Pita Bread

Pita Bread

  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 46 mins
  • Servings: 12

    • About This Recipe

    “Note: This is one of the recipes I adopted in the Great ‘Zaar Ophan Adoption of 2005. I hope you enjoy it.”

    Ingredients

  • 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 3 3/4 cupsflour
  • 1/4 cupshortening, softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoonssalt
  • 1 1/4 cupswater

    • Directions

  • In a large mixing bowl soften yeast in warm water.
  • Add 2 cups flour, shortening and salt.
  • Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping bowl.
  • Beat 3 minutes on medium.
  • Stir in as much remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon.
  • Turn onto a lightly floured work surface.
  • Knead in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that is smooth and elastic.
  • Cover, and let rest in a warm place about 15 minutes.
  • Divide into 12 equal portions.
  • Roll each piece with floured hands into a smooth ball.
  • Cover with a damp cloth, let rest 10 minutes.
  • Using fingers, flatten balls.
  • Cover, let rest 10 minutes.
  • On a well floured surface lightly roll one piece of dough at a time into a circle 6 inches in diameter, turning dough over once.
  • Do not puncture or tear dough.
  • (Work with enough flour so dough does not stick) Place on baking sheet.
  • Bake one sheet at a time, in a 450 F oven about 3 minutes or until dough is puffed and softly set.
  • Turn with a spatula, and bake 2 more minutes until dough is light brown.
  • Repeat with remaining dough, baking one batch before uncovering and rolling the next.
  • To serve, slice bread crosswise and fill the pockets with a filling or cut into wedges and pan fry to a crisp for dipping.

    • Reviews

  • “Made this into Whole Wheat Pita Bread by using 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour and 2 1/2 cups bread flour.They turned out great, except I found they were better if I only cooked them 2 minutes on each side.Hearty recommendation!”

  • “This was so easy to make. I also made it whole wheat. Soft and moist. Just be careful not to roll them too thin or they won’t puff up.”

  • “Clear instructions and comes out great everytime.”

  • “This came out terrific, nice and crispy. Thanks for the recipe! Though, I think next time I might try lard instead of shortening.”

  • “These turned out great.”

  • “Oh my gosh these are so good.I had a few not puff but oh well those one make great pita chips.These are so light and fluffy and tender. I hate the tough chewy almost dry ones at the stores.I also like how I can cut the recipe back and make just a few when needed .Keeper recipe for us”

  • “Even people who don’t really like pita bread like these.”

  • “Great dough to work with, puffs up so nice in the oven and this is so simple. I prepped these onto a lightly floured pizza peel, and then slid them onto a hot pizza stone. I could fit 3 at a time on my stone. 2 minutes per side was spot on for me. This seems like it takes awhile- but start to finish was only 1 1/2 hours, and most of that was waiting while the dough rested. This is a very economical recipe, only 4 very cheap ingredients that you already have in your kitchen.”

  • “This is an excellent pita bread recipe.My pita’s had an amazing pocket!!I used them for sandwiches and for ground beef gyros #30081.My BF will NEVER let me by pita bread again.These are so good.”

  • “These are amazing. This was my first time making pita and your instructions were spot on! We loved them. I took some that I over-browned and made chips out of them. They were so good, I over-browned a few on purpose. I will definitely be making these frequently.Thank so much!!”

  • “These were a great treat and fun to make.I used my breadmaker to mix the ingredients and then followed the directions from step #7.When done I took some, seperated them, brushed the tops with olive oil and a mixture of salt, pepper and garlic powder.Returned them to the oven for about 4-5 min. at 350 degrees and made pita chips.Serve with hummus.Yum!”

  • “This bread is amazing! I’m never buying from the store again. These are SO soft and light. The store bought pockets always seem dry and tough. I used the advice of another reviewer and made whole wheat pitas which are absolutely outstanding! I have already tried them with a chicken filling and a cream cheese and raspberry jam filling. Both were excellent. Absolutely perfect pitas, no doubt about it!”

  • “Hubby and kids loved it!I tried making bigger ones, but they didn’t puff.And, if I overrolled it, they didn’t puff.I had to be extremely careful about rolling it.The bread was soft and delicious and lasted for a few days in a sealed bag.I made gyros with greek pork kabobs and tomato, mayo and ranch dressing and grated mozza melted overtop.Yummy!”

  • “The pita bread turned out great! I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour (instead of red wheat flour) & reduced the flour about a half a cup.I baked them on a baking stone and found that I needed to set my oven to 500.I baked them for 2 min, then turned them over & baked an additional 1 to 1 1/2 min.(Look for the picture I posted…) I made these to go with gyro burgers (# 54398), tzatziki (#59336) and a Greek salad with this dressing (#57642).The pita was delicious. I definitely will bake these again!!”

  • “I too used partial wheat flour to great success.And when your husband doesn’t roll them thinly enough they make great biscuits!”

  • “Very good recipe. Well written. I used my pizza stone to bake them in the oven instead of the baking sheet. They were very good.I used it with recipe #54398,Gyro burgers and #57746 Gyro Sauce. I made it all the day before. Very good. “

  • “Somewhat time comsuming, but oh what fun!They taste much better than store bought.Next time I will have my kids help me; I think they will have a blast.”

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