Pita Bread

1 pkg of yeast, or quick rising yeast 

1/2 cup warm water 
3 cups all purpose flour 
1 1/4 tsp. salt 
1 tsp. granulated sugar 
1 cup lukewarm water 

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.  Combine flour and salt in large bowl.  Make a small depression in the middle of lour and pur yeast water in depression.  Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.  Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer stick and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.  Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.  Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.  Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to preheat your baking sheet also.  Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.  Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.  Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.  Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Storing Pita Bread: 

Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.

Note from Emily - I used this recipe for our New Year's Pita Pockets this year since the ones from the store have long ingredient lists and we needed something cleaner.  I did not let them rise for 3 hours--I just put them in a warm oven ("proofing" at 100F) until it looked like the dough had doubled (maybe about 45 minutes?).  I made 10, and I did not let them sit before I started baking them, except for a few minutes while the oven preheated.  They were DELICIOUS!  Much better than store ones, and so easy to make.  They had a lot of flavor, and they were moist, and they did not even fall apart, actually.  We will use this recipe every year, for sure.)

(By Saad Fayed, About.com Guide)