Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (2024)

Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (1)

By Tiffany Published Last Updated July 9, 2020 23 Comments

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Homemade pita bread recipe made with 6 simple ingredients, no water to heat, one rise, & no shaping technique required. Great for Greek food, like couscous, Marinated Greek-Style Chicken, or sandwiches!

Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (2)

Greek flavors are a favorite in the Crumbs house. There isn’t a meal plan I make for my family without at least one night dedicated to the fresh Mediterranean tang. If it were up to my husband, he’d combine this pita bread recipe with couscous every night of the week for dinner.

I’m not going to lie – I like couscous too. In fact, I love to create a complete Mediterranean meal night for my family with tzatziki sauce, hummus, marinated chicken with greek dressing, and steamed veggies.

The only thing left is the pita bread! Fresh out of the oven, homemade pita bread beats store-bought pita from the grocery store any day!

Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (3)

Homemade Pita Bread

This recipe is excellent for beginner bread-makers. Even those who are directionally-challenged will find this recipe to be a cinch! It’s also great because it has:

  • Six simple ingredients.
  • There is no water to heat.
  • There’s only one rise.
  • No shaping technique required (oval pitas taste just as good as round ones).
  • A super quick bake and you’re done!
Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (4)

What do you eat pita bread with?

Besides enjoying this bread recipe on Mediterranean night, you can serve peanut butter banana roll-ups for lunch instead of sandwiches, or wrap up your favorite chicken salad for a delicious variation on sandwich night.

What type of flour can I use to make homemade pita bread?

There are two variations of the recipe. The first uses all white flour and the second gives adaptations for whole wheat Einkorn flour. Einkorn flour does have more nutrition, but either way, homemade bread is always better than store-bought bread.

Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (5)

How long does it take to make homemade pita bread?

The entire recipe making process takes 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Dinner takes a little bit more time to make, but most of that time is in the rise (1 – 1/2 hours) so you’re definitely not stuck in the kitchen the whole time.

If you start this at 4 pm and then come back at 5 pm to start everything else, you’ll be baking pita’s by 5:30 pm and eating by 6. Of course, if you know you won’t have time during the week, pita bread can be made a few days ahead of time. Make a batch Sunday afternoon and plan your Greek night during the first half of the week.

You can reduce even more time spent in the kitchen by skipping making bread this week and making a double batch of pitas instead.

Ingredients for Homemade Pita Bread

  • Flour (all-purpose white or wheat flour)
  • Honey
  • Salt
  • Yeast
  • Butter
  • Water

That’s it!!! You cannot get any simpler than that!

Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (6)

How to cook homemade pita bread

  1. In either a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine all ingredients and knead.
  2. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise.
  3. Punch the dough down and divide into 8 pieces.
  4. Roll each ball into a circle.
  5. Bake for about 3 minutes.

What is the difference between pita bread and naan?

Pita bread is a flatbread that was originally eaten in middle eastern and then Mediterranean cultures. Naan bread is a flatbread originally eaten in India. Pita bread uses simpler ingredients, whereas naan may contain a number of spices, garlic, ghee, and yogurt ingredients. Both are less than an inch thick.

More Easy Bread Recipes

  • No-Knead Artisan Bread
  • Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
  • No-Knead Einkorn Sourdough Bread
  • Man Bread

Homemade Pita Bread

★★★★4 from 1 review

Homemade pita bread recipe made with 6 simple ingredients, no water to heat, one rise, & no shaping technique required. Great for Greek food or sandwiches!

  • Author: Tiffany
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 2 hours, 5 mins
  • Yield: Yields 8 pita breads 1x
  • Category: Breads
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean

Ingredients

Scale

  • 3 cups flour (any)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp sugar (or honey)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp yeast
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 1/4 cups water, room temperature

Instructions

  1. In either a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine all ingredients and knead on low-medium until the dough is smooth, soft, and elastic – approximately 10 minutes. Add flour or water as needed for the dough to be tacky but not sticky.
  2. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat and cover with a towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 – 1/2 hours.
  3. Punch the dough down and divide it into 8 pieces, rolling each piece into a ball. Cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes while preheating the oven to 450°F.
  4. Roll each ball into a circle approximately 8″ in diameter and 1/8″ thick and place the round onto either a baking stone or an inverted baking sheet. Mist the stone or baking sheet with water (I get my hand wet and flick the water on there) and wait 30 seconds. Place as many rounds as you can on the stone or baking sheet and bake for about 3 minutes for the dough to puff into a balloon (which may or may not happen, but it really neat to see if it does!). Wait 30 seconds and remove each bread to cool on a rack.

