Pita bread is a type of flatbread from the Middle East. Baked at high temperatures to create that pocket in the pita means it can be used to either stuff or scoop up sauces and meats. Homemade pita bread is a lot easier to do than you think. This starts off like you would make a pizza crust but you add AP flour and some yogurt to get that spongy texture. Traditionally yogurt is not used to make pita bread. Serve this with hummus, curries, shawarma or kebabs. @sarchakra
COOK TIME: 20 mins
PREP TIME: 2 hours
YIELDS: Makes 8
Ingredients
- Whole wheat flour 1 cup
- All purpose flour 1 cup (plus extra for kneading and rolling)
- Water 1 cup (110° F)
- Yeast 1 sachet
- Olive oil 1 tbsp
- Kosher salt 1 tsp
- Sugar 1 tsp
- Yogurt 3 tbsp
Method
- The Sponge: In a small bowl mix together- sugar, yeast and warm water. Rest it for 5 mins. It should turn frothy.
- The Dough: In a large bowl mix the AP flour and whole wheat flour little by little together with the yeast solution and the yogurt. I find using my hand blender to do the initial mix till it forms a ball the best way to do this. It takes so little time and it works perfectly every single time.
- Kneading: When you have a ball, put it in a clean work surface and with a little sprinkle of flour knead the dough to a smooth ball. Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let this rest for an hour.
- Dividing the dough: Knead the dough again and divide dough into small balls. Put dough balls on a greased tray. Cover with a cling wrap. Let it rest for an hour. The dough balls should double up in size.
- While the dough balls are resting, turn the oven on to 450°F. Put a baking tray into the oven to heat it up.
- Shaping: Sprinkle some flour on the counter top and roll each dough ball to a round and thin size.
- Put a few (as many as your baking tray can hold without the rolled dough touching each other) pita bread doughs on the hot tray and put it in the oven. Set a timer for 4 mins till the pita bread balloons up. Repeat for the rest. Enjoy!
Notes
It is very essential to use a hot pan to ensure the pita bread puffs up.
When doing in batches make sure the oven returns to the required temperature in between bakes.
When you have fresh pitas off the oven keep them covered with a clean towel so they do not get exposed to air.
Do not roll the dough too thin otherwise you will not get the pockets you need for pita bread.
Do not overbake. Pita bread should not be brown, it should have just a slight color. It will get crispy if over baked and harden which is not what you want for pita bread.
Any leftovers can be wrapped up and kept in the fridge or freezer for later use.
If using only AP flour bake an extra couple of minutes till the pita bread fluffs up.
sarchakra 
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