How to Make Fresh Homemade Pita Bread
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Making fresh pita at home couldn’t be easier, which was a shocking discovery. This easy recipe for homemade pita bread uses instant yeast and requires no kneading or complicated shaping. The pita rounds balloon into perfect pockets in 2 minutes in the oven. Hooray!
Store-bought pita leaves much to be desired. Upon surveying a few friends on the subject of pita, the word that came up repeatedly was “cardboard.”
This descriptor, I think, is mostly fair. Pita hasn’t caught up to naan and tortillas, which even at semi-mass produced levels* can taste quite good.
But how nice for us? We have another project to add to our bread-baking bucket lists.
But to call pita making a “project” is actually unfair. Making pita couldn’t be easier, which was shocking to discover. Before embarking on this journey a few weeks ago, I expected to learn a complicated folding or shaping technique, a trick to make the dough balloon into that beautiful, open pocket, perfect for stuffing with falafel or chicken souvlaki or grilled vegetables with tzatziki and hummus.
Making pita, I learned, requires neither kneading nor complicated shaping. It’s one of the easiest bread recipes you could make in fact, right up there with no-knead focaccia and homemade pizza dough. The recipe below is essentially a half recipe of my mother’s peasant bread recipe with the water reduced slightly to make the dough easier to ball up and roll out.
How to Make Pita: An Overview
- Whisk together flour, salt, and instant yeast.
- Add lukewarm water and olive oil.
- Stir to combine with a spatula; then mix briefly with your hands, just until the dough comes together, about 30 seconds.
- Let rise 1.5 hours.
- Portion into balls and let rest 30 minutes.
- Roll each ball into a 6-inch round. Let rest again for 15 minutes; then bake for 2 minutes in a hot oven.
So what’s the secret to creating that beautiful, open pocket? Two things:
- Gentle handling of the dough during the rolling process — you don’t want to deflate all of the air bubbles created while the dough was rising. And letting the dough rest for another 15 minutes after you roll it — this allows the dough to recover a bit from the rolling and to puff slightly back up again before baking.
- A hot surface. As you may know, I am a huge fan of the Baking Steel for pizza, and I love it for pita for the same reason: it quickly transfers heat to the dough, making it instantly spring:
If you don’t have a Baking Steel or pizza stone, you have a few options. First, heat your oven to 475ºF. Then:
- Place a cast iron skillet in the oven, and let it heat for at least 5 minutes; then bake each round one at a time for 2-3 minutes total.
- Place a sheet pan in the oven, and let it heat for at least 5 minutes; then bake three rounds at a time for 2-3 minutes total.
Preheated skillet method:
Preheated sheet pan method:
I did test a non-preheated sheet pan, and the result was uneven: one pita puffed, one did not:
Anticipating some questions…
Can I use whole wheat flour here?
Sure, but before you do, ask yourself what is your goal? If you truly care about nutritional value, whole wheat flour (commercial whole wheat flour at least) might not be the answer.
There is a fair amount of evidence that suggests commercial whole wheat flour is not in fact more nutritious than white flour, and you can read more about that here.
If you can get your hands on some freshly milled, stone-milled flour, that type of flour will offer nutritional value as well as flavor, aroma, and color. If you chose to add some whole wheat flour, I would use no more than 50% (1 cup or 128g). You may also need to adjust the water level if you use some whole wheat flour — reference the video and add more water slowly until the dough looks similar to the dough in the video.
How can I make these ahead of time?
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.
Finally, as with nearly all leavened breads, use the refrigerator as needed during the rising period. You can:
- …stick the bowl of just-mixed dough in the fridge and let it rise for as long as a day.
- …deflate the risen dough (after 1.5 hours or so), and stick it in the fridge for as long as a day.
- …stick the portioned balls in the fridge for several hours or for as long as a day.
* Regarding store-bought naan and tortillas: I love the Stonefire Naan brand, and Caramelo Flour Tortillas are exceptional.
