Homemade Pita Bread (Stovetop or Oven)
Soft, pillowy homemade pita bread made without a pizza stone or special equipment. Cook it on the stovetop or in the oven.
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Equipment
- cast iron skillet
- stand mixer or mixing bowl
- Rolling Pin
- pizza stone or heavy baking sheet
Ingredients
- ¾ cup lukewarm water about 110°F
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 standard packet
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (325g) plus up to 1/4 cup extra for kneading
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- all-purpose flour as needed, for rolling out the pita
Instructions
Mix the Dough
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together lukewarm water and active dry yeast. Allow to proof for about 5-10 minutes, until foamy.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together all-purpose flour, salt, and granulated sugar.
- Pour the foamy yeast mixture into the dry ingredients along with the olive oil. Mix by hand, or with the paddle attachment of the stand mixer, to form a shaggy dough.
- If working by hand, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, switch the paddle out to the dough hook and knead for 6-8 minutes. Work in extra flour a few tablespoons at a time, only as needed, to achieve a smooth and elastic texture. Make sure you are incorporating all of the extra flour before adding more.
Rise & Shape the Dough
- Form the dough into a ball. Lightly grease the mixing bowl with olive oil and add the dough, giving it a flip to evenly coat it with oil. Cover and allow to rise for about 1 hour or 1 1/2 hours, until roughly doubled in size.
- Turn the risen dough out onto a clean work surface and divide it into about 6-7 portions. Shape each portion into a ball by tucking all its edges toward the center, then pinching them together. Repeat for all remaining dough pieces, place the balls seam-side down. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Roll Out & Final Rise
- If you will be cooking your pitas in the oven, begin preheating your oven to the hottest temperature at this point. If using a pizza stone, make sure it's in the oven to preheat. If you don't have a pizza stone, you can use heavy duty baking sheet placed on the oven racks upside-down. A baking sheet requires less time to preheat than the pizza stone — only about 20-30 minutes.
- Roll each dough ball out into a disk about 6" in diameter. Use flour on your work surface and rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking. As you work one dough ball at a time, keep the rest covered so they don't dry out. You can leave the rolled-out flatbreads on the counter, covered with the same cloth or plastic wrap from the previous step, or move them to a baking sheet if you prefer.
- Allow the rolled-out dough to rise for another 20-25 minutes, until lightly puffy.* Make sure it's loosely covered to keep the dough from drying out and forming a "skin."
Cook the Pita Bread (Oven Method)
- By now your pizza stone or baking sheet should be well preheated. To transfer the rolled-out pita bread you can use a pizza peel, a cutting board, or another cookie sheet without a lip. Gently load one pita bread at a time onto the peel and carefully slide it onto the pizza stone. If there's enough space on your pizza stone, you can cook 2 at a time. Make sure to work quickly because pita cooks very quickly.
- Immediately after transferring the pita into the oven, close the door and allow them to cook for 3-5 minutes. There is no need to flip them at this high temperature. They should be lightly browned but not too dark. Carefully remove the puffed breads with tongs and transfer to a plate. Be careful when handling the cooked pita, because they're filled with steam! Let them cool before handling. Repeat with all remaining dough.
Cook the Pita Bread (Stovetop Method)
- Heat a clean, dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for about 5-8 minutes prior. The pan needs to be very hot for the pita pockets to form. If you splash a few drops of water on the pan, they should sizzle and evaporate right away. You might even see a few wisps of smoke rising from the pan.
- If there's any extra flour on your pita breads from rolling them out, try to gently dust it off before cooking them. The flour can cause some smoke in the pan.
- Gently lay the uncooked pita bread in the center of the preheated skillet. (No oil is needed.) Let it cook for about 1 minute on the first side. It should begin to blister and rise.
- Carefully flip the pita bread to the second side. (I use a fish turner. I don't recommend using tongs because they can sometimes rip the bread and then a pocket will not form.) Cook on the second side for about another minute, during which time it should puff up nicely. At this point I like to flip it back over to the first side for another 30ish seconds just to finish cooking. Remove to a plate.
- All stoves are a little different, so keep adjusting your temperature as needed so that by the end of the first minute, the bottom of the pita bread is golden brown. If it's charred after a minute, reduce the temp. If it has hardly picked up any color, increase the temp. Pitas are pretty foolproof to cook, so follow your intuition!
After Cooking
- I recommend keeping the cooked pitas covered with a clean kitchen towel. It will trap some steam and keep the pitas soft and warm until you're ready to enjoy them.
- Keep leftover pitas in an airtight container or ziploc bag for about 3-4 days. Make sure they are fully cooled before storing them, otherwise condensation will form and the bread will get soggy.
Notes
Final rise: While some recipes say the pita can be cooked immediately after rolling out the dough, I have found a final rise of ~20 minutes helps me more consistently achieve pockets in my pita bread.
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