Pita Bread

Have you made pita bread? You should. It is wonderfully easy. Plus, it can be filled with a whole array of things to make a meal (falafel, veggies & rice, meat, bananas & peanut butter, fried eggs & quinoa, etc…). Or, simply have it on the side to enjoy! Toasted and smeared with butter — incredible.

makes 8-10 pita breads

Ingredients:

16oz (roughly 3 3/4 cup) flour (may substitute up to half with whole wheat flour)
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbs (1oz) olive oil
10.5oz (1 1/4 cup) warm water

Directions:

Measure all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Mix together briefly until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a clean surface.
Knead for 5-7min until a smooth dough forms. (You could easily do this in a mixer — my default is hand kneading but that doesn’t make it the only or best way.)
Drizzle some oil into bowl, then place dough top down into the bowl to coat with oil, then turn right side up and cover. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hr. (OR place in fridge overnight which greatly enhances the flavor and can be more convenient.)
Once dough is risen, turn out onto a clean surface. (If you let yours rise overnight in the fridge, give it about 30min to take the chill off before this step.)
Divide dough into 8-10 pieces, depending on what size pita you want. (You may weigh each piece to be precise, but I never bother. I like the more freeform, carefree look.)
Shape each piece into a ball. (I like to hold the dough piece in my left palm and use my right hand to cup the piece and twist starting at the top near my left index finger’s knuckle and curling down and under to the end of my left palm to create nice surface tension.)
Once shaped, sprinkle the balls with flour and let rest for 20-30min. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 500.
Once pieces have rested, use a rolling pin to flatten each piece into a rough 7in circle. Shape is not important and it is okay if they shrink back. The goal is to get them about 1/8-1/4in thick. (You shouldn’t need that much flour. I usually keep a small bowl or container of flour and dip each piece, flipping once to get both top and bottom floured. But use more if they are sticking far too much.)
Once rolled out, let the pieces rest for about 10 min. (I find 10min is already up by the time I finish rolling all the pieces, so don’t worry too much about being exact. A little longer or a little less of a rest won’t hurt.)
When oven is preheated, place dough circles onto a single pan. You don’t want them to touch and will likely have to do this in batches. 3 usually fit on one large pan for me. (I also like to put the circles counter side up on the pan as that side is stickier and can cling to the pan. It is a little difference, but helps make sure every pita pops beautifully.)
Bake for about 3-4 minutes until the pitas puff up. (The first round of pitas always tend to cling to the pan and not puff up as much. Preheating the pan for 2-3 minutes before starting to bake might fix this.) Flip pitas and cook for another 2-3 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool (and beware of hot steam that can escape!). Continue baking remaining pitas. (These times keep the pita soft. If you like crisper pitas, cook longer on both sides and aim for a deeper brown.)
Serve warm or keep on a plate and cover with a clean dish towel until ready to eat. Enjoy!

Notes:

If you don’t wait for the pitas to puff up the first baking increment, they will not separate nicely and can be frustrating to fill. However, if you like flat breads like naan and don’t intend to stuff, you can flip them sooner and brush them with butter after baking for a soft, chewy, delicious bread.
The original recipe calls for the oven to be 550. My oven inevitably smokes and causes the fire alarm to go off. 500 works just as well, the pitas simply need a little longer.
Pitas freeze great! They also keep well for at least a couple days wrapped tightly in tin foil.

Adapted from Joe Pastry.

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