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bread

pita bread

pitas 5

we didn’t have pita bread around the house growing up, but i had a friend who always brought sandwiches on it to school. we were only about 6 or 7 at the time, so when i asked what he was eating, i swore i heard “peter bread.” for years i seriously thought it was called peter bread. and even though it’s not actually named after me, i’ve grown to love it over the years.

pita dough 2

the dough is a cinch to make, and you can just keep a big bowl of it in the fridge and bake up batches whenever you’re in need of a sandwich to take to school or work. pita bread pretty much goes with anything, but fits especially well with middle eastern dishes. side note: i had my first falafel just over a year ago. why was i not told about them sooner?

rising pitas

the thinner you roll out the dough, the puffier your pitas get once they heat the heat. no matter how many times i make them, i have to sit right in front of the oven and watch them blow up. it’s pure magic. they work very well on the baking stones, but a baking sheet works just as well. alternatively, you can bake your pitas right on the stovetop on a skillet. they don’t always puff quite as much as in the oven but are still soft, delicate and delicious.

pitas 3

pitas 2

as a quick snack, i usually pair a pita up with a parsley and red onion salad with a little greek yogurt. also i like that if you open up the pita it looks like the jaw of a shark. awesome!

pitas 4

pita bread
makes 4 large pitas or 16 individual pitas. from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. you can easily halve the recipe if needed.

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
6 1/2 cups flour
cornmeal for pizza peel

1. add yeast and salt to the water in a large bowl. mix in the flour until uniformly moist. there’s no need to knead. cover with a loose lid or towel and let rise for about 2 hours. at this point you can bake or store in the fridge (the dough is easier to work with after a few hours in the fridge).

2. 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500F with a baking stone if you have one. just before baking, dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off a piece (size is up to you). dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. using your hands and rolling pin, roll the dough out into a thin round (about 1/8″ thick).

3. slide the dough directly onto the baking stone or place on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly browned and puffed. when you pull them out of the oven, wrap the pitas in a clean dish towl and set on a cooling rack to keep them soft.

33 replies on “pita bread”

I bought the book three weeks ago. I haven’t bought bread since!

I’ve mastered the Boule and the Challah dough.

I made a wonderful Cinnamon Swirl Raisin bread with the Challah dough!

I was wondering how the pitas would come out. Thanks for letting me know that the basic dough works well for them!

I am completely obsessed with this book. I love the boule, and I made bagels from the boule dough, and then I made four (an entire dough batch) pain d’epi to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, and I’ve got the olive oil dough in the fridge now. I’ll have to try the pita soon, too, these look great!

Woohoo look at them puff up! Those baking stones certainly are working a treat. Are you baking your way through the entire book now? 🙂

Pete-
Love your blog & love the fact you are really getting into baking from the Artisan Bread in 5 book. Now for something really scrumptious………you’ve got to try TEN DAY OLD (at least)European Peasant Bread dough used as a pizza crust. It’s exquisite!
Also…..try foodwishes.com-they have a marvelous No Knead “Pumpkin” Bread recipe that is just divine (especially after 30-36 hours rest/rise). Happy Baking!!!

[…] Pita Bread At Home – Much like Pete, I never had pita bread growing up. In fact, I never really had it until late in college so it is a bit of a mystery to me. I’m not really sure how it gets so… pita-ey. But Pete does a great job of explaining it. The recipe actually looks pretty simple and his photos are very helpful. (@ Pete Bakes) […]

I believe the amount of salt is wrong, I’m sure you wanted to say “tsp” instead of “Tbsp”…

Following my instinct, I tried these using just one Tbsp of salt instead of the 1 1/2 stated but they were TOO salty.

About the no-kneading, I’m not sold on the idea… I’ve tried other pita recipes before, always kneading the dough and besides being easier to work with, the pitas come out denser and puffier.

Keep up the great work!

[…] Homemade Pita Bread Recipe: Makes 4 large pitas or 16 individual pitas. You can easily halve the recipe if needed. Recipe found at Pete Bakes! Also See These Tips:Recipe Hit List: 14 Grilled Sandwich RecipesRecipe Hit List: 12 Homemade Salad Dressing RecipesRecipe Hit List: 12 Homemade Bread Recipes […]

Thank you Peter ,I loved ur recipes ,ur pics and ur way of writing , tempting .Going to make some pitas today , as there re no pita bakery in our town .And will be thankfully yours
Day Break

I’m making these right now, have the laptop in my kitchen while the pita is cooking in a pan. I found that it poofed in the pan, but not so much in the oven. This is amazing. I am living in South Korea right now and we can’t get pita bread here. I’m going to try the English muffins next (something else I can’t get here). I tried the monkey bread and I’m looking at buying two of the baking books you recommended. I can’t believe bread is this easy. I’ve always baked, but stayed away from breads.

I made the pitas for the first time today – I’m really pleased, but had a whole big sticky mess that caused me a great deal of despair. Any tips for rolling out the dough without getting it stuck to everything?

You might need to add more flour to your dough and knead it.
Also, keep your board well floured at ALL times 😉

The first two times I tried this didn’t work out, serious lack of puffing. But I have to confess; I used 1/2 and 1/2 whole wheat and white flour, I couldn’t believe there was no sugar for feeding the yeast, so I added about a teaspoon, and I used a pinch of salt. At some point I thought of moving the stone and rack the the very lowest position in the oven because it COULDN’T be failing do to my altering the recipe) and VOILA! Puff! Very puffy!

Oh, and on the no need to knead — a few quick turns in the bowl are easy enough and it gives you a better sense if the flour to water ratio is right.

Next time I will leave out the sugar (as an act of faith) and use the amount of salt in the recipe.

Thank you, Pete! I just love your blog: wonder photos, good recipes, and fun in the kitchen.

Ok, it’s me again… the satisfaction of pulling a puffy piece of pita out of the oven, tearing it half and filling it with homemade hummus and tabouleh — loving life about now!

Peter-My email box was bombarded today with 11 comment posts today (from Moosie, Piita & Susie)-comments seeemd to have been written by teens or tweens and were quite juvenile in nature (see above). Can you take me off this mailing list? I will check your blog when someone has something intelligent to say.

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