Pita bread varies from country to country, from the Mediterranean to the Middle East. While they all have simple ingredients and are round and flat, some have pockets that hold meat and veggies while others are folded like a taco. My recipe only has 4 ingredients and water. It is designed to create pockets that resemble the traditional Lebanese & Syrian pita bread versions.
Pita Bread Origins
Pita bread is thought to have been around for over 4,000 years. While exact origins are unknown, pita likely came from the Bedouin or Amorite nomadic people from the Middle East. Through nomadic travel, pitas were shared with various settlements and farming communities thus becoming a staple for many. Now, they are beloved around the world.
Key to the Signature Pita PUFF
The signature pita puff is a result more of technique than ingredients. This puff is not common with other flatbreads. The key elements are no tears in the dough prior to baking and baking at very high heat (500˚F /260˚C) in the oven for only a few minutes. The high heat creates steam throughout the dough interior as it bakes pushing between the gluten fibers and gas from the yeast thus separating and puffing up the dough. Traditional clay or metal ovens reach 800˚F-900˚F and only require 1 minute of baking. Now’s that’s fast-food bread!
My Pita Bread Version & Inspiration
I love pita bread! It’s so versatile and I’ve always been intrigued by the internal pocket. So cool! How do they do it? Well, once you learn the key elements, the pocket is very easy to obtain. Not all pita bread has pockets, but those traditionally found in Lebanon and Syria do. I opted for a recipe that mimicked those. My goal with this recipe was all about getting that pocket! And, of course, a good tasting bread. Goal accomplished! Let’s check out my recipe.
Middle Eastern Pita Bread Ingredients
For my Middle Eastern pita bread recipe, you only need yeast, sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, and water. An easy recipe for a really cool looking bread!
Activate the Yeast
Since this is a yeast bread, begin by activating the yeast. In a small bowl, whisk together 2¼ teaspoons (1 pkg) of yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pour in ¼ cup of warm water (heated to 100˚F-110˚F / 38˚C-43˚C). This water is taken from the total 1 cup in the recipe. Whisk all the ingredients together until the sugar and yeast have dissolved. Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes to activate becoming bubbly and frothy.
Sift Dry Ingredients & Knead in Wet Ingredients
In the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl if mixing by hand, sift 360 grams (3 cups) of flour and 1½ teaspoons (9 grams) of salt. With the dough hook attached and machine on low, pour in activated yeast mixture and remaining water until the dough comes together. Knead for 8-10 minutes increasing the speed to medium. If kneading by hand, knead for 10 minutes. Add more flour or water, 1 tbsp at a time, as needed until the dough pulls away from the bowl edges. The dough should form a smooth ball. It shouldn’t be dry or sticky.
Cover Dough & Rise Time
Once kneaded, rub oil over the top and sides of the dough with any oil or cooking spray. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set it aside in a warm area for 1-2 hours to rise and double in size.
Prepare Baking Sheet & Preheat the Oven
Place a baking tray lined with foil in the oven and preheat the oven to 500˚F (260˚C). Steam from the high heat and pan creates the signature pocket in each pita round. It travels through the gluten fibers and gas from the yeast causing the dough to separate.
Divide Dough & Shape into Dough Balls
Divide the Dough
Scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 “equal” pieces (eyeball the cuts or weigh dough). Depending on the total weight of the dough you may need anywhere from 77-82 grams for each dough piece.
Technique for Smoothing out the Dough Balls
Shape them into smooth balls by clearing a space on your work surface without flour. Cup your hand and push a dough ball towards you along the work surface. The friction (without flour) on the work surface will smooth the dough out all around. If your dough slides, you have too much flour on the surface and need to wipe it off.
Cover & Quick Rest
Cover the round dough balls with a towel and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
Roll Dough Balls into PERFECT Rounds
Use a rolling pin to roll out each dough ball into a ¼-inch thick (6-7- inch circle). Keep your surface and rolling pin floured well and rotate the dough to get that “perfect” round circle. If the dough retracts as you roll, allow the dough to sit for a few minutes to relax in its new shape and continue to roll.
Bake & Assembly Line
After shaping two dough balls into pita flatbread, remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and place both on the sheet with a couple of inches space between them. Bake the 2 pitas in the oven for 3-4 minutes on one side. While 2 bake, create an assembly line, and roll out 2 more pita dough balls.
Check out that PUFF Again!
Check this out! Each pita dough should puff like a ball as it bakes. This is signature of Lebanese or Syrian pita bread. The puff creates the pocket that can be filled with meat & veggies after it bakes.
Flip & Finish Baking
Use tongs (or your hands) to flip baked pitas and bake for 2 more minutes. Don’t worry if they don’t brown too much, the color should be light. Remove the pita bread from the oven with tongs and stack them on a foil-lined, heat-proof plate. Cover the top pita with foil to keep them warm. Add 2 more pitas to the baking sheet and bake as before. Repeat with remaining dough.
Pita Bread Close-up
Pitas are all baked! Notice they stack nicely. They are mostly pale but have some brown spots on both sides. Once torn, the pocket is clearly defined to hold any fillings. The bread is thin even though it is puffy looking.