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients. As always: use a digital scale for best results; if you don’t own one, I can’t recommend investing in one enough — it will change your baking forever.
Whisk together flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add water and olive oil.
Mix with a spatula until you have a shaggy dough — mixture will feel dry.
Use your hands to briefly knead the mass into a dough ball. Drizzle with olive oil. Turn to coat. Cover bowl with a cloth bowl cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1.5 hours or until …
… slightly puffed.
Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead briefly, then use a bench scraper to divide the mass into 6 roughly equal portions. If you’re using a scale, each portion should weigh about 73 grams.
Shape each portion into a ball; then let rest for 30 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax, and as with these buttery soft pretzels, the brief rest will make them easier to roll out into rounds.
Flatten each ball with your hands; then working with one round at a time, roll into a 6-inch round.
Transfer each round to a sheet of parchment paper. Let rest for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a Baking Steel or pizza stone to 550ºF. (Note: If using a stone, reference the manufacturer’s manual regarding heat tolerance.)
Bake three rounds at a time for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Transfer freshly baked pita to a towel-lined bowl. Wrap to cover until ready to eat.
How to Make Fresh Homemade Pita Bread
- Total Time: 3 hours 4 minutes
- Yield: 6
Description
Making fresh pita at home couldn’t be easier, which was a shocking discovery. This easy recipe for homemade pita bread uses instant yeast and requires no kneading or complicated shaping. The pita rounds balloon into perfect pockets in 2 minutes in the oven. Hooray!
Notes:
To create a warm place to rise: Preheat your oven for 1 minute; then shut it off.
Parchment paper sheets: If you buy the parchment paper that comes in sheets, such as the If You Care brand, you can fold the sheet lengthwise, then into thirds widthwise and cut along the creases to create 6 equal pieces.
If you don’t have instant yeast, you can use active-dry yeast. Simply sprinkle it over the lukewarm water, and let it stand for 15 minutes; then proceed with the recipe.
See other notes in the post for using your refrigerator during the rising process and for alternate methods of cooking if you don’t have a Baking Steel or pizza stone.
Ingredients
2 cups (256 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon (5 g) kosher salt
1 teaspoon (4 g) instant yeast, see notes above
165 g (scant 3/4 cup) lukewarm water
1 tablespoon (14 g) olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Instructions
- Mix the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add the water and oil. Stir with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms — the mixture will appear dry and unevenly mixed. Use your hands to knead the dough briefly in the bowl just until the flour is absorbed and you have a sticky ball, about 30 seconds. Drizzle a little olive oil over top, turn the dough to coat, cover bowl with a tea towel, and transfer to a warm place (see notes above) to rise for 1.5 hours.
- Heat oven with a Baking Steel or stone inside at 550ºF. Cut a sheet of parchment paper into 6 small pieces about 6-inches square, see notes above.
- Portion the dough: Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to form a ball. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 6 equal portions — each ball should roughly weigh 73 g. Using flour as needed to prevent sticking, ball up each portion, using the pinky edges of your fingers to create tension (see video for guidance). Let rest 30 minutes.
- Roll out each ball: Flatten one ball, and, using flour as needed, gently roll out with a rolling pin until you have a 6-inch round — the key is to not roll too aggressively in order to prevent the air pockets from being forced out. If a round is resisting, set it aside, begin rolling out another one, and return to the stubborn one at the end. Transfer each 6-inch round to a sheet of parchment paper. Let rest 15 minutes.
- Bake the pita: When oven has preheated, use a pizza peel to shimmy one round at a time, parchment paper and all, onto the preheated Baking Steel. I like to cook 3 at a time. Set timer for 2 minutes. If the pita is lightly golden, it’s done. Remove pita, transfer to a tea towel-lined bowl, and close the towel. Repeat with the remaining 3 rounds of pita.
- Store pita at room temperature in an airtight bag or container for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat before serving.
