Making Pita Bread

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StirBlue

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I would like to find some information about making pita bread. I checked the threads and did not find a recipe. Anyone making their own pita bread?
 
Pita bread is slightly levened bread done the same way as normal white bread but with less yeast and shorter proofing time. It is flat and round and sometimes it forms a pocket when cut across. As a result, it is useful for making various types of sandwiches either by stuffing things inside the pocket or using it to wrap. In Greece, it has found wide acceptance recently (last 20-30 years) especially for wrapping Gyros.

Because the commercial variety is made using one type of specialized equipment or another, I managed to prepare my own in a frying pan over the stove.

The easiest way to go about it is to prepare the dough and let it rise slightly, roll it out into sheets of about 2-3mm thickness, cut into rounds matching the size of your frying pan, and heat them inside the pan without oil over medium heat, flipping them to cook from both sides for about 1-2 minutes total.

The pita I make in this manner is good to serve with dips such as Tzatziki, Taramosalata, Guacamole, etc. To be fair, I never used it to wrap things completely. If you intend to do this, you must adjust your cooking time so that the pita remains flexible enough for your purposes.

You should bear in mind that pita is a very popular type of bread around the Mediterranean and the Arab world. As a result, there are too many types of pita around. The one I described is the one that has found wide acceptance in Greece.
 
Thanks for all the information. I usually find pita bread in the deli dept but I had to ask a store employee. It was in the bakery but not freshly baked. It was a commerical brand. They only had a few to choose from and I bought the Greece pita flat white bread (Kangaroo brand). The other two were wheat and onion.
After heating a piece in the microwave for 20 sec, it was hot but not flexible. It would just break in two. It tasted good and we ate it as a snack.
 
I made it long years ago from a recipe by James Beard. It was fun and not difficult. I am pretty sure I baked mine and it puffed nicely to make a nice pocket and was nice and soft. Have you looked for a recipe on the web?
Now you have me thinking about making it again.
 
Pita Bread
After the first rising of Bread punch the dough down and divide into 8 pieces. Let them rest for a couple of minutes. Flatten and roll each piece into a circle about 6 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.

springle baking sheets with cornmeal, and place 2 circles on each. Let dough rest for at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven 500.

When pita circles have finished resting, place the baking sheet on the bottom of the oven or on the lowest rack for 1 minute. At the end of 1 minute, raise the sheet to a higher rack(placing a new sheet on bottom) and continue baking for 3 to 7 minutes,until the pitas have ballooned up and are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and cool. The bread will deflate somewhat after cooling. Open gently, fill and serve. Let me know if you would like my Bread Dough Basic Recipe.
 
aria i would like your recipe do you make them often?
now when you say replace on the bottom rack with a new
sheet pan wouldn't the top pan need to be in the oven longer
than the bottom? should i wait until the top sheet pan has
been in the oven for a few mins before putting another in the
bottom rack?
 
Impasto Per Pita Pita Bread (Arabic flat bread)

1 package dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups warm water
3-1/2 to 4 cups flour



Put all the dry ingredients in Food Processor. Add water. Pulse 45 seconds
until you have a ball. Leave the sides of the processor bowl. Or if you prefer mix and work dough on a board. Let rest 1/2 hour. Form the 8 balls
(see my original post) and let rest 15 minutes...then bake. Pita baking you need to stay close to the oven...watch the cooking. They need 3 to 7 minutes to be completely cooked. I gave the original directions . You may want to cook on tray at one time. Just DON'T let them rest too long.
They don't need to raise too much before baking. I use plastic wrap to cover my dough. NO GREASE. Plastic wrap keeps it moist and easy to work..and of course do not keep in a "cold draft" place. Yeast prefers a warm place.
 
boufa06 said:
.....Because the commercial variety is made using one type of specialized equipment or another, I managed to prepare my own in a frying pan over the stove.

The easiest way to go about it is to prepare the dough and let it rise slightly, roll it out into sheets of about 2-3mm thickness, cut into rounds matching the size of your frying pan, and heat them inside the pan without oil over medium heat, flipping them to cook from both sides for about 1-2 minutes total......

This sounds good Boufa, how do you make your dough? :)
 
There is also a pita variation of a flatbread recipe in the Bread Baker's Apprentice cookbook. I haven't tried it yet.
 
lulu said:
This sounds good Boufa, how do you make your dough? :)
lulu, the pita dough I make is similar to the thin crust pizza dough except that I use 1-1/2 tsp of dried yeast to 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of flour. After mixing all the ingredients, I let it rise for about 1 hour before rolling out into sheets of about 2-3mm thickness, cut into rounds according to the size of my frying pan, and heat them inside the pan without oil over medium heat, flipping them to cook from both sides for about 1-2 minutes total.
 
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