Oh the fascinating world of flat breads… Although the ingredients for this Homemade Pita Bread are different from my Homemade Naan, the execution is almost exactly the same. The only difference here is that you bake the pita bread in a super hot oven instead of in a skillet on the stove top.
The extra hot oven (500ºF) creates a pocket of steam inside the bread that leaves a very convenient cavity once cooled. Stuff the bread full of your favorite sandwich fillings, wrap it around some falafel, or even cut them up and bake them for a tasty treat. And don’t worry if you can’t eat them all right away. Leftovers can be frozen! Just pop them into a gallon-sized freezer bag once fully cooled.
I used a little bit of whole wheat flour in my recipe but feel free to use only all-purpose flour if you wish. The only change I’d make if I were to make this pita bread again is to divide the dough into 6 rounds rather than 8 to yield a thicker pocket. But, hey, who needs all that thick bread anyway? What you stuff inside of it is the real prize.
Homemade Pita Bread
Servings 8Ingredients
- 1 1/8 cup warm water ($0.00)
- 1 1/2 tsp yeast ($0.15)
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar ($0.03)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.10)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour ($0.08)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.37)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the warm water, sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve and let sit for 5 minutes or until a foam develops on top. Once a foam develops on top, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour (half whole wheat in my case) and the salt. Stir them so they are evenly combined. Add the small bowl of liquid to the bowl with the flour. Stir to combine.
- Continue mixing in flour until it forms a loose ball that you can no longer stir with a spoon. Turn the ball of dough out onto a floured surface and continue to knead in more flour until a soft and pliable (but not sticky) ball forms. You should have used around 3 cups of flour total and kneaded the dough for at least 3 minutes.
- Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl, cover loosely and let sit to rise for one hour or until doubled in size.
- Punch down the risen dough and turn it out onto a floured surface. Stretch the dough into a log and cut it into 8 (or 6) equal sized pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball and then roll it out into a flat, 6 inch diameter circle.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and let the dough circles rest as the oven comes up to temp. Place a damp cloth over the dough circles so they do not dry out. When the oven is hot enough, place the dough circles on a wire rack (a couple at a time) and place the rack in the oven. Watch the circles puff up as they bake. When the circle has completely inflated but not yet turned brown you can remove it from the oven and put in the next batch. If you let the pitas cook until golden brown they will be crispier and may retain the inflated shape as they cool.
- As you remove the pitas from the oven, stack them on a plate and cover with a damp cloth. The trapped steam will soften them as they cool. Once completely cooled, store the pitas in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Combine the water, yeast and sugar in one bowl and one cup of flour plus the salt in a larger bowl.
When the yeast water becomes frothy, add the olive oil.
Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour and salt. Stir to combine then continue adding flour until it forms a loose ball that you can no longer stir with a spoon.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and continue to knead in flour until it forms a soft, pliable, not sticky ball. Use approximately 3 cups of flour total and knead for at least 3 minutes.
Let the dough rise for one hour or until double then punch down and stretch into a log.
Cut the dough into 8 pieces.
Form each piece of dough into a ball and then roll it out into a 6 inch circle.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and let the dough rest as the oven warms. When it’s hot and ready, place a couple dough circles on a wire rack. Place the rack in the oven and watch them inflate…
Very fun to watch… Pull the pitas out and put in the next batch (be careful with the hot rack). Stack the cooked pitas on a plate and cover with a damp cloth as they cool.
This really was a fun project but I’ll admit, I think the naan is still my go-to flat bread. The flavor of the naan is so much more complex because of the yogurt and it’s texture is so pillowy soft… Mmmm.
That being said, I’m not going to have a hard time eating these pitas. I had actually bought a pack of pita last week ($1.99 per pack of 6, $0.33 each) and the home made has a much better flavor and texture. The fresh pita made the store bought taste and feel like cardboard. Ick.
One thing that I do love about pita bread is it’s unique ability to help me scoop large quantities of hummus into my mouth. Something about the pocket shape… it just forms the perfect hummus shovel :)
I guess I’m the only person to fail at these. My pockets won’t puff! D: I’m not sure why.
Well, I’m going to have to acquire a cooling rack, the spaces on my oven racks are a bit too wide. They came out pretty good but I’m new to this oven and I’m getting the feeling that it runs a bit on the hot side so I’ll have to try this on a bit lower temp when I feel like making more in a few days.
This was the first bread recipe I haven’t ruined! Thank you so much for giving me the confidence w/ your clear instructions and photos. These taste so good and are so easy to do first thing in the morning that I’ve been making them a couple times a week, replacing our usual two loaves of storebought bread a week. The money it’s saving us over time has been a big helpl :)
Lindsay – it’s the sudden expansion (from the heat) of the air and water into steam. Why it ends up making a perfect pocket, I do not know :)
I made these yesterday and they were so good. This may be a dorky question but what makes the the dough puff up in the oven?
Abby – I haven’t tried it with all whole wheat flour, but usually you can use a 50/50 mix of all-purpose and whole wheat without much of a texture change. So, try 1.5 cups of all-purpose and 1.5 cups of whole wheat. But remember, you don’t add all of the flour at once, so start with the whole wheat flour and add all-purpose until it reaches the appropriate consistency.
Can you use all wheat flour for this recipe? (And some of your other bread recipes?) If there a “ratio” for substitution?
Pinkypink – I haven’t actually frozen these, but yeast breads in general freeze very, very well. Just make sure they are completely cooled before freezing so you don’t get any large condensation ice crystals.
Pita bread is a staple in my household, but around here 6 pitas are $3.50. I am also bad with meal planning, so I go by easy, quick dinners, so my question is have you tried freezing them? any ideas as to make them bulk and storing?
I did it! So, I must say this was an ADVENTURE. The dough was super quick to make up. My oven naturally runs 50 degrees too hot, so I turned it to 450. Rolled out my first two pitas. Popped ’em in. In 4 minutes they were almost burnt to a crisp! One I salvaged but the other was gonzo. I turned the oven down to 400 and that seemed to help a lot. My oven does not have a window so I can say that 2-3 minutes they were puffed up and ready to come out. And Beth, you are SO RIGHT. Store bought pita tastes like utter cardboard compared to these! I’m so excited to try it with your falafel recipe :D
-Mehgan
Oh My Gosh, I finally got around to making these, and I am hooked. SO much better than store bought. I threw everything in the bread maker on the dough cycle, and they puffed up perfectly in the oven. This is going in my favorite go-to recipe index.
Hi there! I love your blog and had great success with this recipe and your naan recipe as well. I didn’t have a chance to try it when I made my pita, but do you think it would freeze well?
Thanks!
Myra
Reagan:
If you don’t have a Whole Foods nearby, you can order whole wheat pastry flour online from Bob’s Redmill. Or if you have another kind of whole foods type store (I’m blessed living in wine country in California, to have Trader Joe’s, WF, and a couple other organic markets all within 10-20 minutes of me), I like to buy from the bulk foods section. I also get wheat gluten from the bulk section [1/3 of the price!] and substitute in 1/3 to a 1/2 cup of gluten into my AP flour to make bread flour — probably overdoing it, but it makes awesome bread.
http://www.bobsredmill.com/whole-wheat_pastry-flour.html?&cat=5 everything from a 24oz bag to a case of 5lb bags, at reasonable prices.
Just made them, omg AMAZING! and so easy that even I, who cannot bake a potato, made these perfectly! can’t wait to try the Naan.
I baked them right in the middle :)