How to Make Pita Bread – Easy Recipe to Prepare This Bread at Home

How to make pita bread? This is quite an easy recipe even for beginners! Pita bread is one of the most famous dishes of the East, which has gained immense popularity all over the world, especially in street food. This is a traditional Middle Eastern dish popular in Greece, Israel, and Arab countries. It is a thin round flat bread and its distinctive feature is the small pocket inside, which allows you to use it as a kind of plate of the main course. Traditional pita bread has a diameter of 10-15 centimeters / 4-6 inches.

What to Serve With Pita Bread?

Pita bread is a versatile food that can be combined with a huge variety of additives. You can stuff it sorts of fillings or serve it with spreads and dips. For example:

• Meat – lamb, veal, pork or chicken;
• Any vegetables – tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, eggplant;
• Hummus or falafel;
• Fruit and yogurt;
• Chickpeas and other legumes;

• Fresh or grilled cheese;
• Avocado and chopped greens;
• Egg salad;
• Toast it, slice it into wedges, and add it to a crudité or cheese platter, hummus platter and fresh vegetables or dips like hummus or baba ganoush.
• Serve it with shakshuka;
• Top it with grilled vegetables, souvlaki and tzatziki;

How to Make Pita Bread – Easy Recipe for Beginners

Ingredients:

• 14 oz/400g flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 6 oz/180ml milk
• 3 oz/80ml water
• 2 tsp active dry east
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

• In a large bowl add the flour and the salt. Mix well and set aside.
• In another small bowl add the dry yeast and the sugar, then the milk and water. Make sure the milk and the water are at room temperature. Mix everything until the sugar dissolves.
• Set aside until frothy on top.
• Then pour the mixture over the flour, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix everything together until well combined.
• Knead for 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
• Once the dough is smooth and comes back when you poke it, return it into the bowl. Sprinkle over some olive oil then cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest for 35-40 minutes or until it doubles in size.

• After that, sprinkle some flower on the countertop and put the dough on it. Press on it to get the air out.
• Divide the dough in 6 equal pieces and shape it into balls, pushing the edges inside with your fingers.
• Take one of the balls and flatten it with a rolling pin.
• Then put the flatbread in a preheated pan, sprinkled with olive oil, at medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes or until you see bubbles, then turn and cook for another 2 minutes. Set aside and add the next dough piece, until all of them are cooked.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

For the pita bread starter:

• 3,5 oz/100g all purpose flour
• 1 tsp active dry east
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 3,5 oz/100ml lukewarm water

For the pita bread dough:

• 8 oz/225g all purpose flour
• 8 oz/225g whole wheat bread flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 oz/30g extra virgin olive oil
• 8 oz/225ml lukewarm water

Directions:

Prepare the starter:

• In a medium bowl place the lukewarm water, sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Whisk until the yeast is dissolved.
• Next add the flour and mix with a spatula until you achieve a thick batter.
• Cover with cling film, place in a warm place and let it rise until double in size (approximately 40-45 minutes).

Prepare the pita bread dough:

• Once the starter is ready, place all the ingredients for the pita dough together with the starter in a standing mixer with the hook attachment, except the water and beat for 1 minute on medium speed.
• Next add the water and beat on medium speed until you achieve a smooth dough that doesn’t stick to the sides.
• Once the dough is ready transfer to a well oiled bowl and let it rest again in a warm place until double in size.
• When the dough is well risen, split the dough into 10 balls and start rolling on a clean floured surface. Try to maintain the round shape as much as possible. The diameter should be around 16cm/6 inches.

• Cover the rolled pitas with a damp cloth.
• Place a pan on medium heat and when the pan gets hot, drizzle some olive oil and start cooking the pita. It takes around 2-3minutes on each side.
• Repeat the same process with the rest of the pitas, adding more olive oil before placing each pita on the griddle pan.
• Pita bread can be prepared on griddle pan to get golden marks or in the oven. If you prefer oven baked pita bread, preheat your oven to 260 Celsius/500 Fahrenheit. Lightly grease your baking sheet, place the rolled pitas and bake on the lowest rack for 5-6 minutes until the bread turns golden brown. Remove the baked bread and wrap with a kitchen towel to keep them soft.