Pita Bread

Pita bread was one of the first items I added to my wishlist of things to make for the blog, so I was excited to finally give it a try. The simplicity of pita was appealing to me. I have all of the ingredients needed on hand almost all of the time, how convenient!



One of the things I have been excited about doing with this blog is learning to bake things that most people wouldn’t ordinarily try at home, foods that we normally tend to just pick up at the grocery. I am quickly learning that so many of these types of food items are actually very simple and relatively easy to bake in your own kitchen. This latest project was one such experience.

So, what is it that makes pita different from other bread? The pocket! I have learned that the key to making pita with a nice pocket is a very hot oven and baking surface that stays consistently hot throughout the baking process. The JOC suggests using the bottom side of a baking sheet or a baking stone for your baking surface. My baking stone is currently in storage, so my only option was to use the bottom side of a large pizza pan.



Since Orin and I are both big fans of pita, I decided to make a double recipe. I was about to head out of town for work and thought that it would be a nice alternative for my lunches on-the-go. I used half bread flour and half wheat flour for my pita. According to the JOC, all wheat flour can be used, but you will need to increase the amount of water you add to the dough mixture to keep the consistency softer.

Of the doughs I have created and worked with so far, I think that the pita dough has been one of the most successful. The dough was very “alive” and had excellent consistency. It rose very well and was easy (and fun) to handle.



Here are some more detailed directions so that you can make your own pita. I enjoy it with hummus and fresh cucumber slices. Pita can also be eaten with falafel or as the flatbread to any deli-type sandwich.

Pita Bread

Combine the following dry ingredients in a large bowl:
3 cups of bread flour (or wheat flour)
1 ½ Tablespoons of Active Dry Yeast
1 ½ Tablespoons of sugar
1 ½ Teaspoons of salt



Add the following wet ingredients to the mixture above:
2 Tablespoons of melted butter
1 ¼ cup of room temperature (72-75⁰F) water

Stir until the dough is formed, then transfer to a kneading surface.



Knead the dough for 10 minutes, adding small amounts of water or flour if needed. The dough should be moist and tacky, but not sticky. To knead, press with the heel of your hand, rotate the dough, fold it over itself, and then press down again with the heel of your hand.



When finished kneading, place in an oiled bowl, turn over once to coat with oil and then cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until it has doubled in size.



While the dough is rising, you will want to place your baking surface on the bottom rack of your oven and begin preheating the oven to 475⁰F.

Once the dough has risen, punch down and knead just until it no longer contains air bubbles.



Divide the dough into 8 equally-sized pieces and roll each piece into a dough ball.





Place the dough balls on a lightly floured surface and cover. Let rest for 20 minutes.



When the dough balls are done resting, you will want to roll each one into an 8-inch round (approximately 1/8 inch thick) on a floured surface.





Once the oven is preheated, you can add as many rounds as will fit onto your baking surface and bake at 475⁰ for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven after 3 minutes and let cool completely. Continue baking each set of rounds for 3 minutes each. Ideally, the pita will “pop” and look like a balloon before you remove it from the oven. This “pop” is what creates the pocket in the pita. Only a few of my rounds actually “popped”. I think that my oven cooled too much between each batch of baking. I would suggest waiting a few minutes between each batch to let your oven reheat itself and closely monitor the temperature throughout the baking process.



I think that the half and half mixture of bread flour and wheat flour was a nice one. Although most of my pita didn’t “pop”, they still had a great texture and flavor. An overall success!



Thank you Orin for the amazing photos!