Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Yields: 8 (6 inch) pita loaves

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 Tbsp honey
1 1/4 cups warm water (105–115°F)
1 1/2 cups bread flour or high-gluten flour, plus additional for kneading
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
Cornmeal for sprinkling baking sheets

Combine yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl. Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (Discard if mixture doesn’t foam. Start over with new yeast.)
While yeast mixture stands, stir wheat flour and bread flour together in another bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup flour mixture into yeast mixture until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Stir in oil, salt, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour mixture until a dough forms.
Knead dough on a floured surface; working in just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough and cut into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten 1 ball, then roll out into a 6 1/2- to 7-inch round on floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer round a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Repeat process for remaining 7 pieces, arranging each round on baking sheets. Loosely cover with a clean kitchen towel and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
Set oven rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 500°F.
Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, directly onto oven rack. Bake until just puffed and pale golden, about 2-3 minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake an additional minute. Cool pitas on a cooling rack 2 minutes, then stack and wrap loosely in a kitchen towel to keep pitas warm. Repeat with remaining pitas. Serve warm.
Freezer Tip: Pitas can be baked 1 week ahead and cooled completely, then frozen, wrapped well in foil in a sealed plastic bag. Thaw before reheating, wrapped in foil, 10 to 12 minutes in a 350°F oven.