How does Pita bread separate perfectly every time! Thats magical! Any theories?!
How does Pita bread separate perfectly every time! Thats magical! Any theories?
Answers:
Pitas are made out of a single piece of dough with no hole inside at all -- just a thin slab. The trick is to put it in an oven with a really high temperature. If it's hot enough, the water inside vaporizes quickly and forms a gust of steam which practically explodes the dough, pushing the top and bottom surfaces apart. Pita bread also is normally made with yeast, which contributes some carbon dioxide to the process -- but it's the rapid heating that's critical to get the top to separate from the bottom and make the pocket.
The dough cooks quickly in this high heat (about 750F-900F). When the pita is taken out of the oven and allowed to cool, the hot gases (air, water vapor, and some carbon dioxide) inside it also cool off, and the pita collapses into its familiar shape. The inside surfaces don't stick to each other because they are cooked. If you fail to heat the dough fast enough you get no pocket and it will indeed cook into a solid lump as you described. Too much heat and you risk burning the dough or having the hot vapor inside rupture the pocket.