Homemade Pita Bread?
Four minutes in the oven is all that it takes to make freshly baked homemade Pita Bread. My Pita Bread recipe is very easy to make, a yeast-leavened flatbread originating in the Mediterranean and the Middle East dating back over 4000 years!
Freshly baked, the delicious smell and flavor of Pita Bread fresh out of the oven is far superior to the stale old pita bread you buy in the store. The Pita is baked at a high temperature, the moisture in the dough turns to steam causing the Pita bread to puff up making its own little pocket. Perfect for stuffing with your choice of sandwich fixings or even better, my fresh homemade Baked Falafel recipe. If you’re going to go make homemade Falafels, you definitely need to take an extra few minutes to make homemade Pita Bread, you’ll be glad you did.
Pita Bread Ingredients
- Active Dry Yeast: One package is 2 ¼ teaspoons, you can use the entire amount, a little extra won’t hurt your Pita Bread recipe. I buy a jar of yeast and keep it in the refrigerator. You need to add the yeast to warm water, with the sugar and a pinch of flour, let it sit for about 10 minutes. You will notice after 10-minutes the surface of the water is covered in foam. This indicates your yeast is good and you’re ready to proceed with the recipe.
- Warm Water: You need to wake up the yeast and activate it. The water needs to be 110F, an instant-read thermometer works great, but I’ve often just checked the temperature by hand. As long as it is warmer than body temperature and not so hot that it is burning you, it will activate the yeast.
- Sugar: The yeast needs something to consume in order to activate, a little sugar and a pinch of flour will help activate the yeast and gives your Pita Bread a delicate sweetness.
- Flour: I use a combination of wheat and all-purpose flour. You can make Pita Bread with either 100% whole wheat or all-purpose flour or a combination of both. Just make sure the total amount of flour equals 2 ¾ cups.
- Olive Oil: Gives the bread great texture and flavor. For Pita Bread, you want to keep the finished baked bread soft and not too chewy. Olive oil, in this case, is working as the ‘shortening’ preventing the gluten protein strands from becoming too long thereby creating tougher bread.
- Salt: It is always important to add the salt towards the end of kneading the Pita Bread dough. When making any recipe with yeast, you never want the yeast to come into direct contact with the salt.
What’s the difference between Naan and Pita Bread?
Both Naan and Pita Bread are yeast-leavened flatbread. The difference is that Naan is an enriched bread containing eggs and yogurt. You can check out my Naan recipe here.
Is Pita Bread Vegan-Friendly?
Yes! Luckily, yeast is classified as a fungus, therefore, my Homemade Pita Bread recipe is vegan-friendly. And a great way to eat my vegan Baked Falafels, Baba Ganoush, and Hummus.
Unfortunately, Pita Bread is neither Keto nor gluten-free, however, it is relatively healthy with only around 165 calories and 33 grams of carbs. Pita Bread made with whole wheat flour, the calories drop to around 140 and only 27 grams of carbs. Making a Pita pocket sandwich a great alternative to an ordinary two slices of bread type sandwich.
What to serve with Homemade Pita Bread recipe:
Healthy Baked Falafel, baked falafels are so much easier to make than deep-frying, freshly baked Pita Bread is the perfect companion!
Shakshuka with Spinach, freshly baked pita bread dipped into the spicy sauce and runny yokes of the Shakshuka? Yes, please.
Authentic Baba Ganoush, cut into triangles and toasted, Pita Bread is used as chips for scooping up this smoky eggplant dip.
My Hummus recipe, I use cucumber in my Hummus rather than the liquid from the chickpeas, pureed it adds the necessary moisture and great flavor, perfect with homemade Pita Chips.
Here’s my Homemade Pita Bread recipe:
Homemade Pita Bread
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Warm Water 110F
- 2 Teaspoons Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with a hook attachment, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar in the mixing bowl, let the yeast activate for 10 minutes. It should be foamy
- Add all remaining ingredients and turn the machine on the lowest speed for 5 minutes
- If the mixture looks dry, add 1 tablespoon of water, the dough should be smooth but not sticky
- Coat the inside of a large bowl with a little olive oil, place the dough in it. Place in a warm location, cover loosely and let rise until doubled in volume, about one hour
- Place the pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475F. The pizza stone needs to be very hot, so let it preheat for at least 30-45 minutes prior to baking.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, for the pieces into nice round balls, roll each piece into a 6-inch round disc
- Place the 2 pieces at a time onto the pizza stone, bake for 3-4 minutes
Thank you for visiting my Food Blog, I hope you enjoy my homemade Pita Bread recipe. Please come back and visit again soon! Bon Appetit, Steven
Mike
Any suggestions with pita bread recipe if I don’t have a stand mixer? How long should I knead by hand?
Steven
Kneading the pita bread dough by hand isn’t difficult, I actually enjoy it, it’s just a little messy. 5-minutes is still the right amount of time for kneading the dough by hand.
Cindy
Is there something different to do in high altitudes? The pita bread rises unevenly.. definitely does not look like the picture.
