not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs.

ok, i am so excited about something i did last week...i made pita bread! from scratch! and it was AMAZING. see, i was craving some chicken gyros (probably because i am in love with tzatziki sauce), and found a recipe online for them, and the recipe was saying how they taste so much better with homemade pitas. so i decided to just go for it! and oh my gosh, you guys - it was sooo good! seriously one of the best meals i've had in a long time. at first i was kind of intimidated to make the pita bread, and it took a lot of time (mostly waiting for the dough to rise), but it was actually pretty easy. foolproof, really. and they were delicious - pants said they tasted like they were from a restaurant. if you are a gyro fan like me, then you HAVE to try these!

here's the recipe...

super yummy gyro chicken
marinate in a ziploc bag for a few hours:
a couple chicken breasts
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
the juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper

after marinating, cook chicken however you want (i just cooked it in a pan on the stovetop), then let rest a few minutes and cut into slices.

my favorite tzatziki sauce
drain 16 ounces of plain yogurt (i used a little less) in a strainer over a bowl for about half an hour or so, then add:
half a large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shredded
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
a little olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

let the yogurt sauce sit in the fridge about an hour or so to let the flavors meld together.
** also, be sure to slice some red onion and chop some tomatoes to sprinkle over the top of the sauce when you assemble your gyros.

pita bread
ingredients:
(this makes about 8 pitas)
3 cups flour, plus 1/2 - 3/4 cup more as needed
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
1 packet instant yeast
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups water, room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

STEP 1
in a kitchen-aid mixer bowl with a paddle attachment, mix together the yeast, flour, salt, and sugar. add in the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup of water and stir together till the ingredients for a ball. add more water if your ball doesn't come together right away.
STEP 2
switch out the paddle attachment for a dough hook, then let your kitchen-aid knead the dough for 10 minutes. as the dough is mixing, continue to add flour - a few tablespoons at a time - until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky. (i added quite a bit more flour.)
STEP 3
form the dough into a ball, and place in a bowl that is lightly coated with oil, butter, or a pam-type spray. roll the ball around once so it gets coated in oil, as well. let the dough rest in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel for about 90 minutes (or till double in size). STEP 4
when the dough has doubled in size, punch it down once or twice, then divide into 8 equal pieces. roll each piece into a ball, and cover with a damp towel. let rest 20 minutes.STEP 5
spread a little flour on the counter and roll the dough balls out flat. they should be about 1/4-1/8" thick. (if the dough doesn't stretch easily, cover it again and let it rest another 5-10 minutes.) place your cute little pita discs on a lightly greased surface and let rest, uncovered, about 30-45 minutes. STEP 6
finally! preheat your oven to 450, and if you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat, as well. if you don't have a baking stone, just turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while it's preheating. this will be the surface you will bake your pitas on. when your oven is ready, put 2 pitas on the baking stone/sheet, and cook ONLY for 3 minutes. they might not look done, but they will be! make sure to have all your ingredients ready to assemble (chicken, tzatziki sauce, slices of red onion and chopped tomatoes) so you can eat them warm right out of the oven. so, so good! definitely worth it!