Pita Bread

"A Food and Wine staff favorite courtesy of Chris Hanna. It's really not that difficult to make your own pita bread (they may not always have a pocket in the middle) and they have better flavor and texture than store-bought. Give these a whirl! *See note in directions if you would like to make these in advance and store them in your freezer*"
 
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photo by Mindelicious photo by Mindelicious
photo by Mindelicious
photo by Diana Adcock photo by Diana Adcock
Ready In:
2hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
6
Yields:
16 6 inch pitas
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ingredients

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directions

  • Set a pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.
  • In a bowl, combine the warm water and yeast. Let it stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. *If you have never worked with active dry yeast before, please read up on how this works.*.
  • In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt together. While the machine is on, pour in the yeast mixture through the processor feed/hole. Then pour in the warm milk. Process the dough until it forms a ball.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times. Form the dough into a ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough ball to the bowl. Turn the dough ball to coat all sides with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Punch down the dough and cut it in half. then cut each half into 8 pieces and roll them into balls. Then flatten them into 6 inch rounds. Arrange the rounds on the work surface, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy - about 25 minutes.
  • Using a lightly floured pizza peel (or floured spatula) slide 4 of the rounds onto the hot pizza stone and bake for about 5 minutes, or until the pitas puff up. Repeat with the remaining 4 rounds.
  • Serve hot or wrap in foil to keep warm.
  • *Note: the flattened, unbaked pita rounds can be frozen for up to 1 month. Let them thaw completely, then let them rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes before baking.

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Reviews

  1. Uhmm...WOW!! I reallly can not believe I made this!! I feel unstoppable!! LOL no really this was so super easy although I could probably keep practicing the rolling out part but with very little experience these turned out just fine. The taste & texture were great and I even used almond milk to make these vegan. This was my first ever attempt at pitas and I will be using this recipe again. I would say about half of them puffed up but the ones that didn't I just slipped a butter knife in while they were still warm and a couple seconds later instant pita!! I did leave a couple uncut so we could use them as regular flatbread for rolling things up in. Thanks so much LIG!! Made for the lovely VIP in Veg*n Swap 32!!
     
  2. Super easy recipe with great results - I don't think I'll be buying these at the store anymore! I used these on a big appetizer plate and they were perfect for the falafel and the tzatziki! I overcooked a few of them (forgot them in oven), and even the crunchy ones were good! Made for CQ4, Team Happy Campers.
     
  3. These were fun to make and the recipe made a large batch! I made these as directed, but next time will play with replacing a portion of the bread flour with wheat flour. About 2/3's puffed up. So far I've used them for three lunches~ stuffed with Turkish meatballs, stuffed with an Austrian tuna salad, and a flatbread topped with Turkish Green Olive Salad. All were delicious and the pita a star of the meal! Made for Culinary Quest #4.
     
  4. These are so good! Tender bite and they held up GREAT with the souvlaki filling I stuffed them with! Made for Culinary Quest 2017
     
    • Review photo by Diana Adcock
  5. I made this to go with an Ethiopian potato Salad that I made. Usually yeast HATES me with a passion so setting the yeast up in warm water helped me out a lot. This was very easy to make. I only made half of them the rest went into the freezer. They baked REALLY super fast, the next batch my husband wants to try cooking on the grill when he fires it up the next time. These had a better texture and taste than the ones that you buy in the store. I will definitely be making these again. I think that they will turn out better the second time around, because again yeast is not my friend so I think I can do even better in the future!
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Hello! I have a wonderful husband and two fantastic kids. I love to read, have fun with family and friends, stay active with: running; soccer; golf; biking; hiking; and gardening. I love to travel. I'm looking forward to more international travel someday. Cooking has become a passion for me. I love to read cookbooks, watch the Food Network, and try new recipes. I have way too many cookbooks! A few of my favorites are: Barefoot Contessa (any - but especially 'Family Style'),Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals 2, Roasting by Barbara Kafka, Beyond Parsley & The Black Dog Summer on the Vineyard Cookbook. I try to carefully choose recipes that I think my family will enjoy, which is why most of my ratings are 3-5 stars. Happy cooking!
 
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