You can make pita bread at home with great results
- Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
- October 13, 2022
- 719
Standing in front of the open oven, I was surprised to see all the pita loaves puffed up like round pillows. I’ve been making pita for several years, mostly following an Israeli recipe I’d found, which yielded light, fluffy and soft results, but they rarely really puffed up and formed pockets.
Since we ate them with hummus rather than filling them, that was fine. I tried other plans along the way but never with the results I was looking for: a fully finished exterior, chewy crumb and the formation of a pocket. I finally found just that recently.
Commercially available pita is convenient and usually acceptable but rather bland. You can make a full batch of 10-12 pita loaves at home with superior results. They’re also easy to make, take no time at all and cost about 40 cents in ingredients if you have good sources.
Use good-quality flour — never generic or the big-name, cheap brands you grew up with — by watching for deals on larger quantities. The kind of flour you use makes all the difference, no matter what you’re using it for.
When making this dough, the amount of flour called for is a base. You may need up to 3/4 cup more, but you want to end up with a sticky, soft dough after kneading. Be very careful not to add too much flour. If it isn’t sticking to your hands and the counter while kneading, it’s probably too dry.
This is the biggest piece of bread-making advice I can give: beware the urge to add too much flour. You’ll find yourself pulled toward making your dough look like what you’ve seen in the movies, with big gobs of dough being pushed and pulled in floury dust and no one gets messy. Forget that and get your hands gummed up. I start with 2 1/2 cups of flour and add more in 1/4-cup increments until it barely comes away from the sides of the bowl. Depending on the day, you may need up to 3 3/4 cups.
This recipe will give you 10-12 pita loaves that puff in the oven and turn a light golden color. resting them in a folded kitchen towel gently deflates them and softens the outer crust. Knead for 10 minutes by hand or 6 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. I have broken every baking stone I’ve bought, so I use a baking sheet here with good success.
HOMEMADE PITA
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups warm (100-110 F) water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more
3-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Add the water, yeast, a tablespoon of flour and the sugar to a large bowl. Allow to rest 5 minutes until bubbles form. Add the salt and oil, then the flour 1 cup at a time. Once the mixture is combined, knead by hand or in the mixer until a sticky, soft dough forms. Turn out onto a work surface and divide the dough into 10 or 12 pieces. Form each piece into an even ball. Cover the dough balls with a clean towel and rest 15 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place it on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat your oven to 425 F.
Flour your counter and roll each into a circle with a rolling pin. Each should be about 1/4 inch thick. Rest the rolled-out loaves for 30 minutes, allowing them to rise.
Carefully transfer batches of pita to the oven, turning them so they are resting on what was the top surface while rising. In other words, flip them over as you move them to the baking sheet. This allows internal steam to puff the loaves.
Bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and fold into a clean towel to cool. Allow the oven to return to 425 F between batches.
Serve with hummus, Greek Tzatziki sauce or fill them with gyro ingredients.