Since learning this easy pita bread recipe from Chef Richard, we’ve made it almost every weekend. No fancy equipment or kneading is required for our pita bread recipe. Anyone can make this easy recipe! This recipe is a keeper! I’ll walk you through everything you need to make pita bread from scratch. For a quicker recipe without yeast, see our easy flatbread recipe, which calls for baking powder instead of yeast.
Key Ingredients
Flour: I use bread flour to make this pita recipe, but all-purpose or whole wheat flour will work nicely. Bread flour makes them a little chewier. Instant yeast: I use instant yeast for all of my bread recipes. You can substitute active dry yeast if you have it in your kitchen. I also use instant yeast in our easy pizza dough. Sugar: A little bit of sugar makes these pitas taste amazing and encourages our yeast to start working. Salt: Makes our pita bread taste great.
How to Make Homemade Pita Bread
Forget store-bought pita bread and bake your own pillowy pita pockets at home. With just a few simple ingredients, you can make fluffy, soft pita bread ready for pita sandwiches or dipping. To start, you’ll activate the yeast with warm water and sugar. After 5 minutes, it will look frothy with lots of bubbles. Stir in your flour, then cover with a towel to rise for about an hour (or until it doubles). Once your dough has doubled, divide it into six equally sized portions. Roll each into a smooth ball, then flatten into disks. I use my fingers to flatten the dough to preserve as many air bubbles as possible. Let the dough rest, and then you are ready to cook them. You have two options for cooking your homemade pita bread: The photo below shows pita dough cooked in a skillet (at the top of the photo) and pita baked in the oven (at the bottom of the photo). The skillet pita is soft and fluffy, while the oven-baked pita has a pocket in the middle, perfect for making sandwiches. Both are delicious! To cook pita bread on the stovetop, heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, add some oil (I love avocado oil for this), and then cook the pitas until blistered on both sides and cooked in the middle. To cook pita bread in the oven, preheat your oven to 475°F (246°C). A hot oven is the secret to getting that pocket. I cook the pita bread on my pizza steel, which promotes the pocket even more. If you do not have one, place a baking sheet into the oven while preheating to mimic the baking steel. For baking pita, squares of parchment paper help move them to and from the oven. Lightly flour the squares of parchment paper and place the pita rounds onto them. When your oven is hot, transfer the pita on the parchment to the pizza steel or baking sheet, close the oven door, and bake until puffed and light brown around the edges.
What to Serve with Pita Bread
Pita bread is perfect for dipping. A few of my favorites include our roasted red pepper hummus, our baba ganoush, and homemade labneh (an incredibly delicious Middle Eastern strained yogurt cheese). Thanks to that pita pocket, you can also stuff almost anything into your homemade pita. I love homemade falafel with my easy tahini sauce. Or for an easy lunch I stuff my pita with this smashed chickpea salad. Finally, serve your perfect pita with this authentic Greek salad, easy chickpea salad, or on the side of your favorite salads. 1 cup (236ml) lukewarm water, 110°F to 115°F 1 teaspoon (4g) instant yeast 1 teaspoon (4g) sugar 1/2 teaspoon (3g) fine sea salt Avocado oil, optional for cooking in a skillet 2Add the flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough several times inside the bowl until you can form a rough ball – it will be sticky. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm place and leave alone until the dough has doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour. 3Flour your work surface, then carefully empty the proofed pita dough onto it. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces, roughly 85 grams each. 4If baking the pita, cut 6 squares of parchment paper, at least 6 inches on all sides. Preheat your oven now so it heats for at least 30 minutes before baking the pita (see temperature in “Bake the Pita” section below). 5Roll each portion of dough into a ball, dust a bit more flour underneath and on top. Cover with the dish towel and rest for 10 minutes. 6Using your fingers, press each dough ball into 6-inch circles, then cover them with a dish towel and rest for 10 to 15 minutes. If baking, place each circle onto a sheet of parchment paper, then cover them with a dish towel and rest for 10 to 15 minutes. 2Transfer the pita circles on their parchment paper to the oven. I can fit two circles on my baking steel. Bake until puffed with some golden spots, 5 to 6 minutes. Use tongs to transfer the baked pita to a bowl covered with a clean dish towel. Repeat with remaining pita circles. 2When the bottom has golden brown spots, carefully flip and cook the other side; the pita takes 2 to 3 minutes on each side. If they are over-browning and still doughy in the middle, finish them in a 350° F (176°C) oven for 5 minutes. 2Make ahead: Make pita dough and complete the one-hour rise at room temperature. Rub the dough with olive oil and store it in an airtight bag or container for up to three days. Bring it to room temperature, then divide it into 6 equal portions. Continue the recipe as written. Freeze for 1 month, and thaw overnight in the fridge.
