Homemade Pita Bread
Pita Bread is easy to make at home with minimal kneading and a short rise time. They taste soft, spongy, and way better than the store-bought version. You can make them on the stovetop or in the oven.
Servings: 16 pitas
Calories: 137kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 package instant yeast
- ¼ cup olive oil plus extra for brushing on
- 3½ cups flour (490 grams)
- 1½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Making the Dough
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the warm water, sugar and yeast, and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the olive oil, flour, and salt. Using a spoon, combine until roughly the shape of a ball.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour. Usually, I’ll leave the bowl on the kitchen counter but if it’s really cold out and therefore a bit cold in the house, I’ll put it on the back of the oven and turn the oven on so that the area is warm, which helps the dough rise.
- Punch the dough down and divide into 16 balls. Place on the counter and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise for another 15 minutes.
On the Stovetop in a Dutch Oven, Cast Iron Pan, or Griddle
- Bring a Dutch oven, cast iron pan, or griddle to medium to medium-low heat. On my stove, this means that I set the dial to a “#4” out of “#10” for the burner. This may vary on your stove.
- Roll out one of the balls of dough to ⅛ inch thickness. It should be fairly thin. It will puff up while baking.
- Brush one side very lightly with olive oil. Place oil side down in the Dutch Oven or on a griddle. Let cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute until lightly browned. Flip and let cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute on the other side
- On my stove I cook them for 45 seconds on each side. I set a timer so I know when to flip them and take them off. Remove and repeat with the remaining balls of dough. If you can fit more than one in the Dutch oven or on a griddle at once, add as many as can fit. Do not roll out all the balls of dough ahead of time, only roll out what can fit in the Dutch oven/griddle at one time. Otherwise, it will start to rise before you get a chance to bake it.
In the Oven on a Pizza Stone
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500° F.
- Roll out 2 or 3 balls of dough at a time to ⅛ inch thickness. Thinner is better since they rise while baking.
- Place the rolled-out rounds of dough on the pizza stone and bake for 2-3 minutes.
- Use a pizza peel with a tiny bit of flour on it to prevent sticking. Using tongs, slide the dough off the pizza peel onto the pizza stone in the oven. Work in batches only rolling out two to three balls of dough at a time and placing them immediately in the oven. You do not need to flip the dough or put olive oil on them, just bake them on one side only for 3 minutes.
Notes
- Water: Use warm water to dissolve the sugar and help activate the yeast. Be sure the water is not hot or it will kill the yeast.
- Yeast: I recommend using Rapid Rise, Fast Acting, Instant Yeast. It helps with a fast rise.
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil if cooking on the stovetop. It adds fat and flavor.
- Flour: It helps to use bread flour. If you don't have bread flour you can use all-purpose flour.
Nutrition
Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 220mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