Notes

Variations for this Pita Bread Recipe:

  • White Whole Wheat Option:
    Use white whole wheat flour in place of all the bread flour and replace 1/4 cup water with 1/4 room temperature milk.
  • Whole Wheat Option:
    Replace 2 cups of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. You may replace all of the bread flour with whole wheat flour and substitute 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup milk, but the pitas may not inflate or turn out as fluffy.

Keywords: pita bread

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Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: An Easy Homemade Treat (2024)

FAQs

How to make pita puff up? ›

A very hot oven rapidly creates the steam that puffs up the pita. Avoiding tears on the surface of each dough disk prevents the pitas from bursting and venting the steam in the oven. Flipping the pita over when placing it on the stone yields an even thickness of the pita walls.

What are 3 facts about pita bread? ›

It is good source of fiber and protein, with minimal fat. It has barely any sugar and has calcium. One pita normally has less calories than two slices of bread.

What makes the pocket in pita bread? ›

The pocket in a pita is made by steam, which puffs up the dough during the baking process. When the bread cools, it becomes flat again but a pocket is left in the middle of the bread. The pockets in pita bread make them perfect for making sandwiches, wraps, and other types of recipes you can hold in your hand.

How long does homemade pita bread last? ›

The baked pita will stay fresh for about 3 days stored in an airtight container or bag. Reheat before serving. You can also freeze the pita for up to three months.

Why are my pitas not puffing up? ›

A host of factors can make perfectly puffed pitas difficult to pull off. If the round of dough is too thick, the dough is too dry or the oven temperature is too low, pita breads will struggle to puff.

How do you keep pita bread from falling apart? ›

If you cut your pita in half and then gently tease open the pocket, fresh, properly-made pita will not fall apart.

Is pita good or bad for you? ›

Pita bread is lower in calories than other types of bread and is often made with a combination of regular and whole wheat flour, making it a good source of whole grains and rich in dietary fiber.

Are pitas healthier than bread? ›

Pita bread isn't necessarily healthier than regular bread. What matters more is the ingredients and portion sizes that you choose. Some types of thin pita pockets have fewer carbohydrates per serving than bread but it depends on the brand and how much you eat.

What is the healthiest pita bread to eat? ›

Choose a whole-grain or whole-wheat pita over one made with white or all-purpose flour for the best nutritional benefits.

Why is my pita thin on one side? ›

Flipping the pita soon after it begins to puff (just when it begins to bubble around the edges) prevents one side of the pita from being substantially thinner than the other. I tend to pull my pitas from the oven as soon as they are fully puffed, to keep them soft.

What is the difference between Greek pita and regular pita bread? ›

Greek pita bread is one of those lesser-known flatbreads that is often referred to as “Mediterranean Pita” or as “pocket-less pita”. Whereas the more common pita bread (sometimes called “Arabic pita”) has a hollow “pocket” that is usually stuffed, Greek pita bread is soft, slightly thicker and has no pocket.

Can you cut pita bread to make a pita pocket? ›

ela cuts her pitta bread is by making a slit about 1cm in along the long side of it, before pulling it apart to make a perfect pocket to fill with lots of tasty bits and bobs.

Can you freeze homemade pita bread? ›

You can freeze pita bread for later use!

Layer wax paper between the pitas, this makes it easy to pull just one pita at a time, if you like. Freeze for up to 3 months. Warm frozen pitas up in a medium-heated oven. No need to thaw.

Is homemade pita bread healthy? ›

High protein and fibre content make pita bread a go-to option for diabetes. Pita bread also has many other health benefits. For instance, they aid in weight loss, heart health, immunity, etc. You can also use them for healthy, innovative dishes.

What makes the bread puff? ›

Yeast, on the other hand, releases carbon dioxide as it feeds on sugar, causing dough to rise during fermentation. The amount of leavening agent used and the amount of time it is allowed to work affects how much the dough will puff up.

How do you puff up squashed bread? ›

one good way would be to spinkle some water on the bread and toast it up. The water softens the bread so you can reshape and the toasting is necessary to dry out the water and crisp up the bread.

In what way of cooking does pita bread need to puff up a pocket which is intended for stuffing? ›

Pita is cooked directly on the floor of an oven, or on a pizza stone or steel in a home oven. The pocket results from steam generated inside the pita as it hits the hot surface. Because the pita is so thin, the outer crust sets very quickly, and the steam on the inside expands, forcing the top and bottom apart.

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