Efrat's Notebook

Homemade Abulafia-Style Sesame Pitas Draft

Thin, slightly sweet Abulafia-style pitas from a dough with no oil, coated in sesame on both sides and baked quickly in the oven.

  • Prep45 min
  • Rest1 hr
  • Total1 hr 45 min
  • Makes20 pitas
  • KashrutParve

What you need

Amount:20

Dough

Coating

How I make it

Dough

  1. Put all the dough ingredients except the salt in the mixer bowl and knead for 7 minutes.

  2. Add the teaspoon of salt and knead 2 more minutes.

  3. Oil your hands and coat the dough with them. Close it in a bag and let rise for 1 hour.

Shaping and baking

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. Divide the dough into 20 balls.

  3. Roll each ball out into a pita with a rolling pin.

  4. Set out a bowl of water and a bowl of sesame seeds.

  5. Dip each pita in the water and then in the sesame, so both sides get a nice layer of seeds.

  6. Bake until the sesame is toasted, and take them out right away.

What I've learned

  • Just one teaspoon of salt, and that's not a mistake. Here it's only there to balance the flavors.
  • There's no oil in this dough, only water, and the amount of liquid is right too. 2½ cups of water.
  • When I knead in the mixer, I change the speed now and then as it goes.
  • I roll the pitas with a rolling pin only, not by hand, so they all come out even.
  • I dip, lift it out fast and set the pita in the sesame bowl, then shake the bowl. The seeds spread over the whole surface by themselves.
  • My oven runs very hot, so I bake mine at 350°F (180°C).
  • These pitas are thin and bake fast, so I stay close to the oven.

Source: ChefEf (chefef.com)