Making pita bread from scratch tastes so much better than anything you can buy at the grocery store. This versatile bread recipe works for gyros, shawarma and döner, or you can serve them as sides for soups, or as a tapas dish with hummus and other delicious dips. I also make a naan-version of the bread by brushing them with garlic and cilantrobutter. The recipe gives 8 large pita breads.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ dl lukewarm water
- ⅗ pack dry yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
Yeast mixture:
- 400 g wheat flour
- 1 dl greek yogurt
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Dough:
Method
- Make the yeast mixture with lukewarm water, dry yeast and sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes until it develops a foam on top. This means that the yeast is activated and ready.
- Mix the yeast mixture together with the rest of the ingredients, and knead the dough for 10 minutes.
- Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rise for at least 1 hour.
- Divide and shape the dough into 8 balls. Rise the dough balls again for at least 20 minutes. (Totally fine to skip the second rise if you’re lazy, but it makes the breads more airy)
- Roll the dough out flat to desired thickness and size. Use some flour to prevent it from sticking to the working surface.
- Cook the pitas in a dry pan on medium high heat for ca. 1-2 minutes on each side, until it develops some color. Do not overcook the breads, as this will result in a stiff bread that cracks when you try to fold it.
- Store the pitas in a slightly damp warm cloth immediately after cooking to keep them warm and soft for serving.
