Pitta bread is my favourite flatbread to make at home. It is quick, easy, you can cook a few at the same time and they are so much better than anything you can buy in the shops. Fresh fluffy bread with a built in pocket for delicious fillings, pitta can also be sliced and served with dips and left overs can be toasted the following day or made into croutons.

Associated with the Mediterranean and the Middle East, classical filings for pitta bread include souvlaki or shawarma chicken, falafel, hummus, tabbouli, Greek salad, rice, cous cous, tzatziki, roast chickpeas and many more. Use your imagination! Also excellent served on the side with Middle Eastern stews and tangines. Try with my Middle Eastern Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Stew with Red Lentils, Spinach, Coconut and Mint

How to make Pitta Bread

Collect all your ingredients together:

strong plain white flour
easy blend yeast
fine salt
sugar
luke-warm water
olive oil
extra flour for rolling

I have included a lot of pictures which I hope will help; please don’t let the number of pictures put you off. I promise you they are really easy to make – you just need to remember to leave plenty of time to allow for the dough to rise.

First you need to mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook
Pour the water and oil onto the flour mixture and knead on a low speed for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes the mixture should be completely combined.
Check the texture of the dough to see if it needs any more water. It should feel soft and a bit sticky but probably sticking together on the dough hook in a ball.
Knead on a low speed for a further 3 minutes until the dough is in a cohesive ball and feels firmer and less sticky. If it is not at this point, continue to knead for a further minute.
Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover with cling film and leave to rise until double in size. This can take from 45 minutes – 2 hours depending on the temperature.
When the dough is ready, lightly flour the dough and punch down with your fist. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for 1 minute.

Preheat the oven and place the baking trays inside the oven to get really hot.
Divide the dough into 4 equal size pieces and knead each into a ball.
Roll out each ball of dough into an oval shape 4mm – 5mm thick.
Take the trays out of the oven, lay on some baking parchment and place the pitta dough on them leaving a little space in-between
Cook for 5 – 6 minutes. They should be starting to colour and puffed with air in the middle. Any pitta on a lower shelf may need an extra 30 seconds – 1 minute.

Leave the pitta for a few minutes to cool a little before serving and remember that the puffed up area is full of exceedingly hot steam when it first comes out of the oven.

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Pitta Bread

Course Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Snack, Supper

Cuisine Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Keyword Bread, Flatbread, pitta

Servings 4

Ingredients

200g strong plain white flour
1 teaspoon easy blend yeast
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
120ml luke-warm water
2 teaspoons olive oil
extra flour for rolling

Instructions

Stand Mixer instructions – I use my KitchenAid (For instructions by hand see Recipe Notes)

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook
Pour the water and oil onto the flour mixture and knead on a low speed (speed 2 in a KitchenAid) for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes the mixture should be completely combined.
Check the texture of the dough to see if it needs any more water. It should feel soft and a bit sticky but probably sticking together on the dough hook in a ball.
Knead on a low speed (speed 2 in a KitchenAid) for a further 3 minutes until the dough is in a cohesive ball and feels firmer and less sticky. If it is not at this point, continue to knead for a further minute.
Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover with cling film and leave to rise until double in size. This can take from 45 minutes – 2 hours depending on the temperature. I put mine in the oven on dough setting, heat 42°C and it takes around an hour.
When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to Fan Oven 230°C/250°C/500°F/Gas 10 and place the baking trays inside the oven to get really hot.
Lightly flour the dough and punch down with your fist. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for 1 minute.
Divide the dough into 4 equal size pieces and knead each into a ball.
Roll out each ball of dough into an oval shape 4mm – 5mm thick.
Take the trays out of the oven, lay on some baking parchment and place the pitta dough on them leaving a little space in-between
Cook for 4 – 6 minutes. They should be starting to colour and puffed with air in the middle. Any pitta on a lower shelf may need an extra 30 seconds – 1 minute.
Leave the pitta for a few minutes to cool before serving and remember that the puffed up area is full of exceedingly hot steam when it first comes out of the oven.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

Stand mixer with dough cool
kitchen scales and measuring spoons
measuring jug
mixing bowl
oven trays
baking parchment

Prepare in advance:

The dough can be prepared in advance until the end of point 8. i.e. kneaded into a small ball but not rolled out. Wrap in cling film and put straight in the fridge. When you are ready to cook, simply carry on from point 9.

Overnight:

Equally, any leftover uncooked dough should be prepared until the end of point 8 i.e. kneaded into a small ball but not rolled out. Wrap in cling film and put straight in the fridge. The following day just carry on from point 9.

Instructions by Hand:

If you do not have a stand mixer these pitta breads can be made by hand. Just follow the instructions below:

Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir to mix
Pour the water and oil onto the flour mixture and mix until combined. Check the texture of the dough to see if it needs any more water. It should feel soft and a bit sticky
Drizzle your work surface with olive oil and tip the dough onto it. Knead until the dough is in a cohesive ball and feels firmer and less sticky. This can take up to 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover with cling film and leave to rise until double in size. This can take from 45 minutes – 2 hours depending on the temperature. I put mine in the oven on dough setting, heat 42°C and it takes around an hour.
Continue as above.

Pitta Bread

How to make Pitta Bread

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