Tzatziki and pita....

Homemade PITA is the best

I was in the mood for Greek this week. My husband requested that I buy him some plain Greek yogurt. There is something about having Greek yogurt in the house that makes me HAVE to make Tzatziki. Also one of munchkin's favorite snacks is freshly sliced cucumber, so I pretty much always have one lying around. Really it was meant to be. I also decided to make fresh pita, just for the fun of it.

Making pita is actually pretty easy and very rewarding, as long as you aren't on a gluten free diet. All you have to do is mix up a little dough using yeast, water, salt, olive oil and a couple of cups of bread flour.

Then let the mixer do all the kneading for you. I set my mixer on number 4 after I added all the flour and it was incorporated, then let it go for about 8 minutes. If you have the kind of mixer I do, be sure to lock the head down or you will regret it. TRUST ME!

 Put the dough into a clean bowl lightly coated with olive oil and let it set around covered with a damp towel for about an hour and a half. Yes, I do have an extra mixer bowl and you should, too. It is totally worth it. I got mine as a gift but almost every time I use my mixer I need a second bowl. You will be surprised how much you use it once you have it.

 During the rise time I made the tzatziki (although I recommend making the tzatziki the night before so it will be really yummy). It is pretty much Greek yogurt, lemon juice and zest, shredded cucumber and fresh dill. This is not only good on pitas but also as a dip for your favorite veggie platter.

To prep the cucumber, start with a really good cucumber. I only use the hot house cucumbers that come wrapped in the plastic. They are my favorite, unless I have some fresh from the garden. The regular ones at the grocery store always seems to have a thick coating of wax on them (if you are using those you may want to peel them first). I start by cutting the cucumber out of the plastic, then I give it a good wash, cut off the end and split it in half both ways, vertically and horizontally. This recipe only uses half a cucumber, so save the other have for a salad or as an afternoon snack. Next I scrape out the seeds using a spoon. This decreases the amount of water you get out of the cucumber and I don't like the seeds in my tzatziki.

 Next take your handy dandy cheese grater and grate the cucumber, peel and all. Then you want to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. I just put it into a paper towel and squeez it like crazy over the sink until hardly any water comes out. The paper towel may break but you can just keep it contained in your hands.

 Next I zested and juiced one lemon. I zest my lemons with a fine microplane, it is perfect for the job.

 Next wash and dry your fresh dill. Remove any large stems and finely chop.

 Mix everything together and refrigerate, covered until ready to eat. Like I said earlier, it is better the next day.

 After awhile when the dough has doubled in size, I divided the dough into 9 equal balls (there's 3 of us, so I wanted to be sure everyone got the same amount, the recipe originally called for 8 portions). Roll them out to about an 1/8" to 1/4" using flour as needed.

 I cooked my pita on a flat cast iron pan. Start by preheating it until hot, over medium high heat, then drizzle on some olive oil. Cook the pita for a few minutes per side. You can see the bubbles in the dough start to form and the other side will lightly brown. Then flip, cook for a couple more minutes and remove to a plate covered with a dry, clean kitchen towel. This works great to keep in the warmth while you cook the remaining dough.

I served mine with some Greek marinated chicken, fresh red onions and straight from the garden spinach leaves. It was so good. It was a twist on taco Tuesday ;-)

Tzatziki

16 oz Greek style yogurt, plain
1/2 cucumber, washed, seeded and grated
1 clove garlic, finely minced
4 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon zest
4 tsp fresh dill, chopped ( I like extra, so I always add more)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl and refrigerate, covered for at least two hours to overnight.

Pita-makes 8

1 cup hot water
2 tsp yeast
2 1/2-3 cup bread flour
2 tsp kosher salt
t tbsp olive oil plus more for bowl

Add water and yeast to bowl of stand mixer and stir together. Let sit five minutes until yeast is dissolved. Add salt, olive oil and about 2 cups of flour to bowl with bread hook attachment. Mix on low until incorporated, then slowly add remaining cup to dough until it makes a nice balls and no longer sticks to bowl. (you may not need it all) Increase speed to medium (4 on my mixer) and "knead" for 6-8 minutes.  Remove dough to a clean bowl that is lightly coated with olive oil and set aside, covered with a damp towel for an hour and a half or until doubled in size.

When dough has doubled divide it into 9 equal balls. Rolls out balls into flat round discs using a lightly floured rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot. Lightly oil pan with olive oil and cook one pita at a time, about 2-3 minutes per side. When bubbles start to form on the uncooked side, it is time to flip. Put fully cooked pita on a plate covered with a dry, clean kitchen towel to keep warm until all the remaining pita are cooked.