Fresh Homemade Pita Bread is soft, warm, and delicious straight from the oven. Made with yeast, whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, olive oil, and a few pantry staples, this recipe makes eight pitas that puff up as they bake, creating the familiar pocket that’s perfect for sandwiches and wraps. Once you taste homemade pita, you’ll appreciate how satisfying it is to make this versatile bread in your own kitchen.
Why Make Pita Bread from Scratch?
Homemade pita bread is a wonderful addition to everyday meals. Serve it warm alongside hummus and dips, use it to make sandwiches, or fill the pockets with your favorite meats, vegetables, and sauces. It also pairs beautifully with Mediterranean-inspired meals, grilled chicken, falafel, and fresh salads.
This recipe combines a small amount of whole-wheat flour with unbleached all-purpose flour for a simple yeast dough. Olive oil adds richness, while the yeast gives the dough the structure and airiness needed to puff during baking. The ingredients are straightforward, and most of the two-hour preparation time is hands-off while the dough rests and rises.
Tips for Soft, Puffy Pita Pockets
The key to successful pita bread is a soft dough and a very hot baking surface. After mixing and kneading, let the covered dough rise until doubled in size. Divide it into eight equal pieces, shape them into balls, and let them rest before rolling. Roll each piece into an even circle about 8 inches across and roughly ⅛ inch thick.
Preheat your oven to 475°F with a heavy baking sheet, cast-iron pan, or baking tile on the bottom shelf. Carefully transfer each rolled round to the hot surface and bake for about two minutes, then turn it over and bake for another minute. The rapid heat helps steam form inside the dough, separating the layers and creating the pocket.
Keep the finished pitas covered with a clean towel as you bake the remaining rounds. This helps them stay warm and pliable.
How to Serve Homemade Pita
Enjoy your pita bread warm, dip it into hummus, make onion pita pizzas or slice it open and fill it with your favorite sandwich ingredients. With eight fresh pitas per batch, you’ll have plenty to serve with dinner or save for easy meals later.
Not what you are looking for? Try these other bread recipes: English Muffin Bread, Cheesy Garlic Bread or homemade Ciabatta Bread.
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Homemade Pita Bread
- Total Time: 2:00
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour, preferably freshly milled
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purposed flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Make sponge: Put 1 cup lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add the whole-wheat flour and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and whisk together. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place, uncovered, until mixture is frothy and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
- Add salt, olive oil and nearly all remaining all-purpose flour (reserve 1/2 cup). With a wooden spoon or a pair of chopsticks, stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass. Dust with a little reserved flour, then knead in bowl for 1 minute, incorporating any stray bits of dry dough.
- Turn dough onto work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let rest 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist. (At this point, dough may refrigerated in a large zippered plastic bag for several hours or overnight. Bring dough back to room temperature, knead into a ball and proceed with recipe.)
- Clean the mixing bowl and put dough back in it. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with a towel. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place. Leave until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 475 degrees. On bottom shelf of oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile. Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on work surface, cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.
- Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and press into a flat disk with a rolling pin. Roll to a 6-inch circle, then to an 8-inch diameter, about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. (The dough will shrink a bit while baking.)
- Carefully lift the dough circle and place quickly on hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn over with tongs or spatula and bake 1 minute more. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles. Transfer warm pita to a napkin-lined basket and cover so bread stays soft. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven