This pocket style bread tastes so good when eaten at a Greek restaurant but so horribly dry and icky when bought pre-made at the grocery store. Well fret no longer my dear pocket sandwich fans, now you can make delicious pita bread at home in just a few minutes for your next trip to the lake or outdoor dinner party. While you can bake these to get softer pockets, I recommend grilling to incorporate a bit more taste and texture.
Ingredients
- 350 g flour, ~2.5 cups
- 210 g warm water (90 – 110 F), ~ 8 oz.
- 6.7 g dry yeast, ~2 tsp
- 15 g salt, ~2 tsp
- 9 g olive oil (optional), ~2 tsp
Process
- Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Pitch yeast: Mix the warm water and yeast together, and let sit for about five minutes until the yeast is dissolved but not yet fermenting.
- Make the Dough:
- Mix yeast with flour, salt, and olive oil for four mins in a stand mixer at speed 1. The dough may be dry but will come together when you up the mixer speed to 4 for 4 mins (to knead dough).
- Dust work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Work until elastic and not sticky adding more flour as needed. Be careful not to add too much flour or your pita bread will be dry (like the grocery story versions). At my climate, I don’t usually add any flour.
- Proof:
- Shape dough into a ball and set dough into a bowl that has been brushed with olive oil. Turn dough in bowl until it’s coated with oil. Cover with film and let rise until doubled (~1 – 2 hours).
- You can now finish the pitas or store the dough up to a week in the frig using as much as you need each day for a fresh pita sandwich.
- Make the Bread:
- Turn dough onto your floured work surface rolling out to a long log you divide into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a thick disk the size of a pita (~9″). If needed, sprinkle the pieces with a little more flour and cover them with film until you’re ready to bake/grill them.
- Oven Baking: Preheat the oven to 450° F and let baking sheet warm in oven. Place pitas directly on the hot baking sheet for ~3 minutes. Baking yields a softer pita with a more pronounced pocket.
- Grilling: Warm a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat then brush pan with olive oil. Grill pita 30 seconds or until you see bubbles starting to form. Flip and grill 2 mins to lightly toast that side. Flip again and cook another 2 mins to toast the initial side.
- Keep cooked/baked pitas covered with a dishtowel while working the remaining pitas.
- Best served immediately, but can be kept for a day or two in a bread box. Better to not make them all at once, just pull a piece out of the fridge each day and repeat steps starting at 5.2.
