast (2 tsp)

2 T olive oil

A pinch of salt

1 cup spelt flour

2 cups bread flour

Add the sugar and yeast to the water and set it aside for a few minutes so the yeast can activate and grow.  In your mixing bowl measure the spelt flour, the salt and one cup of the bread flour.  With the mixing attachment, mix in the water yeast mixture and the olive oil.  Slowly add in the last cup of bread flour (more or less as needed) until the dough forms a ball and stops sticking to the sides of the mixer.  Switch to the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes (or knead by hand).  Set the dough aside in a greased bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel.  Let rise for 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and divide into 12 pieces.  Roll the pieces into balls and re-cover with the damp cloth.  Let rest for 10-20 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  If you have a baking stone put it into oven while it warms up.

Roll out the dough into circles no more than ¼ inch thick (too thick and they will not poof in the oven).  Place as many as can fit on the baking stone or a cookie sheet with out touching.

Bake the pitas for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!