♪♪ Narrator:
ORIGINATING IN THE MIDDLE EAST, PITA BREAD HAS BEEN AROUND
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. TODAY, ITS POPULARITY CONTINUES
TO GROW AROUND THE GLOBE. PART OF ITS APPEAL
IS ITS VERSATILITY. PEOPLE CAN STUFF
THEIR PITA'S POCKETS, USE IT AS A SANDWICH WRAP,
OR SLICE IT FOR DIPPING. ♪♪ PITA BREAD MAY BE FLAT, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN
IT'S BORING. ANYONE CAN USE PITA
TO MAKE ANY NUMBER OF INTERESTING
LUNCHTIME COMBINATIONS. MAKING PITA BREAD STARTS
WITH SILOS FULL OF FLOUR. A BLOWER SYSTEM DELIVERS THE
FLOUR TO AN AUTOMATED SIFTER. THE SIFTER SHAKES THE FLOUR
THROUGH THREE LEVELS OF MESH TO FILTER OUT IMPURITIES. MAGNETS EXTRACT
ANY METAL CONTAMINANTS. WORKERS PREPARE A PREMIX
OF SUGAR, SALT, YEAST, AND PRESERVATIVES. THEY COMBINE THESE INGREDIENTS
WITH THE SIFTED FLOUR IN A BIG MIXER AND ADD WATER. THE MIXER IS EQUIPPED
WITH NUMEROUS BARS THAT ROTATE HORIZONTALLY
TO BLEND THE INGREDIENTS. THE OPERATOR OPENS THE MIXER
AND SPINS IT ONE MORE TIME TO EJECT THE DOUGH INTO A BIN. ♪♪ HE ROLLS THE BIN
TO THE NEXT STATION. HERE, THE PITA DOUGH
GOES INTO A HOPPER, AND FROM THERE, IT DROPS INTO A
MACHINE CALLED A DOUGH DIVIDER. ♪♪ THIS MACHINE TURNS BIG CHUNKS
OF DOUGH INTO MANY SMALL BLOBS. TO DO THIS, IT FORCES THE DOUGH
THROUGH A ROUND HOLE, AND A GUILLOTINE BLADE CHOPS IT
TO THE CORRECT THICKNESS. THE DOUGH BLOBS RIDE A CONVEYOR AND PASS UNDER A ROLLER
THAT FLATTENS THEM. FLOUR FROM AN OVERHEAD SIFTER
DUSTS THE DOUGH BLOBS TO KEEP THEM FROM STICKING
TO THE MACHINERY. EACH ONE OF THESE FLATTENED
DOUGH BLOBS WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME A PITA. ♪♪ THE ROUND PIECES OF DOUGH NOW RIDE A CONVEYOR
UP TO A WARM ZONE. OVER A PERIOD OF 15 MINUTES,
THE YEAST FERMENTS, CAUSING THE DOUGH TO RISE. OUT OF THE FERMENTATION STATION, A ROLLER FLATTENS
THE PITA-DOUGH SEGMENTS AGAIN. THEY'RE NOW READY
TO BE ROLLED VERY THIN IN A PROCESS KNOWN AS SHEETING. ♪♪ THE NEXT ROLLER PRESSES
THE PITA DOUGH MUCH THINNER. ROLLING IT IN ONE DIRECTION MAKES THE DOUGH SEGMENTS
OVAL-SHAPED. ♪♪ THE OVAL PITAS RIDE BY A PUSHER THAT NOW SHOVES THEM
TOWARDS THE FINAL ROLLER. ♪♪ IT ROLLS THE DOUGH IN THE OTHER
DIRECTION TO ROUND OUT THE SHAPE AND MAKE IT EVEN THINNER. ♪♪ PERFECTLY ROUND AND THIN, THE PITAS NOW TRAVEL UP TO
ANOTHER FERMENTATION OPERATION. ♪♪ INSIDE,
THE TEMPERATURE IS TOASTY. IT'S WARM ENOUGH
TO REAWAKEN THE YEAST AND CAUSE THE DOUGH
TO RISE AGAIN. ♪♪ CONVEYORS MOVE
IN CRISS-CROSS DIRECTIONS TO TAKE THE PITAS
BACK AND FORTH. THIS ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY
LASTS ABOUT 15 MINUTES. WHEN THE PITAS EMERGE
FROM THE CHAMBER, THEY HAVE
THICKENED UP SUBSTANTIALLY. THEY HEAD INTO AN OVEN
WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS. THE OVEN'S TEMPERATURE IS BETWEEN 750
AND 930 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. THEY SPEND JUST
15 SECONDS IN IT. THIS FLASH-BAKING
CAUSES THE WATER IN THE DOUGH TO TURN TO STEAM. THE STEAM PUFFS THE PITAS,
CREATING POCKETS INSIDE. THE PITAS THEN TRAVEL
ON CONVEYORS FOR A 20-MINUTE COOLDOWN. AS THEY COOL, THEY DEFLATE. THE PROCESS HAS CREATED POCKETS
IN THE PITAS. ONCE SLICED OPEN, THE POCKETS CAN BE STUFFED
TO CREATE SANDWICHES. WORKERS STACK THE PITAS
SIX HIGH FOR PACKAGING. THE NEXT CONVEYOR
DELIVERS THE STACKS INTO THE CLUTCH
OF AN AUTOMATED ARM. JUST AHEAD,
A BURST OF AIR OPENS A BAG, AND THE ARM
INSERTS THE PITAS INTO IT. AT THE SAME TIME, IT PUSHES
THE BAG ONTO THE NEXT CONVEYOR. MOVING FORWARD, ANOTHER DEVICE AUTOMATICALLY TWISTS
THE OPEN END OF THE BAG. THE DEVICE APPLIES
A PLASTIC LOCK TAB TO THE TWISTED END OF THE BAG,
SEALING THE PITA BREADS INSIDE. THE BAGS PASS BY
A METAL DETECTOR, AND THEN THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY
TO THE SUPERMARKET. ♪♪ THIS PITA BREAD HAS TAKEN
45 MINUTES TO MAKE AND PACKAGE, BUT IT SHOULD ENABLE LUNCH
TO COME TOGETHER VERY QUICKLY.
