Beginner-Friendly Pita Bread Guide

Almost every bread baker or home cook who has dared to dip their fingers in a bowl with simple flour, yeast, water, and salt to yield a loaf will tell you the same thing: “making bread is not as hard as you may think, and once you make your own you will likely ditch the store-bought version”. The same goes for pita bread which is wonderfully versatile, giving you options of dipping it in hummus. That is; when you are not making Zucchini flatbread with cheddar or this easy homemade garlic naan bread.

Slicing it open to fill it with roasted vegetables, meats, or other fillings to pack for lunch or eat fresh off the oven. Dare to make your own bread, if I can do it- so can you! Let me guide you on this foolproof beginner-friendly pita bread guide.

Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: How to Make Pita Bread From Scratch

Mix: Make a well in the center of your flour and add salt to the side, then pour in the activated yeast and oil.

Knead: You will then move on to slowly incorporating the flour, trying to finish with the part with the salt. I use the back end of a wooden spoon for this part then I put it to the side and work with my hands as this is not an overly wet dough.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and begin kneading until the dough is smooth about 5 minutes.

First rise: The dough now needs to rise, so transfer it into a lightly oiled clean bowl and cover with cling film. Keep it in a draught-free place. Near the stove, as you cook is a good spot. Otherwise, if it is cold in your house, switch on the oven light and let it rise in the oven.

Portion & second rise: When the dough has doubled in size, portion it into equal weights, roll them into a dough ball, sprinkle some flour over them, cover with cling film and then leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle flour on parchment paper, then roll out each dough ball to about 1/8-inch thickness. Lay it on the parchment paper to rise loosely covered (preferably with cling film) for 15-20 minutes.

Cook: And now they are ready to make, and you have two options to make the pita bread. You can either bake them in the oven for about 2 minutes at 246°C/475°F until they puff up. Though you will not get those beautiful brown patches.

Or you can go the other route and make the pita bread on a cast iron pan or regular wide non-stick pan which is my preference as I love the brown patches on the surface of the bread.

To do this you need to cut out the parchment paper into each pita section, then lift it up carefully holding it on your palm. Then gently place it on the pan (top side down, so the parchment paper should now be on top), and quickly but gently peel the parchment paper without making any holes in the dough.

Let it cook for 10 seconds then flip it over, let the other side cook, and flip it back. So it should take no more than 1 minute to cook each pita.

I suggest you split each pita and then store them in an airtight container to keep them soft.

Pita Bread Burning Questions

Is pita bread healthy? Depends on the ingredients used. A wholegrain pita recipe is healthier than one made with white flour (which is stripped of its nutrients).

Do I need a stand-mixer to make pita bread? Absolutely not, I use my hands for this recipe 🙂

What is the difference between pita bread and naan bread? Pita bread is made with just water, yeast, salt, and a little oil and it is more on the plain side when it comes to taste. It is also hollow allowing for fillings. While Naan bread is richer in flavor, recipes vary in ingredients featuring: yeast, milk, yogurt, eggs, butter, and even lard in other recipes. It is much softer than pita and is not hollow.

What is pita bread eaten with? Oh, there are too many options to list all of them. Here are a few options:

Tender chipotle chicken thighs

Perhaps use it to scoop up some roasted red bell pepper hummus?

Or just fill it up with roasted veg, even salad! The options are endless so have fun with it!!!

Why doesn’t my pita bread puff up? Temperature is one issue, the oven or pan was not hot enough. However, that may not always be the case, sad as it may be – sometimes they just don’t fully puff up. You could have a foolproof recipe like this one (wink wink), but still, get that one or two that don’t rise, but they are just as delicious and can still be sliced through and filled.

The other reason why your pita doesn’t puff up is that there is a hole in your pita. Yeah, sad how something so small can ruin it all. But here is what to do when that happens, quickly find the hole and press a spatula onto it. This will lead to the steam being trapped back in the pita leading it to puff up.

How do I store my pita bread? In an airtight container to keep them nice and soft.

How can I reheat old pita bread? Depends on what you will eat them with. If filling it with chicken or meats, you could either place the pita between a sandwich grill. Or you could sprinkle some water on it, wrap it in foil (before filling), and put it in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 2-3 minutes or until hot enough for you. Then proceed to fill it.

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Print Recipe

Pita bread

(+20 rating, 4 votes)

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Bread – Middle Eastern

By Angela – Serves: 10

Prep Time: 30 minutes plus 1 hour 30 minutes rising time – Cooking Time: 10 minutes – Total Time: 2 hrs 10 minutes

A simple and straightforward guide on how to make pita bread, plus answers to some burning pita bread questions.

Ingredients

• 9g (1/2 tablespoon) Active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 265ml (1 cup plus 4 tablespoons) Water
• 442g (3 cups) bread flour
• 3/4 tablespoon salt
• 52ml (4 tablespoons) vegetable oil

Instructions

1

PREPARE THE DOUGH***

2

Stir the sugar and yeast into the warm water and leave to activate, the water should be at a temperature of no more than 35°C/95°F

3

Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the salt to one side of the 'well', and pour in the oil and activated yeast into the middle. Slowly incorporate then tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft.

4

Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a draught-free place until doubled in size.

5

Portion & second rise: When the dough has doubled in size, portion it into equal weights, roll them into a dough ball, sprinkle some flour over them, cover with cling film and then leave to rest for 5 minutes.

6

Sprinkle flour on parchment paper, then roll out each dough ball to about 1/8-inch thickness. Lay it on the parchment paper to rise loosely covered (preferably with cling film) for 15-20 minutes.

7

COOK***

8

ON THE STOVE***To do this you need to cut out the parchment paper into each pita section, then lift it up carefully holding it on your palm. Then gently place it on the pan (top side down, so the parchment paper should now be on top), and quickly but gently peel the parchment paper without making any holes in the dough.

9

Let it cook for 10 seconds then flip it over, let the other side cook, and flip it back. So it should take no more than 1 minute to cook each pita.

10

IN THE OVEN***Preheat the oven to 246°C/475°F, if you do not have a baking stone, place the rolled-out pita on a parchment paper and bake until it puffs up.

11

Split each pita bread in preparation for filling, then store them in an airtight container or bag to keep them soft.