It's easy to make Wholemeal Pitta Bread at home. Use it to make kebabs, to dip in hummus and more! Find out how to make it below.
What is pitta bread?
Pitta bread is type of flat bread, made with yeast and wheat flour. It's commonly found in Mediterranean and Middle East cuisine and looks slightly different depending on where its made.
When you use this recipe for wholemeal pitta breads, you will have puffed pockets that are ready to be stuffed every time. This type of pitta is sometimes known as Arabic, Arabian or Syrian pitta bread and differs from Greek pita which is usually pocket-less.
What ingredients do I need to make pitta bread from scratch?
You don't need many ingredients to make pitta bread at home. They are:
- Flour (in this case wholemeal bread flour, though white bread flour would do just fine)
- Yeast (to help the bread rise);
- Warm water (to help activate the yeast and to make steam in the bread);
- Olive oil (to add richness to the dough); and
- Salt (for flavour).
People often find it surprising that making pitta bread requires yeast. But not all flat breads are unleavened (i.e. don't use yeast).
Is any specialist equipment required?
Making pitta bread is super simple. All you need is a bowl to mix the dough, your hands, and a baking tray.
Of course you could use a bread machine or a stand mixer to knead your dough but heel of your hand will work just fine. The dough shouldn't be too sticky so it should come away from the work surface with just your fingers but you could use a dough scraper if you want to make sure you've got every last scrap of dough.
Last but not least you will need a baking tray (or baking stone) to bake your bread on.
What's the secret to getting pitta bread to puff up?
Pitta bread is baked at a really high temperature. This is the secret to creating the pitta pocket. The high temperature of the oven turns the water in the dough into steam, clever right?
Pre-heating your oven with the baking tray (or baking stone) inside means that when you add the dough to the oven it puffs up almost immediately.
When the pitta bread is taken out of the oven this pocket remains in tact so it can be filled and stuffed.
The recipe
Wholemeal Pitta Bread
Ingredients
- 7 g fast action dried yeast
- 140 g water warm
- 250 g strong wholemeal bread flour
- 4 g salt
- 10 g olive oil
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in warm water and mix, leave to activate for 15 minutes or otherwise in accordance with the packets instructions.
- Add the flour and salt to a bowl and pour in the yeast and water, followed by the olive oil.
- Bring the dough together then tip it out on to your work surface. It should be rough and shaggy at this stage.
- Knead the dough roughly, ripping and tearing it for 5-10 minutes until elastic.
- Place your dough back in the bowl, then cover and leave at room temperature to proof for 1 hour.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 equal sized balls then rest for another 10 minutes.
- Roll each ball into an oval shape and dust with flour. Let sit again for 10 minutes once rolled out.
- Pre-heat your oven to 250 C/ 482 F /gas mark 9 or as hot as your oven will go with an upturned baking sheet inside.
- Place the bread directly onto the tray and cook for 5 minutes. (The pitta will puff up during the process).
- Remove from the oven and immediately cover with a cloth or tea towel until cool.
Nutrition
Serving suggestions
Pitta bread is great for dipping into baba ghanoush, hummus and more! It's also fab stuffed with meats and veggies.
Vegan Seitan Shawarma
More bread recipes
If you love making bread as much as I do, check out the bread recipe archive.
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