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Yeast
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
506 Comments on “How to Make Fresh Homemade Pita Bread”
CthBk you sooo much. I’m going to give this a try today. I’ve baked pita before.
Somet were puffy others not. Now I know where I went wrong ❤️
Good luck, Theresa!
Easy and delicious!
Great to hear, Erin!
Just followed instructions, and it turned out amazing!!
Great to hear this, Lee!
Wow! I’ve made pita from other recipes before with really uneven results – tasted fine, but often didn’t really make a pocket. But these were so easy and they puffed perfectly! Making the little 6″ parchment squares is a great trick. Will definitely be making these again.
Wonderful to hear this, Alison! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hello
Can I use sourdough starter instead of active yeast ?
Thank you
Gracie
Hi Gracie! I’ve never tried, but yes, of course, you can use starter in place of yeast. Keep in mind, by using starter, the process will be much longer, and the beauty of this recipe is that it’s pretty quick/easy! I would use 50 grams of starter.
I used sourdough starter and did not extend my time at all. I made it as the recipe directed but used starter instead of yeast. I probably used about 75/100g of sourdough starter. I always have starter on hand and like the flavour better than yeast.
Hello!
First, thank you for turning me onto Hot, Charred Cherry Tomatoes With Cold Yogurt as it was outstanding with your pita and some grilled lamb.
Pitas we’re so yummy and puffed up but didn’t turn brown. I realized I forgot to add the olive oil to the dough. Would that have made a difference? Otherwise, it was in 550 degree oven and cooked on baking steel. Just curious. You’re recipes and videos have brought me so much joy and improved confidence. Thank you!
So nice to hear this, Raine! I still haven’t made those hot charred cherry tomatoes, but I am hoping to this week — we’re still getting good local cherry tomatoes!
Regarding the not browning, I don’t think the absence of olive oil would have made a difference — it’s such a small amount — but I could be wrong. One thing to try is letting your oven heat for an hour or so at 550ºF with the Baking Steel in it.
Another question: you’re not using bleached flour, correct? What type of flour are you using?
The garden at my work is exploding with tomatoes so hope to make it again befor they go away. I have not tried the feta and tomatoes so can not compare but we were all very pleased with the charred tomatoes and yogurt. Have you made a lot of his recipes? I read that he had come out with a new cookbook.
I used all purpose unbleached flour. I will heat the baking steel for 1 hour to see if that helps as well as adding the oil. I will keep you posted if I get browning with the next batch!
That’s so fun that you have a work garden! I have made a number of Ottolenghi recipes over the years. They can look a little intimidating at a glance — lots of spices that you might not have on hand — but I find I often can pare them back without doing any harm. His recipes are super flavorful and fresh and bright. I love them.
Great to hear re flour. Keep me posted on the next batch!
Hi Ali! Thanks for the recipe! Mine puffed up and tasted great but they didn’t brown up like yours. It remained white/pale. My plain flour is unbleached.
Hi Marie! You can try baking them for a minute more, but if you were happy with the flavor and texture, I wouldn’t change the bake time. You can also use some whole wheat flour if you prefer a darker color.
Hi ali ,I make your foccacia and pizza dough all the time. It comes out amazing…I was wondering if u have a recipe for your peasant bread and pita bread with sour dough starter instead of yeast.
Hi Perry! If you look on the sourdough focaccia recipe, you’ll see it’s essentially the peasant bread proportions, and if you scroll to the bottom of the post, you’ll see a few sourdough peasant bread loaves. It’s essentially the same process, but after the bulk fermentation, you would divide the dough in half, ball up each one; then transfer to buttered bowls to proof. The proof may take 4-5 hours depending on your kitchen temp.
I do not, unfortunately, have a sourdough version of the pita bread recipe, though if you scroll through the comments, I believe someone tried it out with success.
