Pitas are round little disks of chewy, airy dough with a fun little secret pocket inside that you can literally stuff with anything you want. They are easy to make, super versatile and so cute! I cannot think of one reason why you shouldn’t make a batch, so let’s get them started…
As I stated above, this recipe is really simple. Exact measurements, no need to guess, very little room for error.
Start by whisking together 2 cups of all purpose flour with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of instant yeast in a large bowl. Add 165ml (between 2/3 and 3/4 cup) of warm water (between 100-110 degrees) and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into the flour mixture and mix until a dry dough forms.
At this point, the dough will look like you did not add enough liquid, but have no fear, 165ml is all you needed. Knead the dough in the bowl until the dough comes together and all of the flour is incorporated.
Once the dough is ready, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large clean glass bowl and transfer the dough into the oiled bowl. Flip the dough over a few times until the entire surface of the dough is lightly coated in oil.
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm place for 90 minutes. The dough will not puff up as much as a classic bread dough, but it will puff up a little bit.
Once the dough has proofed, transfer it onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into six equal portions…
Roll each portion out into a ball and cover them with a dry kitchen towel. Let them rest for 30 minutes. Place a pizza stone or a cast iron skillet upside down on the middle rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Cut six 8″x8″ pieces of parchment paper and set them aside.
Once the dough has rested, gently press each ball out into a disk. Roll the dough out into a 6 inch wide pita being as gentle as possible as you do. You don’t want to press too much air out out of the dough.
Transfer each rolled pita onto a sheet of parchment paper and once they have all been shaped, let them rest for 15 minutes.
Once the pitas have rested and the oven has preheated, carefully slide one pita, still on the parchment paper, onto the very hot pizza stone or cast iron skillet. Try to close the oven door quickly to prevent as much heat from leaving the oven as possible.
Bake each pita for 3 minutes and once they are lightly golden and puffed, transfer the pita into a kitchen towel (this will keep the pita warm while you bake the others) and repeat the process until all of the pitas are baked.
Look how puffy and delicious this little pita looks! The pitas may puff to varying degrees, but they should all have pockets inside. Just slide a sharp knife into the side seem and open them up!
Pitas are great as is. Warm them up in the oven and enjoy, but you can also serve them alongside soup, stew, curry… anything you want! If you want to use that secret pocket that forms inside your pitas, they are great filled with salad (like in my fun salad pockets recipe), tuna or chicken salad or with ground lamb and spices to make arayes. There are so many options and each one of them is a good reason to make up a batch of these tasty little pitas!
Pitas
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 165 ml water, warm (between 100-110 degrees)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Whisk together 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of instant yeast in a large bowl
- Add 165 ml of warm water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the flour mixture and mix until a dry dough begins to form
- Knead the dough gently by hand in the bowl until all of the flour is incorporated into the dough
- Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large clean glass bowl
- Transfer the dough into the oiled bowl and flip over a few times until the entire surface of the dough is lightly coated with olive oil
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and rest in a warm place for 90 minutes
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions
- Form each portion into a round ball, cover with a dry towel and rest for 30 minutes
- Place a pizza stone or large cast iron skillet upside down into the oven on a middle rack and preheat the oven to 500 degrees
- Cut six 8”x8” squares of parchment paper
- Gently press each dough ball out a bit and carefully roll it into a 6 inch wide disk
- Place each pita onto a sheet of parchment paper and rest for 15 minutes
- Carefully slide one pita, still on the parchment paper, onto the pizza stone or cast iron skillet and bake for 3 minutes
- Once the pita is lightly golden and puffed, transfer it into a clean kitchen towel and repeat until all of the pitas have been baked
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature
* This wonderful recipe was created by alexandracooks.com and I didn’t need to change a thing!
