Pita Bread

Who doesn’t love fresh pita bread? Compared to store-bough, the taste and texture is incomparable.

These pitas are designed to be large, but won’t create pockets. Instead, you’ll cook them over a hot non-stick pan on the stove, making the process simpler.

Tips and Tricks

Can I use a stand mixer?

Yes! A stand mixer is perfectly fine to use to mix your ingredients and for the initial kneading. You’ll use the dough hook for that.

That said, you’ll still want to do a little hand kneading yourself - maybe only 1 minute or so - before setting the dough up for the first rise.

Will this create pockets?

Likely not. I created this recipe with larger pitas in mind. Since you’re cooking these on the stove instead of the oven, they’ll brown, but not puff up.

If you’re desperate for pockets, this dough might still work, but in the oven. Place a baking stone or baking sheet in the rack in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit . You’ll bake each pita for a couple of minutes on each side (or until it puffs up). It’s less convenient, but could provide the desired pockets.

How do I store these?

The best way to keep pitas fresh and soft before eating is to immediately cover them with a clean dish towel. They’ll keep fresh for a few hours this way.

After that point, you’ll want to place them in a sealed bag, where they should last another couple of days.

Ingredients:

(Makes 8 pitas)

  • 3 ½ cups bread or all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

  • 2 ½ tsp active dry yeast

  • 2 tsp kosher salt

  • 1 1/3 cups warm water

  • 2 ½ tsp pure cane sugar

  • ¼ cup olive oil

Directions:

Start by mixing your flour, active dry yeast, and salt together in a large bowl. (You can use a stand mixer for this).

In a separate small bowl, add the warm water, the sugar, and the olive oil. Stir vigorously until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Add this to the flour mixture (or if using the stand mixer, add while the stand mixer is stirring on low). Using a wooden spoon, mix together all the ingredients until a cohesive dough forms.

Place the dough on a floured board and knead for another five minutes, or until the dough is smooth and just slightly sticky. Place in an olive-oil greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel, and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

After the first rise, punch down the dough, and empty onto a board. Divide the dough into 8 equally-sized pieces and roll each piece in your hands to form a solid ball (almost tennis-ball sized). Place the plastic wrap or damp tea towel over the balls while you heat your pan.

Heat a large non-stick pan on the stove over medium heat. Hover your hand over the top of the pan to be sure it’s hot enough. You should feel the heat on the bottom of your palm.

Once it’s hot enough, take one of the pita balls, and roll out with a pie roll into a round 6 - 8” circle (however big you can make it without making the dough too thin). Place the dough in the pan and let cook until you see bubbles form (about 2 minutes). Then flip over to the other side to cook for another minute. You should see brown spots on each side of the bread.

When cooked, immediately take off the heat and wrap in a fresh dish towel. Repeat the process with the remaining pita balls until each of them is cooked.