The Best Homemade Pita Bread Recipe
Although store bought Pita bread is good in a pinch, this homemade pita bread is delicious and not too difficult to make if you have a couple of hours. Making pita bread at home is easy and only takes a few ingredients which you probably already have on hand. From start to finish these take about 3 hours, and a single recipe yields 6 pitas. (about 6″ each). These are fresh, warm, fragrant and perfectly puffy pita breads. Serve them with a delicious homemade Hummus. You can find the recipe here. Or you can use them to make pita wraps (Gyros) or serve as a side with Souvlaki. My family and I love to have them warm with fresh hummus. Just tear them and dip. You can also use them to make homemade pita chips once they are a day or two old, and not as fresh. They can be kept in an airtight container for a few days. Baked pita bread is best enjoyed fresh, you can freshen up pita in a warm oven or toaster oven. Pita bread is also freezer friends. You can even make the dough up ahead of time.
When you think of pita bread, most people automatically think hummus or falafel, however I think a warm pita is just a delicious along side a warm bowl of soup or stew. Who doesn’t like a dipper? I do! You can turn the leftover pita (if you have any) into chips. You can buy pita bread in the grocery store, that’s for sure, but in my experience it is never fresh. Once you try fresh, you may never buy it from a store again. It’s that much better!
Homemade Pita Bread
Equipment
- parchment paper
- baking steel or baking sheet
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling 256 g (use a scale if you have one)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp instant yeast if using active yeast, then activate it in the warm water for 15 minutes, then use in the recipe as directed
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Instructions
- Mix the dough. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt and instant yeast (if using active yeast then activate in warm water for 15 minutes, then proceed with the recipe).
- Add the water and oil. Stir with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. The mixture will appear dry and unevenly mixed. Use your hands to knead the dough briefly in the bowl just until the flour is absorbed and you have a slightly sticky ball, about 30 seconds.
- Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top and turn the dough ball to coat, cover bowl with a clean tea towel and transfer to a warm place to rise for 1.5 hours. (if your oven has a proof function use that, if not turn oven on for 1 minute, then turn it off and put the bowl inside to rise).
- When dough is done rising, remove from oven (if you used it) and set oven to bake at 550°. Put your baking steel or baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper into 6 small pieces about 6" square.
- While the oven is preheating, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to form a ball. Use a bench scraper (or knife) and divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Each ball should weigh roughly 73 g. Using flour as needed to prevent sticking, make each portion into a small ball (create some tension) and let the balls rest for a further 30 minutes.
- Roll the balls out. Flatten once ball and using flour if needed, gently roll out with a rolling pin until you have a 6" round. Do not get too aggressive because you do not want to force the air pockets out. If a round is resisting, set it aside and try another one, going back to the resistant one last. Transfer each round to a square of parchment that you previously cut out, and let rest a further 15 minutes.
- Bake the pita. Once the oven is preheated, carefully place 3 rounds (with the parchment attached) on a preheated baking steel or baking sheet. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until lightly golden. When done, remove pita from the oven, and place in a tea towel lined bowl, and close the towel. Repeat with the remaining 3 rounds of pita.
- These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight bag or container for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months (if they last that long!).
