Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread....Without Oven

Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread is common in the Middle East and its neighboring areas. Khubz, also known as Lebanese bread, or Syrian bread. In Egyptian Arabic, it is called ʿaish (عيش) or ʿaish baladi (عيش بلدي).'Aish means life in Arabic, highlighting the importance of pita bread in Egyptian culture. It is one of the staple food items in the Lebanese cuisine. Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread bake at high temperature (450–475 °F) (232–246 °C), which turns the water in the dough into steam, thus causing the pita to puff up and form a pocket. When removed from the oven, the layers of baked dough remain separated inside the deflated pita, which allows the bread to be opened to form a pocket. However, pita is sometimes baked without pockets and is called "pocket-less pita". Once the Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread is baked and cooled, it flattens out but maintains the internal pockets. Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread is perfect for stuffing. Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread can cut it in half and each half has its own pocket, which can be used for stuffing, common fillings include falafel, lamb or chicken Shawarma, kebab, omelettes such as shakshouka (eggs and tomatoes), hummus, and other mezes. Some source may be taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khubz. The main ingredients of Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread are All purpose flour, yeast, sugar, salt and water. However, Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread are baked in the oven, but in this recipe, I'm going to show you how to cook this delicious Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread without  an oven. So, what are you waiting for go ahead and try this recipe.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Cuisine: Middle East
Serves:  3-4
Course: Lunch or Dinner
Author: Ayesha Md

Ingredients:

4 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp salt (as per taste)
2 tsp of active dry yeast powder
2 cups of lukewarm water
1 tsp baking powder, double action
2 tsp of sugar
2 tbsp of olive oil + 1 tbsp for greasing

Methods of cooking:

1) Take an empty bowl, then add flour, salt, baking powder and olive oil.

2) Take an another bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in lukewarm water. Let it settle for 10 minutes.

3) Now mix this mixture and knead it for 5-10 minutes or till it becomes a soft dough. Cover it with cling drape and let it rise 6-8 hours. As shown in the picture.

4) Now your dough has risen, knead for a few minutes. Divide it into 7-8 medium size balls. As shown in the picture. 

5) With the help of rolling pin, flatten each ball like a Chapati to a get round shape. 

6) Heat a non-stick pan on medium flame, now place the Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread on the pan and wait for a few minutes or until it starts bubbling on top, then flip over. Again, wait for another few seconds. As shown in the picture. Now, press it using a spoon or spatula so that it puffs up. Turn it and press it and take it out. 

7) Alternatively, Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread could also cook like an Indian Chapati, place the Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread on the preheated pan and wait for a few minutes or until it starts bubbling on top, then flip over. Again, wait for another few seconds. As shown in the picture. Then place them on the fire and cook on both the sides. You see how it puffs up. As shown in the picture.

8) Repeat this process for the rest of the dough.

9) Yours delicious Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread is ready. Serve it hot with Hummus, Chicken roast and any types of gravy. As shown in the picture. 

10) Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread is perfect for stuffing. Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread can cut it in half and each half has its own pocket, which can be used for stuffing with Falafel, Kabab or Chicken/Meat along with some onion rings, tomato slices, cucumber slices and sauce.

Notes:

1) Water should not be too hot or too cool, the water has to be lukewarm. 

2) For the activation and proofing always use lukewarm water.

3) In this recipe, I use active dry yeast powder. For the activation and proofing mix with lukewarm water along with some sugar, let it settle for 10 minutes. Discard it, if activation fails at this stage. 

4) Khubz Arabi (الخبز العربي)/Pita Bread, can be baked in an oven or tawa.

5) Instead of using all purpose flour you can also use wheat flour. 

If you have any queries regarding this recipe don't forget to share your comment, your comments are valuable for me. It would always be a pleasure for me to serve you....And I'll be back soon with an another exciting recipe....