Making fresh bread is always gratifying but there is something extra rewarding about homemade pita bread. There are a few things you can do to increase the chances of your pita “pocket” forming.

First: a well made dough. Making sure your yeast is activated well, kneading thoroughlyn and then rising long enough will all help produce the puffed up pita that you are looking for.

Second: a high temperature oven. A high temperature works the same with pita bread as it does with muffins. It makes the outside cook first, sealing the outer layer and capturing the gases released on the inside as the interior finishes cooking. In muffins this gives you a nice domed top and in pita bread it gives you a pocket.

Third: pieces cut not torn. Tearing your bread dough prevents it from rising properly. It affects the fibers of the gluten and while you can get away with it for some types of breads, pita bread is one where the rise is especially important. So cut to portionn don’t tear.

Fourth and final: roll them thin. Thin pitas have thinner skins and it takes less effort to make them puff. Thick pieces will still taste great but more like a flatbread without a full pocket forming, if any. For an example, I recently made pizza and rolled my dough too thin. I removed it from the oven to add toppings after partially cooking and it had puffed like pita bread. Great, but not for pizza.

Regardless of all this, the initial dough making is about the same as any other yeast bread dough. You can find more detailed info about that here. Dissolve your yeast, let it foamn add your flours and remaining ingredients, knead well, rise.

You’ll want to create a dough that has a little more moisture as it will incorporate additional flour when you roll and shape it. Sprinkle flour over your workspace and turn your dough out. Shape into something you can cut evenly and cut unto 8 pieces.

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Shape each piece into a ball and let rest for about 10 minutes. This is a good time to preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Set an ungreased baking sheet in your oven, upside down to heat up on the top rack.

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Roll your pitas out and make sure they are relatively thin. Sprinkle with flour if they are sticking to your work surface or rolling pin. Mine were about 8 or 9 inches across.

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Place them one or two at a time (or more if you have a bigger baking sheet), bottom side up, on your overturned baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes.

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Repeat with your remaining dough. Cover cooked bread with a very lightly damp cloth.

Then it’s time to eat! I served these with some baked falafel patties. It is definitely worth the time to have them freshly baked. Hope you enjoy!

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Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup slightly warm to the touch water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or one packet)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Pour water and sugar into bowl of stand mixer
2. Sprinkle yeast on top; stir briefly
3. Allow to activate 3-5 minutes jntil foamy
4. Add flours; add remaining ingredients
5. Set mixer to ‘stir’ until flour is mostly incorporated; increase speed slightly to knead 5-7 minutes until dough is elastic and sticking only to the very bottom of the bowl
6. If dough is too dry/crumbly, add a little water at a time or if dough is too wet/sticky add flour a little at a time and incorporate fully by kneading
7. Coat dough and bowl lightly with oil
8. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm spot 1-1 1/2 hours
9. Sprinkle work surface with flour; turn dough out onto surface
10. Cut (don’t tear) into 8 equal pieces; shape into balls and allow to rest 10 minutes
11. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and set overturned baking sheet on top rack
12. Roll dough balls into 8-9 inch circles, adding flour if sticking
13. Set one or two circles bottom side up on ungreased overturned baking sheet and bake 3-5 minutes until puffed; if pita doesn’t puff the whole way through, they can often be separated gently after cutting
14. Cover cooked pita bread with lightly damp towel; serve with your favorite sandwich fillings and enjoy!