Can’t wait to try this. I made your Peasant Bread and it was a hit. I did make wheat by using 3 cups of all purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. Turned out amazing as well. Now here is my question. I want to make whole wheat pitas. What is the mixture of flours for them? TIA, Peg Hamam
Hi Peg! I think you could do the same ratio here: 25% whole wheat flour 75% all purpose. So: 1/2 cup (64 g) whole wheat flour and 1.5 cups (192 g) all-purpose flour.
Good luck!
I love the bread recipes. Thank you very much for sharing.
Great to hear, Darla! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Can I still make this if I don’t have a pizza stone or baking steel?
Yes! If you don’t have a Baking Steel or pizza stone, you have a few options. First, heat your oven to 475ºF. Then:
Place a cast iron skillet in the oven, and let it heat for at least 5 minutes; then bake each round one at a time for 2-3 minutes total.
Place a sheet pan in the oven, and let it heat for at least 5 minutes; then bake three rounds at a time for 2-3 minutes total.
I am very interested in try this recipe..looks and sounds easy abd certainly delicious .. thank you !
Great to hear, Bri!
Great recipe! My husband is Greek so I try to make many traditional dishes for him including pita. I have made a few recipes that are a bit more time consuming and more complicated, and delicious. I needed pita the same day and tried this, he actually liked this recipe the best of all. Thanks for the recipe and added hours to my life😁
Great recipe! My husband is Greek so I try to make many traditional dishes for him including pita. I have made a few recipes that are a bit more time consuming and more complicated, and delicious. I needed pita the same day and tried this, he actually liked this recipe the best of all. Thanks for the recipe, it added hours to my life😁
I’m so happy to hear this, Debbie 🙂 🙂 🙂 I feel like the more I cook, the more I realize that so often more complicated doesn’t equate to better. Thanks so much for writing! I’m Greek, too 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
Yay! I’m Greek too! Trying out this recipe today 🇬🇷
GREAT RECIPE and description. Cut recipe in 1/3rds and created 2 fresh made pitas for dinner for my wife and I.
Oh wow, amazing! Love that you were able to small batch this recipe. Bravo 🎉🎉🎉🎉
I loved it. It came out exactly as promised. So appreciated reading the comments and sharing the tips. Fun to make but even more delicious. we had it with a bit of butter and smeared with some hummus ….
So nice to hear this, Jackie! Thanks so much for writing and sharing. Nothing better than homemade pita + hummus 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you so much for such an easy, delicious, and successful recipe for pita bread. I’ve tried many different recipes and this is now the only one I will use. They puffed fairly quickly even though my oven only reaches 500 degrees. I heated my pizza stone for one hour prior to baking. I did bake them for 3 minutes since the oven wasn’t as hot as recommended. They came out amazing!
I learned a new trick too – I had never seen where someone sliced off the top and inserted it into the pita for stability – a great idea! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.
So wonderful to hear all of this, Sandie 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. I love that pita-stability trick too… it was so fun to learn that. Thanks again for writing!
Love this recipe! So easy to do with great results!
Great to hear this, Kate! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Could you sub 1:1 or all-purpose GF flour?
I don’t think a 1:1 swap will work here … the gluten helps make the pocket? I worry you’ll just get a flat disk without any puff.
Our pitas tasted great but only half of them puffed. How can we be sure they create a pocket?
We used a pizza stone in a very hot preheated oven.
Bummer! My initial thought is to perhaps increase that final rest time: try 25-30 minutes to allow the rounds to recover from being rolled out. Be sure to keep them covered so that they don’t try out.
Another thought: perhaps be less aggressive (not sure how aggressive you were, obviously) when rolling them out.
These were a hit! I doubled the recipe and it worked great! So fresh and easy!
Great to hear, Aline!
This was so easy and so yummy. I loved how pillowy soft these pitas turned out. If you double the recipe, is it necessary to double the amount of yeast too?
Great to hear, Roma! I think you could get away with 1.5 times the amount of yeast.
