BREADS

PITA + PANINI = PITANINI…Crossover bread!!

2009/03/11 / 47 Comments
“The Sky is the daily bread of the imagination”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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There are 2 posts racing each other in my head at the moment, & I’ve got to panini first. The other one is about herbs, thyme & oregano, which I shall write about soon. Made Panini Rolls a couple of days ago, which I had saved off Nic’s blog @ Cherrapeno last year when she had posted them for Zorra’s World Bread Baking Day. I’ve been wanting to make them for a while, but while winter was here, all yeastly tales were done away with…

peacok+butterfly

Now with spring here, birds chirping, butterflies whizzing around, I’m back to my beloved bread experiments, & decided to make panini rolls. As usual, nothing can be achieved without a little action! I tend to enter into a virtual conversation with Nic whenever I visit her place on the net, & get stupidly distracted. It happened with the Cappuccino Muffins the last time, & with no lessons learnt, happened again this time…but not without redemption! I think it’s overconfidence. First I read the flour as 5oz (the 1lb disappeared while I was reading, I swear it wasn’t there, believe me). Measured 5 oz of flour & wondered how in the world I would get 10 rolls out of 5oz. Back to Nic’s & then I saw 1lb 5oz mysteriously appear in front of my eyes. Gasp, that was a close call!panini6

Message to new bread bakers & less experienced ones like me…learn from my mistakes please. Read the recipe at least thrice, & then set off. I even forgot the olive oil altogether in my hurry to get the dough done. With few modifications & distractions of the ‘Cherrapeno types’, my ‘fat-free’ panini rolls finally got underway…LOL!!

panini9

Now I’m calling these pitanini rolls for a reason. Nic mentioned that the rolls have to be ‘fairly thin’, & you can roll them if you like. ‘I like’… so I begin rolling them. Hmmmm …words began forming in the mind again, “Is this fairly thin? Will it rise & become rolly polly?” With this insane conversation taking over my grey matter, I continued rolling with my idea of fairly thin.panini10

I think they became fairly too thin, did rise, but not enough to become rolls. I gave them a milk wash (I cannot do egg wash because of my eggphobia), & sprinkled the tops with oats/sesame seeds. They puffed up nicely & rose in the oven, were a little flat, but had pockets within! Thus ‘Panini roll +Pita pockets = Pitanini roll’ was born by the time we reached sandwich stage!! I substituted a portion of flour with oat flour & some whole wheat flour in the dough, & the result was delicious. panini7

A panino is a sandwich made from a small loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta. The loaf is often cut horizontally and filled with salami, ham, meat, cheese or other food, and sometimes served hot. A grilled panino is buttered on the outside and grilled in a press. The word “panino” is Italian (literally meaning small bread roll), with the plural panini. “Panini” is often used in a singular sense by speakers of English and French. In Italian, panino refers properly to a bread roll and a “panino imbottito” (literally “stuffed panino”) to a sandwich. panini4

PITANINI ROLLS

as adapted from Nic’s post for Panini Rolls @ Cherrapeno
Ingredients:
300gms flour
200gms whole wheat flour
100 gms oat flour (I ground rolled oats in my coffee grinder, & measured 1 cup)
1 tbsps active dried yeast (That’s the only sort I had)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
400ml water (approximately)panini1

Method:

  • Put all the dry ingredients together & mix well. Add the water, about 350ml to begin with, & knead to a soft smooth dough, adding more water as required. Knead well for 5-7 minutes.
  • Divide the dough into 10, & make rolls out of them, flatten to about an inch for rolls, or 1/2 an inch for pitaninis, & leave on baking sheet to rise until double.
  • Brush with milk or beaten egg (optional), sprinkle on some rolled oats or sesame seeds (optional), and bake in a pre-heated oven 180C for about 14-16 minutes until golden brown.panini11

For the pitanini/panini/sandwich…

  • Split each roll horizontally, fill with whatever stuffing you fancy. I used chopped up Balsamic Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, a dash of mayo & mozarella. You can use cottage cheese chunks with roasted veggies in there too. panini12
  • The mozarella is a local brand that I’ve used for the first time, Flanders, & was very good indeed. I’ve used their mascarpone just recently in Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Mascarpone, but the texture & taste of the mascarpone was a little disappointing. On the other hand, their mozarella is quite the best I’ve tried locally.
  • I grilled my sandwiches on a grill pan after a brush of olive oil (not buttah!!). Since I don’t own a panini press, I weighed the sandwich down with a heavy something, grilled it for 5-7 minutes, turned it over & grilled the other side too. Was delicious!!panini8

This is off to Susan @ Wild Yeast for her ongoing event Yeastspotting, bread event& also to my good friend Ben @ What’s Cooking US for his event Homemade#2-March which has the spotlight on BREAD!!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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47 Comments

  • Nicisme

    2009/03/11 at 4:56 pm Reply

    This is so weird because I was going to make some pita bread this week!
    I love the name, good one!!
    They might be a bit thinner than mine, they look wider than I roll them. But oh! Look at that filling – I’m a melty cheese drooler, I can’t help it… LOVE it!!!
    Thank you for trying these Deeba.

