It is difficult to imagine a person who does not like shawarma. But buy it units. Many people have one reason: there is no guarantee that normal meat is used. People with suspicion and skepticism look at a vertical grill ramrod with strung pieces, only no recruiting aroma is able to force them to step over themselves. Alas, history knows many examples when the most unpleasant suspicions were confirmed as to what kind of meat is put in shawarma. As a result, someone masters the preparation of this Middle Eastern stuffed cake at home. Firstly, there’s nothing complicated here. Secondly, you can wrap in pita bread whatever you want (or need to use). And if there is no pita on hand - it can be made.
Pick your recipe
You will need
- - flour;
- - water;
- - vegetable oil;
- - salt;
- - starch;
- - Bowl;
- - a sieve;
- - rolling pin;
- - a frying pan;
- - stove.
Instruction manual
1
Prepare the flour. The texture of pita bread for shawarma will directly depend on its quality. Also note whether the type of wheat from which this flour is made is indicated on the package. If you lead a healthy lifestyle, nutritionists recommend the use of durum wheat flour. It is often called "durum" and it happens to be confused with whole wheat flour - grains. In fact, they are almost equally suitable for healthy nutritionists - and definitely more than traditional premium flour. The main competitive advantage of the first is that it has a lower glycemic index, respectively, it gives less weight gain. The second advantage - when grinding it, the whole grain is used: both the part that goes into ordinary flour and the casing (bran would be obtained from it). In other words, grains are a kind of mixture of premium flour and bran, although the fraction is more like semolina. But the main thing is not the appearance, but consumer qualities, in our case, how flexible the dough will allow flour to make.
2
Heat water to 30-40 degrees, combine in a bowl where you are going to make a batch, with extra virgin olive oil. Since all flour has a different hygroscopicity, which can vary significantly, the proportions of dry and liquid parts of the future dough for pita bread can only be estimated. We recommend taking 10 g of salt, 250 g of warm water and 50 g of oil per 750 g of flour. By the way, oil can be not only olive, but also linseed, mustard, sunflower - any, but not refined. The flour should be sieved first. Both durum and grains require the use of sieves with larger holes than you would take for sifting in the usual case. If you don’t have such a sieve, just pour the flour from one bowl to another slowly several times. Our task is not to separate some impurities unusual for flour, but to saturate it with oxygen. Moreover, the future dough will turn out just such a consistency, as required by most types of fresh pastries. Including lavash for shawarma.
3
Combine the flour with salt. Add vegetable oil mixed with water. It’s better not to pour everything at once, it may be a bit too much for your flour. Knead the dough, which should be as soft as possible, but at the same time - do not bother. Knead for about 5 minutes. Roll into a ball, cover with a towel and leave at room temperature for half an hour - an hour. Then knead again, cut into pieces - depending on the size of future pita bread for shawarma, proceed to rolling.
4
Sprinkle a large cutting board with premium flour or starch. For these purposes, you can take both potato and corn starches. The latter has a lower glycemic index, in the context of carbohydrate restriction, it is slightly less "dangerous". If there is no cutting board of the appropriate size, it is not forbidden to roll pita bread directly on the countertop. Just be sure to wash and dry the work surface dry - it should be perfectly clean and dry. After dusting the surface and rolling pin, take a piece of dough and roll it to a state of transparency. Remember that when baking, the dough will slightly swell and slightly swell. In any case, pita bread for shawarma should be as thin as possible.
5
When rolling out the dough, constantly move it around its axis. It is important to turn in one direction, only in this way you will achieve an evenly rolled circle of the same diameter as the selected pan. Pita bread for shawarma should be transferred to the pan using a rolling pin, wound, and then carefully shifted to a hot surface. Typically, it is not necessary to lubricate it. On the contrary, any fat will give a crust effect that is completely unnecessary now, and the tortilla in which we are going to wrap shawarma does not imply it.
6
Bake pita bread for 3-5 minutes at 200 degrees, then turn it on the other side and hold in the oven for a couple more minutes. Sometimes it’s more convenient to bake pita bread on gas. They will also work, but in this case it is necessary to select an absolutely tight lid to the pan, which will help create a closed space where steam circulates. Of course, in both cases, it is necessary to give preference to cast-iron frying pans with thick walls and a bottom that can hold heat well.
7
Pile the finished cakes in a stack, covering the top pita bread with a waffle towel folded in several layers. When everyone is ready, you can begin to prepare the filling. Traditionally, beef or mutton meat, sorted into fibers, is put into shawarma; in Russia, pork or chicken is more often used. Tastier if you cook them on the grill, but in the absence of a grill, it will be completely normal to use meat fried in a pan. Chop salad leaves or young cabbage, chop tomatoes and onions, fried meat or poultry, season with sauce, for which mix sour cream and mayonnaise in equal proportions, add a little garlic passed through a press, salt and pepper to taste. The proportions of the main ingredients can be arbitrary, but it is optimal when they are taken in equal parts.
8
On each pita bread, put 3-4 tablespoons of the filling, and then carefully tucking the edges, roll up a tube and fry in a dry frying pan until browned. Homemade shawarma in pita bread is ready. It is very tasty, and most importantly - made from understandable products.
note
Be sure to roll pita bread for shawarma as thin as possible, otherwise then it will not be rolled up.
Useful advice
Lavash for shawarma is best made from whole grain flour or durum wheat flour.
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