Homemade Pita Bread

Name: Homemade Pita Bread
Prep time: 2 h 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 2 h 35 min
Yield: 8 pitas
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1½ teaspoons salt; 1 tablespoon sugar or honey; 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast; 1¼ to 1½ cups water; 2 tablespoons olive oil

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Prep Time
2 hrs 30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 35 mins
Servings
8 pitas
Calories
210 kcal
Course
Bread
Cuisine
Middle Eastern

Homemade Pita Bread

John Morgan

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Learn how to make homemade pita bread with this simple recipe; I promise it's easier than you think! So much better than store-bought, you can use your pita for sandwiches, gyros, dipping into hummus... anything you'd like!

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Ingredients

Servings

3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1¼ to 1½ cups water room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil vegetable oil, melted butter, or shortening

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Instructions

Make the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Add 1¼ cups of the water water and the olive oil and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water a small amount at a time.
Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes, until slightly tacky and soft. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.
1st Rise: Place the kneaded dough into a greased bowl, turning to coat it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.
Roll Into Balls: When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.
Preheat the Oven: While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.
Shape the Pita: After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick - 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.
Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.
Bake the Pitas: Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn't necessary. Wrap the baked pitas in a kitchen towel to help trap some of the steam and keep them soft.

Notes

Sugar - You can substitute the same amount of honey for the sugar in the recipe.
Olive Oil - You can substitute the same amount of vegetable oil, melted butter, or melted shortening.
Equipment - Baking stone / Skillet / Rolling pin
Make-Ahead - Once the dough has gone through its first rise, you can store the dough, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Storage - Homemade pita is best eaten fresh, but it will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave, toaster oven, or skillet if desired.
Freezing Instructions - Cool completely, then store in a freezer ziploc bag or another airtight container, placing a layer of wax paper between pitas to keep them from sticking. Freeze for up to 3 months. You can reheat from frozen.
Recipe adapted from The Fresh Loaf and Culinary Infatuation

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Calories 210kcal (11%) Carbohydrates 37g (12%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 4g (6%) Sodium 439mg (18%) Potassium 59mg (2%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 1g (2%) Calcium 7mg (1%) Iron 2.2mg (12%)