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Greek Pita Bread

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Greek pita bread perfection!

Simple and quick with just a 30 min rise, you’ll love making your own pita bread! Once you do, store-bought will never taste the same πŸ™‚

This recipe makes 8 pitas about 6-8″ in diameter so a good size. Β They can easily be rolled out smaller or larger to fit your purposes. Β Just make sure your pan fits your pita!

Remember, in case you’re not familiar with Greek pita bread, these do not open into a pocket like Middle Eastern or Syrian bread. These pita are meant to be wrapped around a filling or, and probably my favorite way, cut into triangles and used as scoops for all sorts of spreads and sauces. Granted, though not traditional, I have a friend who slaters hers in jam so feel free to enjoy them as you like πŸ™‚

Always check your water temp before adding yeast – think Goldilocks, neither too hot nor too cold! Too cold and your yeast won’t proof, too hot and you’ll kill the yeast off so no proofing there either. A nice, lukewarm or room temperature is what you’re looking for for perfect proofing.

BONUS: because this is a flatbread, it requires little kneading and only a 30 minute rising time.

Also important, this is a recipe that needs you to use your hands. Get right in there to mix everything together – a great recipe for little hands to learn in the kitchen too!

  • 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 scant tsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups room temperature water
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Combine water, yeast and sugar in small bowl or cup. Set aside to proof for approx 15 minutes or until foamy.

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.

When yeast has proofed, add to dry ingredients and mix just to just slightly combine.

Add olive oil and mix until all ingredients are completely combined and a somewhat raggedy ball of dough forms.

Turn ball out onto a floured surface and knead for approx five minutes. You’ll feel the dough becoming more elastic and smooth as you work it.

Return kneaded dough to a large bowl, cover with dishcloth and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Turn out onto floured surface, punch down the risen dough just slightly and cut into 8 equal pieces. A dough scraper works beautifully for this! Roll each piece into a small ball and set aside.

With a floured rolling pin, roll out each of the balls of dough to desired size – ideally between 6 and 8′ in diameter.

Heat a cast iron skillet, brush lightly with olive oil and cook pita one at a time for about 2 minutes per side. Β The bread should be just slightly browned – they will puff up a bit, that’s normal. Enjoy warm or cool and store, wrapped well.

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24 Responses to Greek Pita Bread

  1. Anna Petrocelli August 23, 2017 at 3:07 pm #

    Hi, I have never made Greek pita, although I am Greek Thanks for the recipe. I will make it soon.

  2. Bexaida August 23, 2017 at 3:08 pm #

    Love this!… thank you so much I am looking forward to many other delights from your site…

  3. Eva Gallon August 23, 2017 at 4:16 pm #

    I’m also Greek and have always been ‘frightened’ of making pitta bread lol, hopefully I can get this flatbread right, thanks for sharing πŸ™‚

  4. Barb August 23, 2017 at 4:57 pm #

    Looking forward to trying this recipe. How much can I cut back on the salt?

    • Kiki August 24, 2017 at 12:41 am #

      because this is a flatbread and we’re not looking for significant rise, I would say you could as much as half the amount of salt here πŸ™‚

      • Barb August 24, 2017 at 2:41 pm #

        Thank you! Can’t wait to make them.

  5. Irene Wright August 23, 2017 at 9:14 pm #

    Once refrigerated, how long do they last?

    • Kiki August 24, 2017 at 12:39 am #

      well-wrapped, they can keep a week and a half to max two weeks πŸ™‚
      and they freeze well, too!

  6. Maria Raysses-Whipple August 24, 2017 at 10:50 am #

    Dear Kiki,

    Yassou! I love this recipe, but would like to request a gluten free and sugar free version of our beloved pita
    as health and the years now require. I think this would speak to a broad audience.

    Thanks so much for your consideration in this matter.

    Maria Raysses-Whipple

    • Kiki September 9, 2017 at 1:56 pm #

      Maria, other than suggesting Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour, I’m not sure how much I can help here….. GF is not my area of expertise but I’d love to know – and share – your experience if you do try it!

  7. Gina Goth August 24, 2017 at 4:22 pm #

    We just visited our relatives in Xania and
    they made the pitas on the grill. So after making them fresh in the skillet would we put them on the grill ?

    • Kiki September 9, 2017 at 1:52 pm #

      yes! just to quickly toast/warm them πŸ™‚
      so jealous you were in Xania this summer – such a wonderful place!

  8. Sarah August 29, 2017 at 5:58 am #

    Have you tried this recipe with other flours? I.e., would it be possible to substitute wheat or something whole-grain? Thanks for the recipe–I love its simplicity!

    • Kiki September 9, 2017 at 1:51 pm #

      absolutely fine to sub in a harder wheat/whole grain! because it’s a flatbread, we’re not looking for an enormous rise which is sometimes a consideration with whole grains. I’ve used King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour often in this recipe with fantastic results and – bc I was out of everything else – I’ve even used eikorn flour successfully! that did take a bit more water to get dough to right consistency but in general, and thankfully, flatbreads are pretty forgiving πŸ™‚

  9. John August 30, 2017 at 3:39 am #

    Looks great and will definitely try this. How much is a cup in weight?

    • Kiki September 9, 2017 at 1:46 pm #

      average cup of flour comes out as about 120 grams. hope this helps!

  10. Diana Pierce September 24, 2017 at 11:35 am #

    I like to use whole grain flours whenever possible. Could I substitute whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or white whole wheat in this recipe? Or perhaps for half the flour? Thank You. I just found your blog this morning and though I’m not a vegan or even a vegetarian, I want to eat a more plant based diet. Your recipes look absolutely delightful. Can’t wait to try many of them.

    • Kiki October 5, 2017 at 9:47 pm #

      Popular question!
      See my reply here to Sarah πŸ™‚

  11. Ruchama October 10, 2017 at 11:13 pm #

    We make our pita on the newer version of the George Forman Grill. Works like a charm, cooks both sides at once; we use the flat plate on the bottom.

    • Joyce Demirjian April 19, 2018 at 9:53 am #

      I have the old version of that grill do you think I could use that to make this bread?

      • Kiki May 9, 2018 at 7:40 pm #

        I’d give it a go!

  12. Ozum November 10, 2017 at 7:52 pm #

    I just made this for dinner and it was the perfect compliment to my Indian curry with rice dish. It’s chewy, soft and delicious. I used all purpose flour and only used 1 tsp olive oil. I also did not oil the pan because that’s how my grandma makes hers. Also I kept them wrapped in a kitchen towel while cooking the other ones and that made them soft and kept them warm longer. Thank you so much for the recipe!

  13. Linda April 11, 2018 at 6:05 pm #

    Just made a batch of these and they are fantastic. Quick and easy especially with the quick rise. Thanks!

  14. Sandra Danoff July 6, 2018 at 6:51 am #

    They were wonderful. Made exactly as recipe outlined except using food processor. Kneaded by hand only a few times until silky. Easy and delish

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