Pita Bread

Pita Bread is one of the easiest flat bread recipes that you can make at home. Serve it up with your favorite Mediterranean meals, sandwiches and more.

We love pita bread for Chicken Shawarma and quick sandwiches but we never remember to pick it up from the deli so we decided to make our own. It turns out that it is even better homemade and a really simple process.

Ingredients for Pita Bread

• Warm Water- 98°- 100°.
• Instant Yeast (or active dry yeast) I prefer Red Star Yeast
• Sugar
• Whole Wheat Flour
• All Purpose Flour
• Olive Oil

Step By Step Directions for Homemade Pita Bread

1. Make the Sponge: Add warm water to a large bowl with yeast and sugar, stir until combined. Add whole wheat flour and mix well. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
2. Use a dough whisk or wooden spoon to stir in the whole wheat flour. Set aside for about 15 minutes. It should be bubbly, if it isn’t after 15 minutes, you probably have bad yeast and will have to start over with new yeast.
3. Add the olive oil, all purpose flour and salt, stirring until mixture starts to come together. The dough will be shaggy. Add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time and knead inside the bowl until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the bowl.
4. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for 2- 3 minutes or until dough is smooth.
5. Coat a bowl with olive oil and add the dough, turning to coat well. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size.
6. Remove dough to a floured surface and divide into eight pieces, shaping into balls. Cover with a towel and rest 10 minutes.
7. Lightly flour your surface and roll each piece into about 1/4 inch thickness.
8. Stove top Method: Heat a cast iron skillet or a heavy griddle over medium-high heat. Heat until a drop of water sizzles. Cook 1 pita at a time for about 30 seconds, flip with a metal spatula cooking 1- 2 minutes. Flip again and cook another 1 -2 minutes until toasted and pita puffs up. Oven Method: Heat the oven to 475° and place a large cast iron skillet or griddle on the middle rack for 5 minutes. Bake pita for 2 minutes, flip and bake for 1 minute on the other side. Pita should puff up and be ready.
9. Keep pitas warm, covered with a towel until ready to serve.

Recipe Notes and Tips

• Make Ahead: Dough can be covered and refrigerated after rising up to 1 week.
• Pita Won’t Puff: If pita doesn’t puff up, the skillet or griddle is not hot enough.
• Store cooked pitas in a zip top bag at room temperature up to 2 days. Freeze in a single layer with parchment in between in a freezer bag up to 3 months.
• Reheat on a griddle or in a toaster oven.
• Make Pita Chips: Split pitas and brush both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and bake in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet at 425° for about 5 minutes or until crisp.

You might also like our homemade Cornmeal Tortillas for a quick and easy addition to your favorite dinners.

Add this homemade pita bread recipe to your must-try list for easy pocket sandwiches, flat bread pizzas or to serve with a Mezze platter.

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