I make a lot of doughs (pizza, bread, sweets) but this was my first time making pitas. Will definitely use this recipe again and shared with friends.
Great to hear, Susan 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing!
i just came back from a lovely vacation and an appetizer at a nice restaruant was served with pita that looked like this – no doubt home made pitas and so delicious. I will be making these ! thank you Alexandria ! timing was perfect on Intagram !
Great to hear, Julie! Hope you love them 🙂 🙂 🙂
The first time I made this in a 450F oven with the preheated cookie sheet method, it worked great (note that 450F is as hot as my oven will go without setting off the fire alarm). The second time, I made buns–no pocket at all. I am wondering if the pocket formation is dependent on tunneling and what are the key parameters to help further encourage this. (I have some constraints: no pizza steel/stone and my oven certainly won’t preheat to 550F –it would cost me a fortune in electricity anyway). More yeast less proofing? More oil? More flour during shaping?
Did you make any changes between the first and second trials? I’m not sure how to advise. I don’t think more oil or more flour during shaping will make a difference.
My first thought is to perhaps let that final rise go a bit longer — maybe 20-30 minutes to allow the rounds to recover from being rolled out. Do you feel you used a light enough hand when you were rolling out the rounds?
Just made these and they puffed up beautiful. excellent instructions and great recipe to use going forward. Thank you ! Just one question – they took a little longer to brown, so I kept them in the oven an extra 2 minutes. They seem a little dry, I’m thinking I might add a little honey to help with browning? Also might roll 5 inches vs 6. What are your thoughts with this?
Hi Julie! Great to hear. A few thoughts. You could try making them less and seeing how you like the taste even without the browning — I don’t actually find the browning to be necessary for these. Truthfully because I am always juggling photographing and videoing, sometimes things get cooked more than I would like. But, I think your honey is a great idea — any sweetener will encourage some browning. And yes, 5 inches sounds great. Good luck! Report back if you feel like it 🙂
Hi Alexandra
Just a follow up. I added 5% whole wheat (bakers percent) and 2.5% honey and they turned out beautiful (WW for a little flavor only). 6 inches is the better size 😊. Great recipe thank you so much – this will be by go to going forward – so fun!
Wonderful to hear, Julie! Thanks so much for reporting back. I’m so happy to hear all of this!
Made these during a busy ‘work from home’ workday and they were delicious and remarkably easy. I’m from an Israeli family and grew up eating homemade pita and pita from bakeries in Israel. These pita are seriously just as good.
So amazing to read this 🙂 🙂 🙂 Truly. Thanks so much for writing and sharing.
Hello, is it possible to make these whole wheat by replacing flour with whole west flour?
Hi Sol! You can try … I would suggest doing half whole wheat half white flour. I worry the 100% whole wheat flour pitas will be very dense/heavy and might not open up.
This pita is delicious. I’ve made a few different recipes and they seem pretty similar. My favorite part about this recipe is all the tips to get the Pitas to puff up. I only have a baking sheet with foil I use and even though it’s not perfect, they do consistently puff up. Also your advice on what to do if the balls won’t stretch out enough is super helpful.
Great to hear all of this, Caroline! So glad you are able to consistently get the balls to puff without a Baking Steel or pizza stone. Thanks so much for writing!
These were so good! My fiance is middle eastern and said we are never buying pita from the store again. The only thing I found is that while they did puff up beautifully in the oven, they deflated rather quickly despite being wrapped in a towel. By the time I took the next one out of the oven, the previous had completely deflated. Any advice on what might have caused that? I used the 475 degree and cast iron skillet method as I don’t have a baking steel or stone, and I left them in for a full 3 minutes each. Thanks!
So great to hear all of this, Alex! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’m not sure how to advise, because deflation is expected! Mine also always deflate. You’re still getting the pocket, right? As in when you cut into them? You could try not wrapping them in the towel, which might help them stay ballooned longer. Otherwise, I’m not sure what else to suggest.