you're making mealtime meaningful.
There’s nothing like the smell of fresh bread in the house. It’s equally satisfying to roll and knead a soft pillow-y dough. Making your own fresh pita bread is a sensation overload and something I want everyone to experience. Flatbreads are the easiest expressions of homemade bread and this recipe is a simple start. Watch as the entire recipe comes together, and in less than one hour, you have fluffy homemade bread.
The best part of this recipe is watching the pita’s puff. Our goal when making this flatbread is to get a uniform round fluffy pita, BUT–getting the pita breads to puff is the ultimate dream! This is all comes to fruition with the correct soft spongey dough, that’s rolled and lightly proofed before cooking. The final boss of this recipe is in the pans heat and maneuverability of the pita. Hot, but not too hot and a constant lipping encourages the pita to swell like a balloon.
Let’s start by making the dough first. Combine all the liquid ingredients with the yeast, then mix the flour in. The product will result in a soft smooth dough. I suggest using a stand mixer for all the kneading that’s required to build the signature chew in the pita bread, but if you prefer to knead by hand, use a bench scraper to help. You should be able to press your finger into the dough ball and it spring back. Now it’s time to cover and rest the dough.
The dough is made and it’s time to roll the pita. Divide the dough up into 10 equal pieces and cover the pieces while you start rolling each pita one by one. Give yourself 10 minutes to let the dough pieces rest before rolling for the easiest rolls. Preheat your skillet you’re cooking pita in. I prefer to use cast-iron when making my pita breads due to it’s ability to retain heat and evenly disperse it.
Roll your pita into six inch rounds and place directly on the preheated pan. Depending on how hot your pan is, you may need to adjust heat right away. Flip the pita bread after one minute in the pan or when you start seeing tiny bubbles form, then flip over. We want to develop the outside of the pita, to help steam the inside and create that pita pocket.
Serve up your pita with your favorite dipping sauces or use it as a sandwich. These freeze beautifully for pita pizzas, pita breakfast wraps, or pita chips. Enjoy!
Fresh Pita Bread
Yield(s): Makes 10
10m prep time
6m cook time
45m inactive
Allergens: Gluten
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 cup, plus two tablespoons warm water
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation
- Combine the flour, yeast, and sugar in a KitchenAid mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix for 2 minutes on low.
- Add the warm water to the mixer on low until a dough forms. Turn the speed up to medium and mix the dough for 6 minutes, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides.
- Let the dough rest in a greased bowl, covered, for 30 minutes in a warm place.
- Divide pita into 10 - 2.5 oz. pieces and roll each into a ball.
- Cover dough balls with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Gently shape the dough ball into a 6” round using your finger tips to gently press dimples into one side.
- Preheat a non-stick sauté pan over medium heat, brush the pan lightly with olive oil, and cook for 3 minutes on each side.