Easy Pita Bread Recipe
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You know I love a good bread recipe, especially a good Paul Hollywood bread recipe, so here’s my take on his Pita Bread Recipe.
Or is that Pitta Breads? I have no idea but I think pita and pitta are the same things. Yep looked it up and they ARE the same thing. Pitt-a is the British English pronunciation.
Pocket Bread Recipe for the WIN
This is a traditional pita or pocket bread recipe. I loved these as a child. And I always wanted to buy them but I’m not sure they even existed in stores up here in the 70s.
And where did I EVER see them to decide I NEEDED them?
If only I’d known how EASY they are to make, I’d have tried making my own pocket bread. Do understand that any new to you recipe can be a failure so if these don’t work at first, try them again!
Why did my Pita Bread Stay Flat?
One thing that can mess you up when making pita bread is overworking the dough. If you divide it, let it rest, roll it out flat and leave it alone until you bake it you should be good. If you keep working, re-roll it, and otherwise overwork your dough rounds, your pita may not puff.
Another reason it won’t puff is that you’re cooking it too hot. And that can kill the yeast which in turn means you won’t get the pockets inside.
Best Bread Recipes
Some of my MOST popular bread recipes are Paul Hollywood bread recipes that I converted to American measurements. YES, I do know that weights are the best way to measure ingredients but if you don’t have a scale, you don’t have a scale.
With that being said, sometimes you want to make a recipe and you need to use cup measurements. And I understand that need. So I work these bread recipes over and over to make sure the measurements are as accurate as possible.
ALWAYS make these bread recipes with loosened flour. No need to sift it, you probably won’t get enough flour in the dough! OR use a whisk to gently loosen the flour, or even a slotted spoon will loosen it. Then scoop into a measuring cup and level with a knife.
My Favorite Paul Hollywood Bread Recipes
- Classic Cottage Loaf
- Yeast-Free Naan Bread Recipe
- Rustic Grissini Breadsticks
- Soft Homemade Pretzels
- Ciabatta Bread
- Cob Loaf
A Couple of GBBO Inspired Bread Recipes
Yes, you can absolutely make bread even IF you don’t have bread flour. Bread flour has wheat that has a higher gluten content so it’s a little more structurally sound. If you DON’T have bread flour it’s going to be just fine. I test all my recipes with
As a mom of teen boys I know buying bread flour in bulk can be hard to do, whether its availability OR price that makes it hard. So I make sure that if anyone needs (KNEADS) to use AP flour, they’ll be just fine to do so.
You can ALSO make your own bread flour out of AP flour. Simply measure out your flour, for every cup remove 1.5 teaspoons of flour and add in 1.5 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten.
Pita Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast *see note
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons olive oil divided
Instructions
- mix the flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer
- add most of the warm water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil
- stir to combine, add more of the water as needed to form a soft dough, you may require 1-2 more teaspoons of warm water
- once it’s come together as a dough let the machine knead it for 2 minutes
- use the remaining oil to grease a bowl, put the dough in it, turn to coat, cover and let it rise until doubled-for me personally it took 90 minutes
- once it’s doubled place a clean baking sheet in the oven at 475˚
- knock back the dough by folding it over on itself
- then divide in 4-6 balls
- roll each ball flat into an oval
- remove the baking sheet from the oven, dust with extra flour and place the pitas on the sheet
- my big 11X17 pans held 6 pitas comfortably, you may need to use two pans
- bake until puffed and golden brown, roughly 5-10 minutes
- remove from the oven and cover with a clean dishcloth until cooled
- stuff and enjoy
Notes
- depending on your weather, and how the flour was sifted you may need a little extra warm water
- you will need extra flour for dusting on the baking sheet
- if you are using instant yeast ake the recipe as called for, if you’re using regular active yeast you can dissolve the yeast in a small amount of the recipe’s water first and then add that first
Nutrition
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- Baked Rigatoni
- Best Oreo Rice Krispie Treats
- Pink Champagne Cupcakes
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- Heaven On Earth Cake
- Homemade Rainbow Cupcakes
- Mixed Berry Custard Pie
- Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi Skillet
- Easy Roasted Chicken
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- Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole
I know when I fell in love with pita. We went to Greece in 1982 and fell in love with souvlaki from the street food carts in Athens. They were tasty pitas, with generous pockets lined with grape leaves and filled with lamb sausage, fresh tomatoes and onions, and topped with yogurt. Nothing like the souvlakis served here in fast food restaurants!