Man did I have fun this week making this Homemade Pita Bread Recipe. I’ve never made it before but I am just so intrigued by middle-eastern cuisine, especially from Israel, so I had a blast making this. First I was so shocked at how simple it was to make, it was literally 5 total ingredients. THIS is how pita bread should be made, not with 1,000 ingredients from your local grocery store.
I grew up eating pita bread quite a lot. We would use it as sandwich bread all of the time when I was a kid. My sister and I wouldn’t fold it over, we would cut it down the middle and use it as a big pocket. Obviously you’re cooler if you do this. Pita, or simply flat bread, is really some of the first bread recipes known to our world. However back thousands of years ago there weren’t tons of leavening agents outside of yeast or sourdough starters so a lot of bread was flat. Using yeast clearly changed the baking game back some 5,000 years ago and for me personally I prefer yeast because of the rising effect it has. I’m guessing this is why I like pita so much?
Enough history, let’s make this Homemade Pita Bread Recipe. Start by adding some yeast to some warm water (110° to 115°) in a standing mixer bowl and let it sit for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Next is time to add in some flour. I’ve become so partial to Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour. It’s so versatile in all of my cooking and baking whether I am breading something or simply making cake. It may just be me but it seems as if the AP flour has enough protein to create a sufficient amount of gluten in making bread, so it works literally with everything.
Be sure to put on the hook attachment and turn it on low speed and add in olive oil and sugar and gradually pour in the remaining warm water until it is mixed in. From there add in your salt and let your standing mixer beat the heck out of it for 10 minutes. I love this part!
Let the dough rest for 1 hour covered with a towel in a warm place and watch it rise :-). It will literally get huge.
My next favorite part, punch it down!! It’ll go down significantly once you punch it in so don’t go postal on it. When it gets down to a normal size divide the dough into 9 balls and let them rest again for about 15 minutes. They’ll probably double in size.
Next, roll out the dough and spray them with warm water before baking them to help them brown. They’ll cook in about 6 to 7 minutes and will rise big time while cooking. Don’t get sad if they fall after they come out of the oven it’s natural.
Time to eat!! Of course I’m making sandwiches or serving them with soup. Enjoy!
Homemade Pita Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of yeast
- 1 ¼ cups of warm water 110° to 115°
- 4 cups of Bobs Red Mill All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon of sugar
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500° with a sheet pan in the oven. We will be cooking on this.
- Next add the yeast to a standing mixer bowl with ¼ cup of the water and wait for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Next, with the hook attachment on and the standing mixer on low speed add in the flour, sugar, olive oil and gradually add the rest of the water until combined.
- Turn the speed to high and knead for 10 minutes.
- Place a towel over the bowl after it is done kneading and let it rest for 1 hour.
- Divide the dough into 9 individual balls and let them sit for 15 minutes before rolling each of them out to about 1/3” thick.
- Spray the dough with warm water in a spray bottle and add them to the hot sheet pan in the oven and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until it lightly browned and cooked through out.
- Note that the bread will rise in the oven and fall once it comes out. Serve hot!
Nutrition
Terri says
Is it possible to use whole wheat flour for these? Would any of the other ingredients need to be adjusted?
Chef Billy Parisi says
My aunt used whole wheat flour and adjusted the water amount slightly by adding a bit more, the exact amount I do not know, and said they worked fine.
Danielle says
If anyone could make me gain weight over the internet, it’s gonna be you. I feel like I need to go to the gym from looking at your pictures. Geez, that pita bread looks bomb!
Great great job with this post (and making me fat :P)
Danielle | http://www.FollowMyGut.com <3
Chef Billy Parisi says
hah thanks!!