National Pita Bread Day~ March 29

History:

Pita bread is thought to be the oldest bread in the world and has its origins in the early Middle East, where the first evidence of it dates back 4,000 years. Its name, which translates to “flatbread,” was given by the Greeks. Many different civilizations, like the Bedouins, adopted pita as a staple food. Pita soon established itself as a crucial component of trade culture; it was exchanged for vital commodities including water, crops, tools, and materials.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
½ teaspoon of sugar
35 grams of whole wheat flour
310 grams of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Recipe:

Put 1 cup of lukewarm water into a large bowl, and add yeast and sugar. Once added stir to dissolve, from there add the flour. Stir it up. After stirring place the bowl in a warm spot uncovered for 15 minutes. Add olive oil, salt, and ½ a cup of all-purpose flour. With a wooden spoon and stir until the mixture because of a shaggy mass. Afterward, dust will a little flour then knead for one minute. Turn dough to a flat surface and knead until smooth for 2 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes then knead again. Refrigerate the dough in the bag overnight. Bring the dough back to room temperature. Put the dough into a mixing bowl cover it in a warm place and leave for an hour. Heat oven to 457 degrees on the bottom shelf of the oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and cover with a damp towel for 10 minutes. Roll the balls into flat discs with a rolling pin. Then carefully lift the dough and place it on a hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be puffy, once puffy flip the dough over and bake for 1 minute. REMEMBER! Back pitas one at a time!

Student Opinions:

We polled a total of 36 students, with a mix of students (from the journalism class) and Rosemont staff, including Ms. Monaco! When asked to rate the Pita Bread on a scale of 1 to 5, over half of the students 53.2% rated it a ⅘. While less than 13% rated it a 3 or under. Showing us a high percentage of pita bread lovers on its national holiday.

Price Check:

Along with asking people how they rated the bread, we also asked how much they thought a full pita bread packet (of 6 pieces) would cost. Doing this poll we saw a shocking amount of variety across prices. Some range from under a dollar to over seven dollars. This also showed us how much of a warped perspective students have of bread prices, many of the teachers we polled estimated the price as around two or three dollars. While the average estimate for students was closer to five dollars.

Happy Baking!