Pita Bread: A Very Versatile Flatbread
I started making pita bread about a month ago, and pitas have quickly become one of my family’s favorite foods. We used to think pitas were only used to make pita pocket sandwiches, but we’ve since discovered that the pita is so much more versatile than that. Although we do use pitas for their “normal” uses as pockets for sandwiches, we also use them like regular bread for sandwiches (i.e. one pita on the top and and one on the bottom with the filling in between), topped with peanut butter or homemade hummus, toasted and dipped in honey, or even as a pizza crust. Of course I can’t forget to mention that we also love to eat them plain—straight from the oven!
This pita recipe from The Fresh Loaf is the first one I ever tried. I double the recipe when I make it since we are a family of five; one recipe makes only 6-8 pitas, so a double recipe fits our family much better, making between 12 and 16 depending on how big I make the pitas. Below I’ve included my family’s version of the doubled recipe, but you can get the original recipe here with a lot of extra “tips” about making the pitas. The pared down directions below are what keep in my recipe binder so they’re easy to reference.
I need to add that while some of my pitas “puff up” during baking, as in the pictures on The Fresh Loaf site, most of mine don’t; I haven’t figured out the trick for the “puffing” yet. But this hasn’t really been a problem for us since we usually eat the pitas as flatbread instead of as pocket bread. When we do want to use the pitas as pocket bread, it takes just a couple seconds to cut the pocket into the bread with a sharp knife. Using a knife also makes a stronger pocket (thicker on each side) than using a pita that “puffed” during baking. I’ve found the “puffed” pitas usually have pockets that are very thin on one side and very thick on the other.
So, having said all that, here’s the recipe I use for our pitas.
Pita Bread
Makes 12-16 pitas
Ingredients
- 4 tsp yeast (use instant yeast if you add the yeast directly to the flour; use active dry yeast if you dissolve the yeast in the water before adding it to the dough. The directions below are for use with instant yeast.)
- 2 1/2 c. warm water
- 3 c. whole wheat flour (I add extra whole wheat flour if the dough is too wet after I first mix it. I add about a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is no longer super-sticky.)
- 3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 T salt (I use Kosher salt)
- 2 T honey
- 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
- Combine the flours, salt, and yeast and mix thoroughly.
- Add honey, water, and olive oil. Add more water if necessary, although I’ve never needed to.
- Knead dough by hand for 10 minutes. (I knead for 7 minutes in my mixer.)
- Place dough in oiled bowl and flip to coat both sides. Cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled.
- Punch down dough and divide into 12-16 pieces. I use my “chop and scoop” to divide the dough.
- Roll each piece into a ball, then set the balls a couple inches apart on a cookie sheet or large cutting board, and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Roll out each ball into a circle (or a square if you’re so inclined) on a lightly floured surface. A thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch is the norm, but it’s really up to your personal preference.
- Place the dough on a preheated pizza stone or cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven. Bake each pita for about 5-7 minutes.
This recipe can be finished, from mixing to baking, in about 2 1/2 hours. It’s a good idea to make sure you have a large area to let the dough rest and for rolling out the pitas. I like to use the two large cutting boards I keep over my stove, and as you can see in the picture, it can get kind of messy!
Greek-style Pita Pizzas
One of our favorite ways to use pitas is as pizza crust. Greek-style (sauce-less) is our favorite, but you could just as easily make the pizzas with tomato sauce. Here’s how we make ours:
- Brush olive oil over the baked pita. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic salt.
- Top with Italian blend cheese. Sprinkle with chopped veggies, such as onions, scallions, olives, peppers, etc. Sprinkle Paremsan cheese over the top.
- Bake in 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly brown on the edges.
- Top the baked pizza with a little crushed red pepper and serve.
Do you have any other ways your family likes to use pitas? If so, please leave a comment and let us know. We’d love to try out your ideas!
For more Kitchen Tips, visit Tammy’s Recipes.
AUTHOR | Joy Miller
Joy, one of the original 3 Moms at Happy to be at Home, is the wife of a music minister and spends her days homeschooling her three children (ages 6, 9, and 11), teaching piano lessons from her home, and trying to improve her cooking skills. You can read more about Joy on her personal blog, Five J's.
These look yummy–I can’t wait to try making them! (We will probably have to do a triple batch, though!)
Thanks for sharing,
Cindy
Mmmm I can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
OOoh I’ve been looking for a pita recipe to try. Thanks! I hope I don’t ruin them.
I love making pitas. We never have enough leftover to use for anything else. But the idea of topping them is great. Especially for the ones that don’t form a pocket.
Those look delicious. I’m going to have to try this out, especially the pizzas. They look perfect for the kids’ lunch boxes!
We love to make pitas. When I first tried them I was so surprised at how easy the whole process is. It’s fun for the kids to watch them balloon up in the oven. They are best warm out of the oven! I tried them on the grill one time - and it worked. Easier for the kids to see them inflate.
These sound wonderful! I’m definitely going to try these.
Hello Tammy,
I just wanted to tell you that I made this recipe in my bread machine with a couple of adjustments. I did halve the recipe. I thought the water was too much and cut it back to a cup and maybe a tablespoon more than that. Yeast I used 2 1/4 teaspoons (instant). I used the dough cycle on my bread machine. When it finished the cycle, I punched it down by stopping the machine, restarting it, and running it for one minute. I removed the dough and let it rest for five minutes. After I rolled them out, I let them rest for 30 minutes. I didn’t have any problem with them puffing up. 400 degrees was just right, but I had to go a bit longer than 7 minutes.
Thanks for this recipe. It was the first time making pita bread. I’m looking forward to doing this easy recipe again!
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I made these just today. I should have looked through the whole recipe as I didn’t realize I needed to preheat my stone. Ugh! Oh, well! I just cooked them a little longer. I did add a little more flour to the dough than called for. We were able to open them up and ds made an scrambled egg pita for lunch, and I had a tuna salad pita. My daughter put her Cowboy Beef Dip on top of the whole pita.
Thanks for sharing!
I made some that didn’t open up yesterday. Here’s what I did with them:
cut them in half
Put on cooked, taco-seasoned ground turkey
shredded medium (versus mild or sharp) cheddar
sliced tomatoes
microwaved for 25 seconds for a melt
The family added lettuce to theirs.
I love this. I’m just so tired of tortilla shells that taste like cardboard. It’s nice to have a soft, thicker bread. BTW, my pita bread had 1/2 tsp each of paprika and chili powder I threw into my flour.
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