Once you taste this, you’ll never want to buy pita bread again! I’m the first to admit that bread-baking is something of a luxury in today’s hectic world, although I can tell you that kneading bread by hand can be remarkably therapeutic. But unless you have a bread machine, you pretty much have to be home most of the day. Bread machines aren’t cheap, and they’re limited to loaves of a certain size and shape. So no pita, unless you’re home for at least a few hours. But if you can find the time (or heck, make the time), you need to make your own pita bread at least once. It’s perfect with Homemade Hummus!

I always thought I knew what pita tasted like, and I’ve always liked it. Little did I know, I was settling for acceptable when I could have been eating divine. The difference is amazing! I also always figured making pita would be complicated and difficult. Nope. It’s actually pretty easy, especially if you have any experience at all with bread dough. Even if you don’t, it’s a pretty forgiving recipe. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can use a cast iron skillet on the stovetop instead. You’ll just have to cook them one at a time. 

You’ll find a printer-friendly version of this recipe, which I’ve adapted from adapted from Serious Eats, at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (105 – 110 ℉)

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2¼ tsp instant yeast

1 tsp kosher salt

½ cup white whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:

1.) In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar, oil, yeast, salt, and whole wheat flour, using the paddle attachment.

2.) Add the all-purpose flour, mixing just until the dough comes together. It will be shaggy, not smooth or pretty.

3.) Switch to the dough hook. Knead at low speed (about 2 or so) for 8 – 10 minutes, until dough is elastic and smooth. If it’s really too sticky, you can add a tiny bit more flour. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured table, and form it into a smooth ball. Pinch the bottom where you’ve drawn it together, then turn it upright.

4.) Oil a large mixing bowl. Place the dough ball in the bowl upside down, rolling it a bit to get a light coat of oil on the top of the dough ball. Turn it right side up, and cover the bowl. Place the bowl in a warm spot to rise for an hour. If your kitchen is warm, the counter will do. If not, a cold oven with the light on works well.

5.) While the dough is rising, place a pizza stone on the top rack of the oven. Preheat to 500℉. Line a sheet pan or platter with a clean towel (I used two layers of paper towel.) Leave it near the oven for later. When the dough has doubled in bulk, gently punch it down. If you want to make the dough ahead, here is where you can pop the dough into the refrigerator until you’re ready to finish the pitas. Note that the next steps may take a little longer since the dough will have to come to room temperature.

6.) Move the punched-down dough to the lightly floured table. Cut the dough into six equal pieces, rolling each into a ball. Cover with damp towels, and let rest for ten minutes.

7.) Gently roll each dough ball into a flat circle, aiming for 7” wide and ¼” thick. Transfer the circles to a lightly floured, parchment-lined sheet pan. Cover the dough again with damp towels, and let rise until they become slightly puffy, about 20 minutes.

8.) Bring the pan over to the oven area. Working in batches, place the dough circles upside down on the hot stone, and immediately shut the oven door.

9.) Bake about 3 minutes, until the pitas are puffy and the edges just slightly browning. Be careful not to overcook. Remove the finished pitas to the towel-lined sheet pan or platter from step 5, and cover with a spare towel.

10.) Letting the stone reheat a moment between batches, repeat with the remaining dough circles until all are done.