Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

I made some whole wheat pita pockets yesterday and they are SO yummy! I did have a problem with most of the pitas not blowing up to make the pockets inside, but I know that the more I make these, the better I will get on rolling them out and getting good pockets inside. But, even without the pockets-oh, man! Store bought really does not compare!! I made Levi one with a slice of cheese and a couple pieces of thin sliced lunch meat-we just cut the pita in half, placed the cheese and meat on one side and folded it over. I took a bite and mmmm!!! He then took a bite and mmmm (which surprised me-lol). I used the recipe from Tammy's Recipes--here is the recipe from her site and here is a link to her site (also on the right side under blogs I like to visit :)

http://www.tammysrecipes.com (lots of terrific recipes-please visit her site!)

Whole Wheat Pita Pockets


Description:
Soft whole wheat round breads with a pocket inside!
Yield: 8 whole pita pockets (or 16 halves)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup gluten*
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Add the gluten and 1 cup of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.)
Alternately, if you have a bread machine, you can put the ingredients in the pan in the order listed and use the dough cycle. Skip to step 3 if using your bread machine! :)
2. Put your dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost double (about an hour). I like to turn my oven on for a minute or two, then turn it off, and let the dough rise in there, since our house is cool.
3. Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.
4. As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured countertop or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though! :D)
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire rack, such as is used for cooling things. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.)
6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.
7. Cut pita breads in half, or split the top edge, and fill as desired. :)
8. Store pitas in a plastic zipper bag in the fridge for a few days, or place in the freezer for longer storage. To re-warm pitas, wrap them in a damp towel and then wrap in foil. Place in a warm (200-250 degree) oven for about 20 minutes.


My note--I didn't use just whole wheat this time. I used one cup all purpose flour and and the rest was whole wheat. I also did not use as much gluten. I found that when I rolled them if I didn't roll them too thin, they puffed up better. That might be the trick. For the puffier rolling, I guess I rolled them a little less than the thickness for pita bread that is baked (if that makes sense). These really do not puff up much after you roll them.