Gluten Free Pita

By mluoceanbeach

glutenfreeonashoestring.com

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 3/4 1 3/4 3/4 cups (245 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter), plus more for sprinkling
• 1 1 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
• 35 35 1/4 grams (about 1/4 cup) Expandex modified tapioca starch*
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1 1 tablespoon (14g) neutral oil (like vegetable, canola or grapeseed)
• 1 1 1 egg (50 g, weighed out of shell) + 1 egg white (25 g), at room temperature
• 3/4 3/4 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature
• 1/4-inch the dough on a piece of parchment paper and spread it into a round about 1/4-inch thick by pressing wet fingers down in a circular motion on the dough. Continue with the recipe as written.

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 400° F. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven while the oven preheats. If not, use an overturned rimmed baking sheet.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or the bowl of your food processor fitted with the steel blade), place the flour, xanthan gum, Expandex, baking powder and salt. Mix (or pulse) to combine. To the dry ingredients, add the oil and then the eggs and milk and beat (or process) the dough until it is very well-combined and parts begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl (about 2 minutes). The dough should be thick and tacky to the touch.

Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface, and sprinkle it very lightly with more flour. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each into a ball by rotating it in a circular motion on a very lightly floured flat surface. Pat each ball into a disk and then, using a rolling pin and flouring the round very lightly to prevent sticking, roll it out into a round a bit less than 1/4-inch thick. Place the disks about 1-inch apart on a piece of unbleached parchment paper. Place the disks on the parchment in the oven (on top of the baking stone or overturned baking sheet) and allow to bake for 2 minutes. Working quickly, open the oven and invert the pitas. Allow them to bake for 1 minute and then reinvert and bake until puffed and very pale golden on top (another minute).

Remove the pitas from the oven, and allow to cool for about 3 minutes, or until they can be handled. Slice each round in half through the center. With a very sharp knife, gently coax open the center of each pita half. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This recipe was originally published on the blog in 2011, and a version of it is in my second book, Gluten Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy.