Make light and fluffy pita bread at home with pantry staples like flour, honey, and yeast. Enjoy this simple, delicious puffy pita bread with your next Greek-inspired dinner!
Greek flavors are a favorite in the Crumbs house. I can’t make a meal plan for my family without at least one night dedicated to fresh Mediterranean cuisine. If it were up to my husband, he’d combine this pita bread recipe with Greek Couscous every night of the week for dinner.
I’m not going to lie – I like couscous too. I love to create a complete Greek dinner for my family with tzatziki sauce, Hummus, grilled chicken marinated with Greek Dressing, and Steamed Veggies.
The only thing left is the pita bread! And fresh out of the oven, homemade pita bread beats pitas from the grocery store any day!
HOMEMADE PITA BREAD RECIPE
This easy homemade pita bread recipe is excellent for beginner bread-makers. Even those who are directionally challenged will find this recipe to be a cinch! It’s also great because it has:
- Just six simple ingredients.
- It’s super easy! There is no water to heat, there’s only one rise, and no shaping technique is required (oval pitas taste just as good as round ones).
- Bakes super quick! We’re talking 3 minutes and you’re done!
- And of course, these pitas taste amazing!
PITA BREAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS
I bet you have all of these pita ingredients in your kitchen right now:
- All-purpose flour (see notes below for different flour options)
- Honey
- Salt
- Active Dry Yeast
- Butter
- Warm Water
That’s it! You cannot get any simpler than that!
Psst…Did you know that many salts contain MICROPLASTICS? It’s a sneaky toxin that may be in your everyday salt, and thus your everyday food (um, gross). I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because their salt is FREE of microplastics, and it tastes delicious! (PLUS, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt – just pay shipping and handling!)
INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PITA BREAD
Step 1. In either a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and knead on medium-low until the dough mixture is smooth, soft, and elastic, for approximately 10 minutes. Add flour or water as needed for the dough to be tacky but not sticky.
Step 2. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat it with the oil, and cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Allow the pita dough to rise until doubled in volume, for 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Step 3. Punch the dough down and divide it into 8 pieces, rolling each piece into a ball. Cover with a towel and let the dough balls rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450F.
Step 4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll each ball into a circle approximately 8” in diameter and ⅛” thick. Use a rolling pin if desired. Mist a pizza stone or baking sheet with water and wait 30 seconds. Place as many dough rounds as you can on the stone or baking pan and bake for about 3 minutes for the dough to puff up. Wait 30 seconds and remove each pita bread to cool on a rack.
Step 5. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Store leftover pitas in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 3 days and reheat them in the toaster or oven. You can also freeze pitas for up to 3 months.
PITA BREAD RECIPE VARIATIONS
Einkorn pita bread: Einkorn doesn’t require kneading like modern wheat does to activate the gluten, so I knead the dough just until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. With einkorn, you’ll likely need to add more flour or reduce the water. I usually use 1 scant cup of water. This works for either whole grain or all-purpose einkorn flour.
White whole wheat pita bread: Use white whole wheat flour and replace ¼ cup water with ¼ cup room temperature milk.
Whole wheat pita bread: Use all wheat flour (or 2 cups of wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour). Substitute ½ cup water with ½ cup room temperature milk. Whole wheat pitas may not inflate as much or turn out as fluffy, but they’re still delicious!
HOMEMADE PITAS TIPS
It takes about 2 hours to make homemade pitas. Most of that time is during the rise (1 ½ hours) so you’re definitely not stuck in the kitchen the whole time.
If you start this pitta bread recipe at 4 pm and then come back at 5 pm to start everything else, you’ll be baking pitas by 5:30 pm and eating by 6. Of course, if you know you won’t have time during the week, pita bread can be made a few days ahead of time. Make a batch on Sunday afternoon and plan your Greek night during the first half of the week.
Reduce your time spent in the kitchen even more by skipping making bread this week and making a double batch of pitas instead!
TO SERVE PITAS
Like I said before, our favorite meal with pitas usually involves Couscous, grilled chicken marinated with Greek Dressing, Hummus, and tzatziki. But there are plenty of other yummy options for this pita recipe!
- Tuck some Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma into your pita pockets
- Serve Meatballs and Spaghetti Sauce and use the pitas to sop up all the extra sauce on your plate. Yum!
- Dip pitas into Instant Pot Butternut Curried Soup for an easy and tasty dinner.
- Serve peanut butter banana roll-ups in pitas for lunch instead of sandwiches.
- Add your favorite chicken salad for another fun twist on sandwich night.
- You can even cut the pita bread into small pieces and toast them for homemade pita chips!
PITTA BREAD RECIPE FAQS
Is it worth it to make your own homemade pita bread?
You’ll have to determine your food priorities, but for me, it’s a resounding yes! With simpler ingredients and a much fresher taste, homemade pita bread wins hands down!
What is the difference between pita bread and naan?
Pita bread is a flatbread that was originally eaten in Middle Eastern and then Mediterranean cultures. Naan bread is a flatbread originally eaten in India. Pita bread uses simpler ingredients, whereas naan may contain several spices, garlic, ghee, and yogurt ingredients. Both are less than an inch thick.
Can you make gluten free pita bread?
I haven’t tried making pita bread recipe gluten free, but I suggest using a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour like this one.
Why isn’t my pita bread puffy?
Pita bread needs a really high temperature to get nice and puffy, but even the fluffiest pita bread sinks after coming out of the oven. Whether you end up with a pita pocket to tuck delicious filling into, or just a flatbread, you’ll still have a yummy bread to add to your meal.
MORE EASY BREAD RECIPES
- Rosemary Sea Salt Flatbread
- No-Knead Artisan Bread
- Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
- 90-Minute Man Bread
- Easiest White Sandwich Bread
- Homemade Pizza Dough
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Make light and fluffy pita bread at home with pantry staples like flour, honey, and yeast. Enjoy this simple, delicious puffy pita bread with your next Greek-inspired dinner!
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes
- Yield: Yields 8 pita breads 1x
- Category: Breads
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (see notes below for different flour options)
- 1 ½ tbsp sugar (or honey)
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 4 tsp yeast
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 ¼ cups water, room temperature
Instructions
- In either a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and knead on medium-low until the dough mixture is smooth, soft, and elastic, for approximately 10 minutes. Add flour or water as needed for the dough to be tacky but not sticky.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat it with the oil, and cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Allow the pita dough to rise until doubled in volume, for 1 to 1 ½ hours.
- Punch the dough down and divide it into 8 pieces, rolling each piece into a ball. Cover with a towel and let the dough balls rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll each ball into a circle approximately 8” in diameter and ⅛” thick. Use a rolling pin if desired. Mist a pizza stone or baking sheet with water and wait 30 seconds. Place as many dough rounds as you can on the stone or baking pan and bake for about 3 minutes for the dough to puff up. Wait 30 seconds and remove each pita bread to cool on a rack.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Store leftover pitas in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 3 days and reheat them in the toaster or oven. You can also freeze pitas for up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe Variations
- Einkorn pita bread: Einkorn doesn’t require kneading like modern wheat does to activate the gluten, so I knead the dough just until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. With einkorn, you’ll likely need to add more flour or reduce the water. I usually use 1 scant cup of water. This works for either whole grain or all-purpose einkorn flour.
- White whole wheat pita bread: Use white whole wheat flour and replace ¼ cup water with ¼ cup room temperature milk.
- Whole wheat pita bread: Use all wheat flour (or 2 cups of wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour). Substitute ½ cup water with ½ cup room temperature milk. Whole wheat pitas may not inflate as much or turn out as fluffy, but they’re still delicious!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pita
- Calories: 534
I don’t have a stand mixer, and not sure my hand-mixer is strong enough for dough.
If I need to mix this with a wooden spoon in a bowl, will it be too difficult or frustrating to “knead” by hand it if it’s supposed to end up still tacky? Worried about adding too much flour and not turning out right.
This looks amazing! I will have to try it out. I’ve never experimented with pita bread. I’ve made poori but that was on the stovetop with oil.
Yours definitely look better than the packaged ones you find in the store.
Hey, Tiffany. You speak of Einkorn flour… but this recipe doesn’t call for it. Since you don’t knead Einkorn… how do you make this pita using Einkorn flour? (regular or whole wheat)
Hi Trish! I actually make this recipe using einkorn! Einkorn doesn’t “require” kneading like modern wheat does to active the gluten, so I knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. With einkorn, you’ll likely need to add more flour, or reduce the water (I reduce the water to scant 1 cup). This works for either whole grain or AP einkorn.
Thank you for your helpful response. I use Einkorn exclusively so I’m pleased to know your modifications.
I am way late coming in, but can you use AP flour instead of bread flour? I have a ton of AP flour that needs to get used up pretty quickly. This sounds like a great alternative to eating bread all the time.
Aboslutely!
I ran out of money for my budget this month, but still had some hummus left so I made a double batch of this recipe last night and everyone loved them! Now I have 2 gallon freezer bags full of delicious, cloud-like pita ‘pillows’! I think we’re going to open them up and make BLTs tonight . . . should be interesting! Thank you for a great recipe!
P.s. To eat them plain the kids found them just a little lacking. What could I add to give them a little more hint of flavor?
Hi Elizah! To flavor the pitas so they’re a bit more exciting plain, consider adding more salt and some herbs. Italian seasoning, a blend of Greek spices (use the dry ones in this recipe: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2012/05/yummy-recipe-greek-pasta-salad-greek-salad-dressing/), taco seasoning… the sky is the limit!
Peanut butter!
I will definitely be trying this recipe this week! Bake for 3 minutes?! YES 🙂
Wonderful news Kristy – thanks!
I recently started to make my own pitta breads too which are so much nicer than store bought pittas and save a fortune. Thank you for sharing this with Healthy Vegan Fridays. Check back on Friday to see if you were one of the Top 3! We hope to see you again this week. You can submit a post from Friday to end of Tuesday.
They ARE way better Katherine! Thanks for hosting!
Looks yummy!! I can’t ever find Pita bread at the stores where I live (small town), but making it from scratch is even better! I am pinning this 🙂
Thanks for sharing on Natural Living Monday!
Pita bread is something I absolutely love, but have never tried making. I will definitely be attempting this though! I would love for you to share this at what i am eating http://www.townsend-house.com/2013/04/what-i-am-eating-comfort-food.html
This looks wonderful and thank you for sharing it on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday on Poor and Gluten Free. Do you have a GF version by any chance? It’s such a tease because GF pita is so hard to find!!
Tiffany,
I recently found cinnamon sweeted pita chips at my local Kroger. They are actually a Private Selection product. I think they are relatively new. This recipe would be great for making those. What are your thoughts. Thanks.
Cinnamon pita chips?! Count me in! I think this recipe would be excellent. We made half whole wheat, half bread flour last night and it had a slightly sweet flavor. Toasted with cinnamon would be delish – did they add sugar? Maybe just a smidge in the toasting… now I’m kinda hoping the kids DON’T eat them for lunch! ~Tiffany
Yes the pita chips were a cinnamon sugar type. I drizzeled a little honey over mine. And you are completely correct. DELISH!!!! I guess you could just sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mixture and toast them. Would the cinn/sugar stay on the chips? I don’t have much experience with toasting pita chips but I would love to make my own. 🙂
You’re making me drool Emily! I’d say it’s inevitable that some cinn/sugar would fall off, but if you’re brushing w/melted butter or tossing w/olive oil then that should help. This cinn/sugar/honey talk is making me second guess the idea of waiting until they go stale! =) ~Tiffany
Awesome! I don’t know why it never occurred to me to make pita bread – I do make tortillas, naan and other breads. I’ll have to try this. In other news my groceries were $501.79 last month. This is no where near your level, but typically we used to spend $650 to $750 (honestly I don’t know on what?) Its taken awhile to get it down, but we’re eating healthier at way less. Your site and a couple of others are partly the cause ( the fact that my youngest is now 3 and I can actually accomplish things sometimes is also partly the cause).
Leah,
Way to go on your grocery bill! We must not compare one budget to another’s – simply evaluate your own and continue to bring it down. Reducing it $150-$250 is HUGE! How about some pita chips and hummus as a reward? 🙂 ~Tiffany