Pita Bread

Made with simple kitchen staples, this Pita Bread recipe is so soft, fluffy, and flavorful. It is such an easy recipe to make from scratch!

Course bread

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 16

Rise Time 1 20

Total Time 2 11

Servings pitas

Calories 203kcal

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar until well combined. Whisk in ½ cup flour until smooth. Let stand, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free place until bubbly, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the olive oil, salt, and remaining 2½ cups flour until a shaggy dough forms. With the mixer on low, knead the dough for 3 minutes. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. (You can also mix this with a wooden spoon and knead by hand.)
Knead again, until a smooth and elastic dough is formed, about 2 minutes more. Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Set an oven rack in the lowest position of the oven, and place a pizza stone, heavy baking sheet, or large cast-iron skillet. Preheat the oven to 475F.
Punch down the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 8 equal pieces, and shape into balls. Cover with a towel and let the dough balls rest for 10 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each into a 6-inch circle. Working one or two at a time, place dough circles on the hot stone; bake until puffed, about 2 minutes, flip and continue baking until pale and puffed, about 2 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining dough. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You want to make sure you have lots of access to the bottom rack. Recommend removing the second oven rack or placing it on the top position of the oven, so you have plenty of room to work on the stone.
You must make sure your water is not too hot or too cold. If your water is too hot, it will kill the yeast, and if it’s too cold, the yeast won’t activate.
I highly recommend using a scale to measure your flour for the most accurate results. However, if you don’t have a scale, be sure to fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the measuring cup and resulting in too much flour in the dough. If the dough is dry from too much flour, the pita bread won’t puff up.
Bake on one rack only. Due to how the temperature varies inside an oven, if you use both oven racks, one rack of pita bread will cook faster than the other. Constantly opening the oven to account for the two different cooking times will release the heat built up in the oven and cause the bread to cook unevenly.
Make sure you flour the surface you roll the dough on. If the dough sticks while rolling, it may tear, causing steam to escape as it bakes so that it won’t puff up properly.
Roll the dough out as evenly as possible. This is very important because it helps ensure that the pita separates in the oven equally.