Pita Bread

This takes a little time, but they're so much better than store-bought.  They'll keep for a couple of days.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour, plus 1/2-3/4 cup more as needed
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 packet instant yeast
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

• Mix the yeast with the flour, salt, and sugar.  Add the olive oil and 1 ¼ cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon.  All of the ingredients should form a ball.  If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.
• Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes.
• When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the dough around so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with  a damp towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.
• When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. 
• While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450°. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while it is preheating. 
• After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between ¼ – 1/8” thick – 6 inches in diameter. 
• Place discs on waxed paper or parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.
• Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.