Country-Style Whole-Wheat Pita

Makes sixteen 6-inch round flatbreads

2 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon salt
3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
3-3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, pour in 1/2 cup of the water. Sprinkle the yeast and the pinch of sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining water, olive oil, salt, and whole-wheat pastry flour. Beat hard until creamy, about 1 minute. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the unbleached flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft, shaggy dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Switch to a wooden spoon when necessary if making by hand.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface with a plastic pastry scraper and knead until soft and springy, 1-2 minutes for a machine-mixed dough and 3-5 minutes for a hand mixed dough, dusting with flour only 1 Tablespoon at a time, just enough as needed to prevent sticking. Leave the dough moist and soft yet at the same time smooth and springy. If kneading by machine, switch from the paddle to the dough hook and knead for 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and springy and springs back when pressed. If desired, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead briefly by hand.
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased deep container. Turn the dough once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1- 1 1/2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees with a baking stone set on the bottom rack. Parchment-line several baking sheets, or, heavily flour a peel. Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Cover half with plastic wrap or a clean towel to prevent forming a skin. Divide into 8 equal portions and form each into a ball. Let rest 10 minutes while dividing the second half of the dough. Dust the work surface with whole-wheat pastry flour. Using a rolling pin, roll the balls into 6-inch circles about 1/4 inch thick. Loosely cover the circles. Do not stack, as they will stick together. If the dough does not roll out easily, let it rest for 10 minutes. Move the dough circles by draping them, one at a time, over a flour-dusted rolling pin and place them on a floured dish towel before transferring them to the peel or baking sheets. Let rest 15 minutes.
6. Transfer the circles to a peel or baking sheet. With a quick action of the wrist, slide the pita rounds from the peel directly onto the hot stone. Four will fit on it at once. Or place the baking sheets, one at a time, on the bottom rack directly on the hot stone. Do not open the oven door for a full 4 minutes. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until fully puffed and very light brown. Watch carefully that the pitas do not overbake or burn. The baking sheet pitas will take longer to bake than the stone-baked ones. Remove the puffed hot breads with a wide metal spatula and stack between clean dish towels.

Variation: Substitute 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour for the whole-wheat pastry flour. (Do not use bread flour; it will make the pita too tough.) Substitute 1/3 cup of a specialty flour, such as soy, barley, chestnut or brown rice flour for an equal amount of the whole-wheat pastry flour. For sesame pitas, sprinkle sesame seeds on the work surface and roll the dough ball into them, coating all surfaces, before rolling out the pita.

Recipe courtesy of The Bread Bible