More mediterranean madness this weekend. Lately, we’ve become a bit obsessed with making flatbreads. Typically, Nat handles the tortillas and chapati and I have the immense pleasure of dealing with the pita.

Fresh, homemade pita has a texture that’s worlds away from anything you’ll find at the store – well, maybe you live right by a middle-eastern grocery, but still.

• 2 cups strong flour, like the “0″ or “00″ pasta flour variety
• 1 cup warm water
• 1.5 – 2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

1. Gently mix the yeast, water, and oil. Let the yeast dissolve for a few minutes.
2. While the yeasties are working their magic, mix together the flour and salt.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Get messy – use your hands.
4. Knead the dough until it’s no longer sticky, adding a touch of water or flour as needed.
5. Lightly oil the dough and set it aside in a warm, draft-free place until it’s doubled in size. Should take about 30-45 minutes. OK, fine. Sometimes it takes a little longer.
6. Punch the dough down and knead the air bubbles out.
7. Time for more rising. Second verse, same as the first. Another 30-45 minutes, until it’s doubled in size.
8. Cut the dough into golfball-sized chunks. Roll them in a little bit of flour to keep them stick-free.
9. Heat up a frying pan. You want it really hot, but not quite smoking. You don’t need any oil. Just dry heat. Some folks cook their pita in the oven, but I just love the beautiful char the stove-top version yields.
10. One at a time, roll out your delicious little golf balls and transfer them to the pan. You don’t want them too thin. Maybe 1/4 cm thick. Maybe a little less.
11. They’ll get uniformly bubbly when they’re ready to flip. It’s usually only takes around 30 seconds. Flip it. At this point, sometimes you get lucky and they start to puff. Sometimes they don’t. The pita puff is a fickle mistress.
12. Transfer the pita from the pan to an open gas burner on medium heat. Just a few seconds on each side will give them a little char, and if you’re lucky you’ll see some more puffing. Be careful not to let them puff too much or they’ll burst. It’s OK – it’s not the end of the world if they do.
13. Place the pita on a cooling rack.
14. Roll out another pita ball and you’re back in action.

Today, we’re enjoying these with some baba ghanoush, roast tomatoes with garlic and olives, and tabbouleh.

If your pita puffed (or perplexingly partially puffed), you’ll have a picture perfect pocket to polish off. The pita will keep for a few days.

Accompaniment: Grouper – Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill. Certainly, one of my favorite records this year.