Homemade Pita Bread

Fresh, homemade pita is infinitely better than the dry, tasteless garbage at the grocery store. So stop wasting your money! And simple to prepare in the background as you assemble other awesomeness for dinner.

Note that you can vary the ratio of whole wheat and white flour. You can make this recipe using up to 100 percent whole wheat flour or up to 100 white. Just adjust the liquid accordingly.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

3 cups flour (I typically use 50/50 whole wheat to white)

1.5 tsp salt

1 TBSP sugar

1 packet yeast (or 2 tsp)

1.25 cups warm water

¼ cup olive oil

Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Then stir in water and oil and stir everything well, until the dough forms a ball. Add a couple TBSP of water if the ball is too dry to absorb all the flour.

Knead the dough by hand or with mixer for 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a mixing bowl that has been brushed with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the ball doubles in size.

After dough has spent 30 minutes rising, preheat oven to 500 (or as high as the bake setting will go) with a pizza stone or non-glazed terra cotta tiles inside. If you have neither, a cast-iron frying pan in the middle rack will suffice.  

Punch down the ball and divide the dough into 8 balls. Cover with a damp rag or plastic and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Roll each ball out with a rolling pin on a floured surface until they are about ¼ inch thick (or even a little less) and about 6-7” in diameter. Let sit uncovered an additional 10 minutes.

When ready, place the pitas directly into the pizza stone and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Serve warm.

Nashif: An Ethiopian Breakfast (Kind Of)

After living in Ethiopia for two years, I saw this food only twice--at two restaurants on opposite sides of the country. I never saw anybody eating it at home, nor have I seen or heard of it anywhere else, including online. So I have no clue whether this is a legitimately common food someplace, or if a couple random restaurant owners are the only ones who offer it as a way to offload old bread. One thing I am sure of, however, is that this is a freaking amazingly delicious breakfast. It's kind of a stove-top savory bread pudding. And it will completely cure any hangover. Think of it as the African equivalent of chilaquiles. And there's really no reason this needs to be a breakfast food; you can really serve it for any meal.

Prep time: 2 cups of coffee

6 slices sandwich bread, left out overnight (preferably whole wheat)

1 small onion, minced finely, divided

3 TBSP butter

4 cloves garlic

3/4 tsp salt

2 jalepenos or fresno chilies, minced

1 TBSP berbere

1 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

Plain yogurt, lowfat or full-fat only (no nonfat)

A handful of chopped tomato

Cut the dry bread into 1-inch cubes and set aside.

Put a dry saucepan over medium heat and add all but a handful of the onions. Stir the onions frequently until they become fairly translucent, about 5 minutes. Add butter and stir until it's melted, then add garlic, salt, and chilies. Saute for another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Now add the berbere and saute another couple minutes. Next add the water and stir in the bread. Stir really well until the bread is nice and evenly coated with the spices and all the water is absorbed. You want the bread to soften up, but not be totally mushy; it should still have a bit of texture to it, so add a bit more water if necessary and salt to taste.

Remove the bread mixture from heat and cover. On the same burner increase to medium-high and heat a bit of butter or oil in a frying pan and scramble the eggs.

Now dish it up by scooping the bread mixture onto two plates and topping with the remaining onion, eggs, tomato, and a few generous dollops of yogurt. Shit, that's good!

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread (or croutons)

Back in the States and cooking awesome food again! Good old-fashioned cornbread is one of the first things I made after I got back! This is a super versatile dish that works great as a as an accompaniment to beans, salad, meaty things, or made into croutons for a little added kick to a Cesar Salad (crouton modification is at the end of this recipe).

Note that as with virtually any cornbread recipe, this requires you to have a cast-iron frying pan. If you don’t already own an 10-inch cast-iron pan, do yourself a favor and buy one… They are cheap (often nearly free at thrift stores, Craigslist, or garage sales), cook food better than any high-tech pan, last forever, and are a breeze to clean. 

Prep time: 1/2 cocktail

4 TBSP (1/2 stick) butter (no butter substitutes allowed)

1 cup corn meal (don’t use corn four)

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup white sugar

2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup plain yogurt (full fat or lowfat—no fat free)

2 eggs

3 jalapenos, sliced into thin wheels
2 scallions chopped up into small wheels

1 cup frozen corn (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a 10 inch cast-iron frying pan, warm the butter over medium heat until it just begins to turn slightly golden-brown, but be careful not to burn it.

As the butter melts, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cheese in a large bowl and mix well with a hand or stand mixer. Set aside.

In a second medium mixing bowl, combine yogurt, egg. Mix a bit and then add the now-browned butter (setting the frying pan aside for the moment). Mix until everything is just blended.

Now add the yogurt mixture to the flour/cornmeal mixture and mix until there are no lumps. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, gently fold in the jalepeno and corn (if using).

Pour the batter into the still-warm frying pan and place it all in the oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes (when you think you're two minutes away from doneness, sprinkle the scallions on top). Remove from oven and put the pan on a cooling rack. Allow to cool and set at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

To make croutons:

Turn heat down to 300 degrees.

 After the bread has sat for at least 15 minutes, cut into nice, big 1-inch (or even slightly larger) cubes. Discard any edges that are any more cooked than golden brown (delicious to munch on while you make the croutons). Melt an additional ½ stick butter in the microwave and add a couple TBSP olive oil. Gently toss the cubes with the butter and oil in a large mixing bowl. Arrange the cubes on a cookie sheet and put it into the oven. About every 5 minutes (or whenever the bottoms get nice and browned and toasty), you’ll need to remove the sheet and—using tongs—flip the croutons so that an untoasted side is facing down. Repeat until at least 3 or 4 sides are nicely toasted.

Remove from oven and transfer the cubes to cooling rack. These are best on a salad as soon as they’ve cooled to room temperature, or are just slightly warm.