Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Yields: 12- 7 inch pitas
The Galley Gourmet

2 Tablespoons honey
2-2½ warm water, divided
4½  teaspoons active dry yeast (two ¼-ounce packages)
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 Tablespoons for coating
cornmeal for dusting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, stir together the honey and 1 cup of the warm water. Stir in the yeast and set aside until the yeast has bloomed, about 5-10 minutes.

Add to the same bowl both flours, salt, ¼ cup oil and 1 cup of the warm water. Mix on low speed until the mixture is smooth and elastic, adding up to ½ cup more of water a tablespoon at a time as needed.

Increase the speed to medium and knead for 4-5 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Drizzle one tablespoon of the oil in the same mixing bowl. Return the dough to the oiled bowl, drizzle the top of the dough with the remaining oil, turning to coat the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with a cloth or piece of plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Gently deflate the dough and let rest for 20 minutes. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 12 even pieces. Shape each piece into a ball on an unfloured area of the counter, cup your hand over it and quickly rotate your hand over the dough, forming a tight, evenly round ball.

On the lightly floured surface of your counter, roll each piece of dough into a 1/8- inch circle, about 7-inches in diameter; keeping the remaining dough balls covered with a sheet of plastic wrap. Set each round on a large baking sheet without overlapping.

Lightly dust the rounds with cornmeal to prevent them from sticking. Cover the dough with a lightly damp towel and let them rise for 1 hour until puffy, but not necessarily doubled in size.

Meanwhile, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Bake the dough rounds one baking sheet at a time until the pitas are puffed and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. As each batch comes out of the oven, stack the pitas 3 or 4 high and wrap in clean kitchen towels. Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature. Well wrapped pitas can be kept for up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 6 months.