I've been craving something meatless recently, so I decided to make falafel. Of course, I can't have a falafel sandwich without pita bread, so I tried my hand at making it myself. It's actually not that hard, and better than store bought, in my opinion. I incorporated some whole wheat flour in it, as well.
Pita Bread
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 package yeast
Add the sugar and yeast to the water, dissolve, and allow to sit until the yeast starts getting foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours and salt. Pour the water mixture over the flour, and stir until a dough forms. Knead the dough for 7-10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Add more flour if it is too sticky, but only a little at a time.
Drizzle a small amount of oil over the dough, and roll it around to evenly coat. Cover the dough and allow to rise for 2-3 hours. When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down and roll into a long log. Cut the log into 10 even pieces. Cover the divided dough while you preheat the oven to 500 F.
On a floured surface, roll out each ball of dough into circles that are about 1/4 inch thick. You don't want to roll it too thin or the bread won't puff up properly and form a pocket.
Place a few on a baking sheet and bake for 4 minutes, or until the bread is puffy. Flip over and bake for 2 more minutes. Remove from the oven and repeat until all the dough balls are baked.
Enjoy your freshly baked pita bread dipped in hummus, baba ganoush, etc. Or stuffed with falafel!
Baked Falafel
2 cups dried chickpeas
1 small finely chopped onion
1 cup parsley or cilantro or both
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 Tbsp flour
Soak the chickpeas for overnight, or until about doubled in size. If you're short on time, do a quick soak by bringing a pot of dried beans covered in at least an inch of water to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes, then turn off the heat. Allow to sit for an hour.
In a food processor, add the soaked chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients. Process until a cohesive "dough" forms. You don't want to process it completely like a paste, but the mixture should hold together fairly well.
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| You want it slightly more processed than this. I didn't process it well enough and it didn't hold together very well. |
Using your hands or two spoons, shape the mixture into small patties. Place on a well-oiled baking sheet (they can be pretty close together, just not touching) and bake in a 375 F oven for 15 minutes, flip, and return to the oven for about 13 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Enjoy stuffed in your freshly baked pita bread with tzatziki, shredded lettuce, onion, tomato, hummus, olives, pickles, or whatever you want to add!
