• Make-Ahead
• Staff Favorite

Ingredients

1. 3/4 cup warm water
2. 1 1/2 envelopes (3 3/8 teaspoons) active dry yeast
3. 6 cups bread flour
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5. 1 1/2 cups warm milk
6. Extra-virgin olive oil, for the bowl

Directions

1. Set a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500°. In a bowl, combine the water and yeast and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the salt. With the machine on, pour in the yeast mixture and then the warm milk and process until the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it a few times. Form the dough into a ball. Lightly oil a bowl with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn to coat; cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Punch down the dough and cut it in half. Cut each half into 8 pieces and roll them into balls, then flatten into 6-inch rounds. Arrange the rounds on the work surface or on floured baking sheets; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until puffy, 25 minutes.
4. Using a lightly floured pizza peel, slide 4 of the rounds onto the hot pizza stone at a time and bake for about 5 minutes, until the pitas puff up. Serve hot or wrap in foil to keep warm.

Make Ahead

The flattened, unbaked pita rounds can be frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw completely, then let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking.