Pita Bread

This pita bread recipe turned out much better than I had even hoped for. My three-year-old loved it when I stuffed the pita with ham, cheese and ketchup (yuck) and warmed it in the microwave for him. It held together so nicely and had just the right amount of dough for his little sandwich.

Dry Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups rice flour
2 cups tapioca
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
4 tsp xanthan gum
1 envelope gelatin
4 tsp egg replacer

Wet Ingredients:

4 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup hot water
4 egg whites

Grease 4 cookie sheets.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the 1 tsp sugar added. Set aside to foam. Melt the shortening in the hot water. Separate the eggs.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, blend the dry ingredients with the paddle (not the dough hook). Pour in the shortening mixture and mix, then add the egg whites and blend. Pour in the yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 1/2 minutes.

With a well-greased hand, separate into 12 equal balls of dough approximately the size of a duck egg. Roll out each ball and then pat down to about a 6-inch round approximately 1/4" thick or less. Place on the prepared cookie sheets. Repeat until all of the dough is used. Let rise until about 50% higher.

Bake in a preheated 500F oven for 4 minutes on the lowest rack, then flip and continue to bake for another 1-2 minutes until only lightly browned on the second side. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a tea towel while cooling. Slice with a serated knife while still warm if you intend to stuff the pitas. Wrap in foil and then in plastic bags to freeze.

**Sometimes pita breads don't puff up so you may need to slice these very carefully with a serated knife to separate it into two layers, but the pita bread is still very pliable and soft to work with.