Quick Pita Bread Recipe
A Quick Pita Bread Recipe that is so easy and you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry already. Once you make these puffy rounds of deliciousness, you will want them all the time. The possibilities of what to put in them or on them are endless!
There is nothing better than homemade bread. Your house smells good, it’s better for you, and the first bite of warm bread fresh out of the oven is probably one of the best things in life. Ok, maybe not, but it’s definitely up there on the list.
There are only 5 ingredients needed to make this Quick Pita Bread Recipe and you most likely have them in your pantry. Those small packets of yeast you bought in a pack of 3 and only used once could be lurking in the back somewhere. If not, they are inexpensive and have a lot of uses. Just make sure they haven’t expired ?.
This is a recipe that is very easy to execute, but you have to make time for the dough to rest, like over 2.5 hours, so plan for that. It’s worth it, I promise.
Easy Homemade Pita Bread
Equipment
- cast iron pan
- stand mixer with dough attachment
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
- 1 cup warm water
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tbsp olive oil (plus more for bowl and pan)
- 1¾ tsp salt
Instructions
- Place yeast, warm water and 1 cup of flour into bowl of mixer. Whisk together by hand and let stand 15 to 20 minutes for mixture to rise and bubble.
- Add 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, the salt and the rest of the flour into mixture. Use the dough hook attachment and mix at low speed, until dough is soft and a just slightly sticky. If dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl too much, add a little more flour, but no more than another ¼ cup.
- Continue to mix/knead dough on low speed for about 5 minutes. It should all combine together nicely and be stretchy and smooth.
- Place dough onto a floured work surface and form into a ball, tucking under to for a smooth surface.
- Wipe the inside of a bowl with olive oil and place dough ball inside. Cover bowl with clear wrap sprayed with cooking spray and let rest until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Remove dough from bowl and place onto a floured work surface. Lightly pat/roll into a flat rectangle shape about ½ inch thick. Use a knife to cut the dough into 8 pieces.
- Form each piece into a small round ball by tucking the ends underneath a few times to make it nice and tight and smooth. Place each ball on a surface you can cover, I used a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
- Cover the balls with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle a small amount of flour on your work surface and gently pat each dough ball flat with your fingers, forming a flat, round bread about ¼ inch thick. You might hear some air escape, don’t worry because you are going to rest the dough one more time for at least 5 minutes before cooking.
- Brush a cast-iron skillet with olive oil and place over medium heat. Place the dough round into the hot skillet and cook until bread begins to puff up and bottom has brown spots, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Flip again onto each side for 30 more seconds each. Your pitas will start to bubble and fill with air (some more than others). Once evenly cooked both sides, remove from skillet and place on a plate for cooling.
- Brush a little more olive oil in the skillet and then repeat cooking with the rest of the dough rounds. I re-brushed after each pita and it worked out well. Once you cook one or two, you will start to know how long it will take your skillet to cook them.
Once all of the pitas are cooked, they are ready to go! I must warn you they are REALLY good right after cooking while they are still warm and are delicious all by themselves…OR you can cut them open and stuff with your favorite goodies or use them as a wrap. Below you see a picture of the fresh pita stuffed with kalua pork made in the Instant Pot. Yum! Click HERE for the recipe. The next day we made breakfast sandwiches with them. I think I’m going to make a play on flatbread pizza tonight for my little guy, can’t wait!
More Recipes to make that will compliment this Quick Pita Bread Recipe:
- Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Beef
- Simple Whole Roasted Chicken
- Instant Pot Carnitas
- Healthy Shrimp Ceviche
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Adapted from Chef John’s pita bread recipe on allrecipes.com.
