Homemade Pita Bread
Updated Nov. 21, 2023
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½teaspoon granulated sugar
- 35grams whole-wheat flour (¼ cup), preferably freshly milled
- 310grams unbleached all-purposed flour (2½ cups)
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 2tablespoons olive oil
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
189 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 110 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make sponge: Put 1 cup lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add the whole-wheat flour and ¼ cup all-purpose flour and whisk together. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place, uncovered, until mixture is frothy and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
- Step 2
Add salt, olive oil and nearly all remaining all-purpose flour (reserve ½ cup). With a wooden spoon or a pair of chopsticks, stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass. Dust with a little reserved flour, then knead in bowl for 1 minute, incorporating any stray bits of dry dough.
- Step 3
Turn dough onto work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let rest 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist. (At this point, dough may refrigerated in a large zippered plastic bag for several hours or overnight. Bring dough back to room temperature, knead into a ball and proceed with recipe.)
- Step 4
Clean the mixing bowl and put dough back in it. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with a towel. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place. Leave until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Step 5
Heat oven to 475 degrees. On bottom shelf of oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile. Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on work surface, cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and press into a flat disk with rolling pin. Roll to a 6-inch circle, then to an 8-inch diameter, about ⅛ inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. (The dough will shrink a bit while baking.)
- Step 7
Carefully lift the dough circle and place quickly on hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn over with tongs or spatula and bake 1 minute more. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles. Transfer warm pita to a napkin-lined basket and cover so bread stays soft. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
- Some measurements for dry ingredients are given by weight for greater accuracy. The equivalent measurements by volume are approximate.
Private Notes
Comments
Though I make mine slightly differently, there are a couple of things that should help you keep the "pocket." First, don't roll the dough too thin. Between the 1/8" here and the 1/4" I usually end up with is probably going to be better for pocketing.
Don't overbake; they should be puffed and looking a little "dry" but not really browned.
Then, as soon as you remove the pitas from the oven, tuck them under a towel until completely cool.
The pan you cook these on has to be very hot when you place the dough or it won't puff properly. Give the pan about a minute in the oven by itself to re-heat between pitas.
Hello everyone! Along with not rolling too thin, if you want perfect pockets you should fill a spray bottle with water to mist them. When you toss one into the oven, just spray it once or twice. This will ensure even and consistent puffing of the bread. Additionally, if you lay tin foil on the inside of your warming towel it will allow your bread to remain as soft as possible because it traps in the steam from each.
Brilliant. Could not be fresher, better ingredients, or easier to make. I, too, used 50% whole wheat (farro integrale in Italian) and 50% white. 5 hours in fridge. Pizza stone was super simple. Want to see how they keep now. Has anyone tried freezing the pita or the dough balls?
Made these according to the recipe with one exception- we cooked them in an Ooni16! Baked about 30-45 seconds each. Temp of the Ooni was about 750 - 900 degrees. Only challenge was not all raised / bubbled up the same. This was not a function of the oven but not sure why it happened. We did have to turn them in a circle to avoid hot spots but did not flip. Super fun and kept the house cool.
Yes, this a good recipe for pita bread. A little involved with the knead/rise part but the breads turn out well and they delighted me by "poofing" up in the oven. I use a baking steel which gets really hot at 475F and cooks the pitas in 3 min. on one side 1 min. on the flip side. Delicious. I can't wait to try them with falafel or hummus.
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