  • Happy cook

    2009/03/11 at 4:58 pm Reply

    Ha ha I too just posted a bread in my place just now and then i saw your post in my reader.
    You may call what ever you want they look absloutley delicius and that sandwitch, that is just pefect.
    Wish I had them for my dinner as weekdays dinner we always have bread.

  • Akal's Saappadu

    2009/03/11 at 6:53 pm Reply

    nice creation, I’ve tasted pita and panini separately and have loved it; wish i was there to taste the pitaninis! looks yummy with mozzarella and lovely clicks of the flowers with the butterfly on!

  • Curry Leaf

    2009/03/11 at 7:02 pm Reply

    Gorgeous and Perfect -yet you say you are inexperienced?YOU ARE TRULY PROFESSIONAL .
    If I had atleast an oz of baking skills as yours I would have been sooooooooooo proud of myself.
    KEEP UP THE GOOD JOB-the pitanini has come out great

  • Dawn

    2009/03/11 at 8:21 pm Reply

    well those look pretty damn good for someone who is inexperienced! hello!
    I always love and enjoy your photos.

  • coffeegrounded

    2009/03/11 at 9:03 pm Reply

    I am so hungry for fresh bread. This is a lovely item, Deeba. I was thinking as I was reading, ‘I sure hope she sends this to Susan’…lol…I will enjoy seeing it featured twice. 🙂 First in your lovely post, and then again at wildyeast.
    Kudos to you!

  • Jescel

    2009/03/11 at 9:03 pm Reply

    pitanini.. how clever! i love having paninis but the pitanini would save me some carbs! lol.. and your pitaninis are a beauty.

  • Soma

    2009/03/11 at 9:44 pm Reply

    Thick or thin or whatever u plan to call them:-) they look great ! Nothing like fresh baked bread at home.

  • A_and_N

    2009/03/11 at 11:19 pm Reply

    Oh I’m looking for a Pita bread recipe. But this works fine too. I can make them small and use them as appetizers no?

  • Elra

    2009/03/12 at 1:27 am Reply

    Delicious sounding bread my dear. And oh, you have beautiful butterfly in your garden….
    Cheers,
    elra

  • Nachiketa

    2009/03/12 at 5:04 am Reply

    This is something i’ve never had the guts to try – bread…..

    WOW!!! the sandwich looks fabulous 🙂

  • Arfi Binsted

    2009/03/12 at 7:46 am Reply

    used to have panini with lettuce and everything for lunch. nice looking bread, Deeba.

  • Manggy

    2009/03/12 at 9:07 am Reply

    It certainly looks fantastic to me, hybrid or not. Maybe it counts as a piadina? 😛 I can’t resist a good flatbread!

  • Arwen from Hoglet K

    2009/03/12 at 10:15 am Reply

    Wow, not only fat free but with wholemeal flour too. These sound really healthy. The mozzarella and roast veggie filling sound tempting too.

  • Maria

    2009/03/12 at 4:43 pm Reply

    Those look delicious! I think they are the perfect shape and thickness for a pita sandwich.

  • Gera @ SweetsFoods

    2009/03/12 at 5:22 pm Reply

    Deeba I delight very often with pita and panini independently, but never both together superb!

    The photos are awesome as usual but the last ones with the mozzarella melting are insane!!
    Excellent tasty yummmmmmy job 🙂

    Deeba there’s an award for you on my blog!

    All the best,
    Gera

  • Kathy - Panini Happy

    2009/03/12 at 7:10 pm Reply

    I definitely think pita breads are perfect for panini – I use them all the time! Your sandwiches look so good.

  • Fitri

    2009/03/12 at 7:34 pm Reply

    i need to collect my passion to make a bread like yours, Deba.. i always have a problem with ‘yeast’ – always never rise. I don’t know why, but yours look so gorgeus..

  • Olga

    2009/03/12 at 8:09 pm Reply

    omg! I was going to comment how amazing the sandwich looked and then I realized you actually made the bread part of it!! I’m so impressed 🙂

  • Ari (Baking and Books)

    2009/03/13 at 1:40 pm Reply

    Hoo boy but these look good! Perfect panini bread, that sandwich photo made my mouth water.

  • farida

    2009/03/13 at 6:31 pm Reply

    Love the name – Pitanini:) It looks so good. I am saving the recipe. I have this panini press that I almost never use – time has come to put it to a good use to satisfy my appetite:)

  • kellypea

    2009/03/14 at 1:23 am Reply

    I should try this recipe. I haven’t made pita in a while and know that it would be perfect for panini like you’ve shown. Delicious!

  • Lore

    2009/03/14 at 12:47 pm Reply

    Pitanini? That’s brilliant Deeba! :). Love panini and always preferred flat bread over traditional bread.

  • lisamichele

    2009/03/15 at 4:04 pm Reply

    I’ve been craving some bread baking and your pitas just inspired me to do so soon BTW, is this yeastspotting a bread baking event along the lines of other foodie blog challenges? I’d love to take part in it if that’s the case!

    Finally, your photography is out of this world, great composition!

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