At our house we love panini pressed sammys. They’re quick and easy on nights I just don’t feel like cooking. I had recently bought some pita bread at the store and love slicing it open to reveal the warm heavenly soft middle and stuffing it full of vegan goodies like hummus, avocado, salad greens or red peppers. Since I love baking bread so much, I wanted to try making pita bread myself too. Once I got into bread making, I realized leavened breads are pretty much all the same. The taste might depend on how long I let it rise, how long I knead it, or what seasonings I add to the dough. And the shape is simply dependent on what I feel like rolling it into. When I understood this, it wasn’t long before I was rolling out the soft round dough ready to make some delicious flatbread.
I used this recipe from The Fresh Loaf but incorporated this idea to cook them on my cast iron skillet.
The dough made eight balls which I then easily rolled out with a rolling pin just so it was round and flat but not too thin. Once my cast iron skillet was hot I dropped them in one at a time. It only took a minute or so until they were beginning to bubble or puff on the top then I flipped it over. When the other side was cooked and had some of that wonderful browning in spots I took it off the skillet and let it cool on a wire rack. You can also cook these in the oven.
The finished stack. So good hot off the skillet!
When I make paninis, I usually use a sturdy english muffin bread but this time around decided to try and use the fresh pita bread.
Slice the pita bread horizontally to make two thin halves. Then stuff it with whatever you like! My husband likes turkey and cheese while I spread mine with mashed chickpeas with tomato sauce and oregano and of course toppings like red onion, avocado and tomato. Place in a panini press and cook until fillings are hot and outside has lines across the top and bottom.
my husband’s turkey and cheese
my chickpea and tomato
Chewy bread, hot filling, who doesn’t love that? These would be perfect on a cold Fall day with some soup. For a yummy hot breakfast “pitanini” I used peanut butter, thinly sliced bananas and cinnamon. Just one more reason to love pita bread!
the gentle home 