Homemade Pita Bread Recipe
This easy homemade pita bread recipe puts the store bought stuff to shame. Easy to make, and incredibly warming on a cold winter day, this recipe should be a staple in your kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 envelope dry, fast-action yeast
- ⅔ cup lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon honey (can substitute ½ tablespoon of sugar)
- 3 ⅓ cup white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup lukewarm milk
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in 3 tablespoons of lukewarm water. Stir in the honey.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour and sea salt. Add the yeast mixture, then slowly pour in the remaining warm water the olive oil, and the warm milk. Mix until combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. This can be done by hand, but is much easier with a stand mixer, using the hook attachment.
- Place the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel and allow to rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Tip: I like to let my bread dough rise placed in the oven, with just the oven light on. It keeps it out of the way and I find the temperature to be just right for bread doughs – especially on these colder winter days!)
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls and place them on a baking sheet. Cover the balls with a towel and allow them to sit for 10 more minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a small circle and place it on a baking pan. (You really can’t go wrong here in terms of size – feel free to make smaller or larger balls as you see fit, just watch them in the oven to make sure they’re not burning.)
- Brush each disc with a small amount of water and top with a very light dusting of flour.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until they are a beautiful golden color.
- Serve warm, with small mezze plates, as a side for your main dish, or all on their own!
Notes
- Watch carefully if cooking on a hot baking stone. Some recipes call for placing the discs of pita dough directly onto a hot pan or baking stone. If you do this, pay attention to your baking times, as you’ll likely need to lower them significantly.
- Don't let the pita bread burn! These don't take long to bake, and depending on many factors, like how large you rolled your pita balls or the temperament of your oven, they may take more or less time. Check them at about 5 minutes and rotate the pan if they are starting to brown too much on one side.
- Give them room to spread. Be sure to create room enough for all of them to spread, even if you have to divide the batch into two and cook them separately.
- You don't have to use a stand mixer. While this makes the process easier, it's totally doable to knead the pita dough by hand.
- Make the dough ahead of time! You can store this dough in the refrigerator for up to one week and just bake what you need when you need it. Piping hot fresh pita bread on demand = bliss.
- Freeze it! Baked pita bread freezes wonderfully and is easy to pull out for a quick meal. Just let it cool completely and store it in zip-lock bags, making sure to squeeze out as much air as possible. Store for 3 months as needed.
- To reheat frozen pita bread, wrap the bread in aluminum foil and place it in the oven (at about 350 degrees) for about 5 minutes. Check on the bread to see if it has warmed. If not, leave in for another 3-5 minutes. (You can also warm pita bread in a toaster oven!)
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!