Steven
Hi Cindy, thanks for the question about baking Pita Bread at high altitudes, unfortunately, I am not an expert in high altitude baking. I live on the flat featureless plains of Texas, and my culinary school was in NYC at sea level. When I received your question, I researched baking at high altitudes and found a variety of suggestions. The most common answers were raising oven temperatures and adding additional liquid to the dough. The most useful resource I found was from King Arthur Flour. Here is a link, I hope this helps, Steven
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Kathy
For the Pita Bread recipe, can I use all AP flour, or does mixing in some wheat flour make a difference in the finished Pita Bread?
Steven
Hi Kathy, Yes! Baking Pita Bread using 100% of All-Purpose Flour is just fine. I like the combo of both types of flour just to make it a little healthier, but AP flour is delicious too.
Robin G.
The last pita in the oven “popped” better than the first ones. Kids love the pita bread.
Steven
Hi Robin. I’m glad your kids love the pita bread. Pita bread loves a really hot oven, the steam inside the dough is what causes the pita to puff up and create a pocket. It may be if the last pita was the one that puffed up, that your oven was at the right temperature. Let the oven get really hot before baking the next batch, and I bet they all puff up for you!
Alex
I loved, loved, loved this pita bread recipe…Easy…worked perfectly!
What about freezing them? Suggestions?
Steven
Thanks, Alex, I’m glad you like them, and the good news is the baked pita bread should freeze well. Wrap them tightly to prevent freezer burn and they should remain fresh-tasting once thawed and slightly reheated. In my experience, bread of all types does better in the freezer than in the refrigerator, there is just something about refrigerated bread that tastes stale to me.
Lillian
I have tried many recipes but this was the best pita bread.
Steven
Thank you, Lillian, I appreciate the feedback! In all modesty, this is the best pita bread recipe! Lol
Deidre
These taste amazing but my pita bread didn’t puff up during baking. Any suggestions? I’m new to baking bread and working with yeast so could be something I’m doing but following the directions, I thought exactly. Thanks!
Steven
Hi Deidre, one thing I might suggest is, prior to baking the pita bread, make sure your oven has preheated for at least 30 minutes before you start baking. You want that pizza stone to be blistering hot so the pita bread puffs up.
Marisa
Hi! is there any other option for baking pita bread other than using a pizza stone? I don’t have one.
Steven
Hi Marisa, Yes, you can use a heavy-bottomed, ovenproof skillet to bake pita bread, cast iron is my favorite. My pizza stone is actually cast iron, and it is virtually indestructible. Also, it only costs $19 on Amazon. Here is a link if you’re interested: https://smile.amazon.com/Home-Complete-HC-5001-Grilling-Durable-Even-Heating-Versatile/dp/B016ILHNS6/ref=sr_1_6?crid=FRTHBLAEO7WQ&dchild=1&keywords=cast+iron+pizza+stone&qid=1587132092&sprefix=cast+iron+pi%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-6
JANET
Sorry to ask a dumb question, but do you put the two pieces of pita bread dough side by side or stacked on top of each other? Sounds so good. Can’t wait to try it. Thank you!
Steven
Hi Janet, there are no dumb questions! Side by side, the pocket in the pita bread is formed by steam inside the dough expanding, not by staking the individual pieces of pita bread on top of one another.
Terri
Only one of my 8 pitas really rose the way it should have. What did I do wrong? The taste was amazing – better than any pita bread I’ve purchased in grocery stores. But because they didn’t rise, it was hard to split them apart. Help!
Steven
Hi Terri, It is the steam that causes the pita to puff up when baked. One of the keys to getting the pitas to puff up is a very hot oven and pizza stone, it needs to preheat for at least 30-45 minutes. One other issue that I’ve heard about is for high altitude baking. I live at sea level, so I’m not really an expert for baking in the mountains, the most useful resource I found for high altitude baking was from King Arthur Flour. Here is a link, I hope this helps, Steven
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Mike Penco
And a pleasant day to you. I do not have a “pizza stone” but a Tawa. Can that also work to bake pita bread?
Steven
Yes, thanks for asking Mike, that will work great. Just make sure the handle is oven-proof and it needs to be blistering hot to make the pita bread puff up.
Braden "Brady" Glett
The way the recipe is written, you do not let the pita bread dough rise again after rolling it out into 6-inch discs. Is this correct, or is it assumed that we should let it rise before popping it in the oven? Thank you.
Brady
Steven
Hi Brady, Thanks for the question. It is not necessary to let the pita dough rise a second time. As long as the pizza stone in the oven is really hot, the moisture in the dough will create steam forming the pocket in the pita bread.
Braden
OK, thank you – that is really surprising to me that flattening the dough out would still allow any CO2 bubbles to remain in the dough! Fantastic, can’t wait to try this homemade pita bread!
Ines
I visited a restaurant that served pita that was like puffed pillows and not flat. Does your recipe produce the same. The photos look similar to the wonderful pita I enjoyed.I prefer the puffy over the flat. They are so delicious!
Steven
Yes Ines they puff up when they are in the oven, then flatten as they start to cool. Sounds like that restaurant was serving you freshly baked pita, yum!
Steven
Thank you for sharing my Pita Bread recipe!!!
Steven
Thank you for sharing my Pita Bread recipe!!!
Steven
Thank you for sharing my Pita Bread recipe! Have fun baking it and on appetit!