If you’ve ever enjoyed a gyro or dined at a Mediterranean restaurant, you’re likely familiar with pita bread. This warm, puffy flatbread tastes fantastic with many of our favorite Mediterranean recipes. Unfortunately, the store-bought versions often fall a little flat. So we were determined to learn how to make pita bread at home, and we discovered that the process is surprisingly easy. The recipe calls for only four ingredients, including water! With a little practice, you can make pitas that puff up with gorgeous pockets.
Once you have the pita bread recipe down pat, the next question is what to eat with pita bread. Pita is an excellent dipper for vegetable dips and saucy soups, and a more healthy option compared to fried potato chips or regular sandwich bread. So many wonderful recipes with pita bread are available—we’ll offer a few suggestions to get you started.
How to Make Pita Bread Puff Up
It feels amazing to peer into the oven and spy a puffed pita bread. You know this pita will have a perfect pocket in the center! But not every pita puffs up, and you can do a few things to encourage these pockets.
Here’s how to make pita bread with perfect pockets: The water in the dough needs a high temperature to turn into steam. That steam forces the bread to expand and puff up. A 500°F oven will usually do the trick, but only if the pita is thin enough. Before placing the dough in the oven, roll the dough thinly so the heat can hit the center of the pita quickly and force the rise. Be careful not to tear the dough while rolling it. That can compromise its ability to fully expand.
If your pita bread is not puffing up, make sure your oven is fully preheated. You can also use an oven thermometer to ensure that the oven settings are accurate. And remember: If the pita doesn’t puff up, it’s not the end of the world. Pita bread without a pocket still tastes excellent, and you can use the flatbread for dips that pair well with pita chips.
Ingredients for Pita Bread
- All-purpose flour: You don’t need fancy flour to make pita bread. All-purpose flour is the perfect choice to create light, airy pitas with gorgeous pockets. You can substitute up to 50% whole wheat flour to make the pitas heartier and give them a nutty flavor. However, the pitas will become denser as you add more whole wheat flour.
- Active dry yeast: You’ll want to activate the yeast in warm water. Before getting started, check the expiration date on the yeast package. Pita bread made with expired yeast won’t rise and puff up properly.
- Warm water: Use a thermometer to check that the water is between 110° and 115°. These temperatures are hot enough to activate the yeast, but not hot enough to kill it.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor to pita bread, and it also plays an important role in bread recipes. It strengthens the dough’s gluten structure, which makes the dough easier to roll out without tearing. Salt also slows down the fermentation process so the pita bread doesn’t rise too quickly.
Directions
Step 1: Form the dough
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Stir in the salt and enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, six to eight minutes. Do not let the dough rise.
Step 2: Knead and roll out pieces of dough
Divide the dough into six pieces. Working with one piece at a time, knead the dough for one minute.
Then, roll each piece into a 5-inch circle.
Cover the dough, and let the circles rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 500°.
Editor’s Tip: Keep the dough pieces covered with a clean kitchen towel while you work. The dough can dry out when it’s exposed to air, which will make it harder to work with.
Step 3: Bake
Place the dough circles on greased baking sheets. Bake until puffed and lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pita bread to a wire rack to cool.
What to Eat with Pita Bread
- Fill pita with meat or vegetables: Pita bread is great for falafel, shawarma or ground beef gyros, but you can fill these pockets with any type of meat or vegetables. Try making pita sandwiches with deli meat, tandoori spiced chicken, peppered pork, Mediterranean-spiced vegetables, Halloumi or black beans.
- Make pita salad sandwiches: Pita pockets are fabulous for turning classic salads like Greek salad, Waldorf salad, or roasted sweet potato and chickpea salad into sandwiches.
- Serve pita with skewers and kabobs: Pita is delicious with skewered dishes like chicken souvlaki or other creative kabob recipes.
- Use pita to sop up saucy dishes: Serve pita bread with any dish where you want to sop up every last saucy bite. Try pita with Greek lentil soup, shakshuka or saucy meatball recipes.
- Pair pita with dips: Soft pita wedges or crispy pita chips go well with yogurt dips like tzatziki, hummus or whipped feta. You can even serve pita with dessert dips like chocolate hummus.
- Enjoy pita as a snack: Pita bread tastes great as a snack with a little peanut butter and sliced fruit, such as apples or bananas. Or slather it with Greek yogurt, a drizzle of fine olive oil and a sprinkle of za’atar.
- Get creative with pita: Think outside the box and use your pita bread in creative ways. Layer pita bread with feta cheese and your favorite toppings to make pita pizza, or use pita chips to make hummus nachos.
Can you make pita bread ahead of time?
To prepare pita bread ahead of time, form the dough, divide it and roll each piece into a 5-inch circle. Let the circles rise as directed. Then, transfer the dough to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week. The dough will continue to rise in the refrigerator, so allow room in the container for the dough to expand.
How to Store Pita Bread
After baking, keep your pitas from drying out by wrapping them in a clean kitchen towel. For longer storage, transfer pita bread to an airtight container. Pita bread will last on the counter for three days or in the freezer for up to three months. Thawing the frozen pita is not necessary. Simply toss it in the oven or toaster oven until heated through.
Pita Bread Tips
How do you make pita chips?
To make pita chips, cut the cooked pita bread into wedges. Separate each wedge into two pieces. Brush both sides with olive oil, and bake the wedges in a 400° oven. Turn the chips about halfway through to promote even heating. They should crisp up nicely in 8 to 10 minutes.
What is the difference between naan and pita bread?
Naan and pita bread are both leavened flatbreads made with yeast, but they are quite distinct in many ways. Naan is an oval-shaped Indian bread that is traditionally cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor. The naan-maker sticks the dough to the side of the oven, where it bubbles up and achieves a lightly charred exterior. Naan bread is made with a dairy-based ingredient like yogurt, milk or buttermilk, which gives it a buttery flavor and a soft, chewy texture.
Pita, on the other hand, is a round flatbread of Mediterranean origin. It’s also made in a hot oven, but pita traditionally contains only four ingredients: flour, yeast, salt and water. The dough releases steam as it bakes, causing the bread to puff up and form a pocket. Pita bread is fluffy and light like naan, but it is drier and denser and has a crispier exterior.
Is pita bread healthy?
Pita bread can be part of a healthful snack or meal, but pita is not necessarily “healthy” on its own. When serving hummus or other spreads, pita bread could be considered a more healthy option than fried potato chips. Or, when making a sandwich, pita bread may have fewer carbohydrates than a standard sandwich roll. However, when compared to lettuce wraps or carrot sticks, pita bread takes a backseat. Vegetables will usually be the least caloric and most vitamin-rich choice.
