I was always nervous to make pita bread. There was no way I could never make it good enough to get that infamous “pocket” in the dough. Turns out that it’s actually incredibly simple and the pocket forms without even trying! All it takes is a hot pan and 5 ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.
Like most bread, the majority of the time it takes is just waiting around letting the dough rise. While I like to mix my breads in a stand mixer, you can definitely use any bowl and wooden spoon you have laying around. Sometimes the trick might be finding a place in the house that is warm (but not too warm!). I like to use my oven with the oven light turned on for that perfect 70-75 degrees temperature.
After you make your own pita bread, you’ll never turn back to store bought. In addition to using it for gyros, you can bake it to get pita chips for hummus or as an alternative to bread in sandwiches. Another use I like to use is dipping it in stew-like dishes like shaskshuka!
A healthier alternative to the recipe can include replacing half of the flour for whole wheat flour. The depth of flavor will really kick your pita game up a notch.
Easy 5 Ingredient Pita Bread
Ingredients
- 250 Grams water lukewarm (between 100-110 degrees F)
- 7 Grams instant yeast
- 425 Grams all-purpose flour Can also mix in whole wheat at a 1:1 ratio for a more hearty pita
- 10 Grams salt
- 25 Grams extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add 1 cup water and stir in yeast until disolved. Let sit 10min to activate yeast and make sure it is still "alive". Add remaining flour, salt, and olive oil.
- Knead dough either by hand or stand mixer with bread attachment for 3min until smooth and springy.
- Cover and let rise for at least 10min.
- Knead dough either by hand or stand mixer with bread attachment for 3 more min until smooth and springy.
- Coat bowl with extra virgin olive oil and put kneaded dough into bowl. Turn dough in bowl to lightly cover dough in olive oil. Cover and let rise in warm place for at least 1 hour until dough has doubled in size
- Divide the dough in 8-10 pieces and shape into balls on a floured baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rest for at least 10min
- On a floured surface roll dough into 8 inch wide pitas. Should be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Immediately cook and continue shaping another pita while the other pita cooks.
- Over medium-high heat (this was a 7 on my stove top), cook pita for 2-3min on one side and 1-2min on the other. It will puff up once it's ready.
Notes
- Keep pitas warm in the oven while you bake the rest. I keep my oven in the lowest setting it will go and cover with a kitchen towel
- You can store in an airtight bag for a week in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer
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