Pita Bread Serving Suggestions
Enjoy pita bread with hummus or dips like the traditional eggplant dip called baba ghanouj. Serve it with tzatziki sauce, as sandwich bread, or wrap with shawarma meat like lamb, beef, or chicken. Stuff it with veggies, rice, tabbouleh, or falafels. Don’t knock me, but I have even eaten this with peanut butter and jelly. Yes, pita works wonderfully with anything and everything!
Pita Bread Final Thoughts
This is a fun bread to make and eat with the cool pocket to hold your favorite fillings. The ingredients make it a cheap bread as well, but who would guess since it’s so cool to look at!
Baker’s Perspective
I have to say with so few ingredients, I really didn’t believe I could get that “perfect” round shape with the full-on puff. Wow! I was jumping with joy when I saw that my recipe and techniques really worked! I had one pita that ripped as I was picking it up from the work surface (the surface wasn’t floured well enough). That pita round didn’t puff as much because the steam escaped through the tear. However, once they all deflated after cooling, you couldn’t tell.
Overall, this was a rather exciting bread to make… I couldn’t stop staring in the oven to watch them all puff into little balls. For a baking note, I would pay close attention to the initial baking before flipping the bread. You don’t want to bake them so long you have one side that is crispy. Don’t worry about getting a brown exterior; the bread will brown some after you flip it for the final minutes of baking.
Taster’s Perspective
The flavors are very simple. Since I added a little sugar to activate the yeast, there is a slight sweetness to the bread, but it’s very subtle. Scott has been enjoying this bread with my homemade hummus. Surprise! He’s also been eating it for a morning snack with peanut butter. With that, make it a dessert and spread on some Nutella or hazelnut spread! In whatever way you eat it, this bread is super versatile and can be eaten with any meal, as a sandwich or snack, or as a vehicle for dip. Go bake some and eat however you’d like. 😊
Check out my YouTube video on all the visuals of making this bread including the tips! “Middle Eastern Pita Bread: Only 4 Ingredients with a Traditional Internal Pocket for Fillings!”
Middle Eastern Pita Bread: Only 4 Ingredients with Traditional Pockets
Ingredients
- 2¼ tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp (12 g) sugar
- 8 oz (1 cup) warm water heated to 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C), divided
- 360 g (3 cups) all-purpose flour fluffed, scooped, and leveled off (if using cup measurement)
- 1½ tsp (9 g) salt
Instructions
Activate the Yeast
- In a small bowl, whisk together yeast and sugar. Pour in ¼ cup of warm water taken from the total 1 cup in the recipe. Whisk together until the sugar and yeast have dissolved. Set aside for 10 minutes to activate becoming bubbly and frothy.TIP: Heat water in the microwave for 30 seconds to reach 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift flour and salt. With the dough hook attached and machine on low, pour in activated yeast mixture and remaining water until the dough comes together. Knead for 8-10 minutes increasing the speed to medium. Add more flour or water, 1 tbsp at a time, as needed until the dough pulls away from the bowl edges. The dough should form a smooth ball. It shouldn’t be dry or sticky.TIP: If you don’t have or want to use a stand mixer, mix the ingredients in a bowl and knead by hand for 10 minutes.
- Once kneaded, place dough in the bottom of the bowl. Rub oil or cooking spray over the top and sides of the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm area for 1-2 hours to rise and double in size.
- Place a baking sheet lined with foil in the oven and preheat the oven to 500˚F (260˚C).
- After rising, scoop the dough out onto a floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (eyeball the cuts or weigh dough: 77-82 g each depending on total dough weight). Shape them into balls, cover them with a towel and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.TIP: To easily shape dough into balls, clear a space on your work surface without flour. Cup your hand and push a dough ball towards you along the work surface. The friction (without flour) from the work surface will smooth the dough out all around. If your dough slides, you have too much flour on the surface.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out each dough ball into an 6-7- inch circle ¼-inch thick. Keep your surface and rolling pin floured well and rotate the dough to get that “perfect” round circle.TIP: Rotate dough and add more flour to the surface as you roll. If dough retracts, allow the dough to sit for a few minutes to relax in its new shape and continue to roll.
- After rolling two dough balls into pita flatbread, remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and place both on the sheet with a couple of inches of space between them.TIP: You should be able to get 2 pitas on 1 baking sheet. Create an assembly line. While 2 pitas bake at a time, roll out 2 more pita dough balls.
- Bake the 2 pitas in the oven for 3-4 minutes on one side, use tongs (or your hands) to flip them and bake for 2 more minutes. Don’t worry if they don’t brown too much, the color should be light.TIP: Each pita dough should puff like a ball as it bakes. This is signature of Lebanese or Syrian pita bread. The puff creates the pocket that can be filled with meat & veggies after it bakes.
- Remove the pita bread from the oven with tongs and place 2 more pitas on the baking pan and bake as before. Repeat with remaining dough.
- As pitas exit the oven, store them stacked on a heat-proof plate lined with foil. Place another piece of foil over the top pita bread to keep them all warm until ready to eat. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Interested in other flatbread recipes? Check these out!
Mexican Corn Tortillas w/DIY Tortilla Press
Classic Italian Focaccia Flatbread
Unleavened Bread Gluten & Gluten Free Versions
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