Pita Pockets

   There's nothing like homemade bread! That goes for pita pockets too! Pita pockets are great for chicken salad sandwiches, pizzas, hummus, and much more. It's also especially fun to make them yourself--watching them blow up like a balloon never gets old.
   Please take care as you open the oven door, however. It is essential that the pita pockets be placed on the oven floor for the first minute of baking and baked at a very hot 500 degrees F. This original, fast searing of the outer dough causes carbon dioxide to form quickly so that the inner dough separates and it blows up like a balloon to form the pockets. If you peek at it during the first minute of baking or do not place it close enough to the heat source, the pockets will NOT form. Remember, however, that as you open the oven door when it is set to 500 degrees, you will get a blast of very hot air in your face! So take care and have fun!

Pita Pockets

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 5-1/2 to 6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Dissolve the sugar, yeast, and about 1/4 cup of flour in the warm water. Stir with a wire whisk and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
2. Add the salt and enough flour to make the dough stiff and easily shaped.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead until it is smooth and bouncy. If needed, add a little more flour to keep the dough from sticking as you knead it.
4. Let the dough stand for 5 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into eight pieces.
6. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten it. Roll them out with a floured rolling pin into a 6-inch circle that is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
7. Sprinkle baking sheets with cornmeal.
8. Place two circles of dough on each baking sheet and let it rest for 15 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
10. Make sure the circles of dough are lying flat on the baking sheets and there are no creases in it.
11. Place the baking sheet on the oven floor and let bake there for 1 minute. Take care as you open the oven door and NO PEEKING!
12. Move the baking sheet to a rack higher in the oven and let bake for 3 to 7 minutes. When the dough has blown up like a balloon and is lightly browned, it is done.
13. Remove the pita pockets from baking sheets and let cool.
14. Press air out of the pockets with your hand.
15. Store pita pockets in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze.