Have you ever made pita bread? It’s a great example of the Endless Quest for Success that baking can sometimes be.
Most of the things I bake are pretty reliable. If they're not, I stop fussing and move on. But there are two things I bake that are a roll of the dice every single time: Popovers, and pita.
If you’ve ever played golf, popovers and pita are just like the perfect drive. Eyes on the ball, slow backswing, weight shift… and there it goes, the ball making a perfect 250-yard parabola down the middle of the fairway. “Ah, yes,” I think to myself. “NOW I’ve got it.”
And I step up at the next hole, do the VERY SAME THINGS I did not 15 minutes before, and shank one about 30 yards into the water.
I’ve tried every popover method possible. Making batter in a blender (vs. mixer); letting it rest (vs. not). Into a cold oven; into a hot oven. Peeking; not peeking. Aluminum pan, cast iron, silicone. Sometimes they pop; sometimes they just lie there like a puddle of cream-colored mud. And I swear they’re laughing at me. “HA—and you call yourself a baker…”
Pitas do the same thing. When I lived in Maine and baked in a big old cast-iron Garland gas oven, my pitas really popped. They looked like little balloons in the oven, barely able to contain all of that steamy air in their thinly stretched skins.
But here, using an electric oven, my pitas lie quietly on their pan, rising just a half an inch or so. Just so I know that yeah, the yeast is working. But something else isn’t. Oh sure, the occasional pita will pop pretty nicely. But it’s so random… With three pitas on a pan, one pops, two don’t. I mean, what’s up with that? I can’t figure it out.
But I keep trying. And in the meantime, even when my pita doesn’t pop, it’s pretty darned good. I like to fold it around homemade tarragon chicken salad (with golden raisins and toasted almonds). And cut it into wedges for hummus.
And I comfort myself with the fact that, like the perfect golf shot, a popped pita is always a possibility, appearing in the oven just often enough to tease me into continuing my quest.
Like most yeast breads, pita dough isn't complicated to put together. Simply put all of the ingredients in a bowl...
Mix to form a cohesive dough...
And knead till smooth, and just a bit sticky/soft.
Put the dough in a lightly greased container, cover it...
...and let it rise for about an hour. It won't necessarily double in bulk. Though mine did, as you can see.
Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into 8 balls. They don't need to be smooth, but they should be round.
Working with 2 to 4 balls at a time, flatten each into a disk.
Then roll into a 6” circle. Keep the other dough balls covered as you work, so they don't dry out. Place the 6” circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you have a baking stone, you can pick the parchment up and slide it right onto the stone, pitas and all. If you're not using a stone, you'll just leave parchment and pitas on the baking sheet.
Now, the secret is a REALLY hot oven. Like, 500°F. I have trouble bringing our test kitchen ovens to that temperature, so my pitas often don't pop. If I'm lucky, they kind of pop halfway, like this.
Most of the time they just kind of lie there and become golden, like this. Which is fine; they make a lovely, soft, wrap-type bread, perfect for wrapping around sandwich fillings, mopping up spaghetti sauce (I know, I'm mixing cultures here), or cutting into wedges and using as bread dippers.
In order to keep the pitas soft, stack them in a cotton towel as soon as they come out of the oven, and let them cool there.
Even when they don't pop, pitas are a nice-looking, comfort-type bread: soft, golden, tasty. That's why I'll never give up my quest for perfectly popped pita: it's so easy to love the failures!
Read, review, and rate (please!) our recipe for Golden Pita Bread.
Update: See comment from Cathie (Sept. 12, 2008) below. Her method of baking directly on the oven rack worked just fine for me, except I baked the pitas 5 minutes, because they didn't fully pop until 3 minutes. I used my favorite pizza crust recipe, as it's so easy to roll out. Here's a picture of the finished pitas; they've deflated a bit, but are still popped—yeah!
Recipe in this post
Comments
Post A Comment
Blog
January 16, 2025 at 6:06am
Making pita bread has always been a bit of a challenge for me too! No matter how many times I’ve tried, it feels like a toss-up, sometimes they puff up perfectly, and other times, they just stay flat. I’ve tried different methods and ovens, but it still feels random at times. I recently started using the Spinning Grillers Pita Bread Oven, and it’s made things easier. The heat is steady, and more of my pitas are puffing up now. Even when some don’t, they’re still great for wraps. Baking pita is definitely a learning process, but it’s one I enjoy sticking with.
October 1, 2024 at 2:49pm
Another comment: I have made the Lebanese bread recipe (khoubiz) in the "Lebanese Cookbook" by Dawn, Elaine, and Selwa Anthony, with a few tweaks. I use half Golden Wheat and half AP flour by weight and Whole Grain Bread Improver. I also mix all of the ingredients together rather than to knead in the oil -- much easier. I let the mixed dough rest for about 30 minutes before kneading it, then let it rest in the bowl until it's puffy. I divide the dough (typically 4 pieces for a half batch), preshape the pieces into rounds, let them rest under a covered cloth for about 20 minutes before rolling them out, and then let the rolled-out bread rest for about another 20-30 minutes. (I preheat my oven with to 500 with a baking stone on the lowest rack before I start preshaping the bread.) When rolled out as thinly as possible, the diameter of each piece is about the size of a small dinner plate, bigger than 6 inches and bigger than a dessert plate, but smaller than a full-sized dinner plate. They say to preheat the oven to "maximum heat." I hesitate to test the limits of my oven and baking stone, so 500 is fine for me, based on the temperature of an oven thermometer. They also say to bake the breads on an oiled baking tray. I tried that ONCE and never again! Big, smoky mess! They say to bake for 4 to 8 minutes until it swells in the center and "browns slightly." For me, that's about 4 1/2 to 5 minutes, baking them one at a time and getting the bread as close to the back of the stone as I can. Anyway, I'm sharing this version because it makes a more substantial piece of bread than the Golden Pita does, even when sliced in half. A half slice makes an incredibly filling sandwich with the whole wheat flour. When they puff up, they create a big and fairly sturdy pocket for sandwiches. I have been stuffing them with homemade hummus and peppers, falafel patties, and even sliced turkey and Swiss cheese.
June 2, 2024 at 12:35am
I'm getting better at this. I got 7 out of 8 to puff in the center! The one that didn't puff in the center still got puffy around the edges. That one also was one of the first two that went in the oven on a baking stone and was closer to the oven door. I made sure on the next batch (baking two at a time) to put both pitas to the rear of the oven. Maybe the stone heated up more after the first batch, but I suspect the rear of the oven stayed hotter. If I get a nice pocket, I also have learned to slice the pitas in half before they have cooled completely. Otherwise, the thin layer of bread gets too brittle.
June 2, 2024 at 11:37am
In reply to I'm getting better at this… by Larry K. (not verified)
Thanks for sharing these pita-popping tips, Larry!
June 2, 2024 at 4:04pm
In reply to I'm getting better at this… by Larry K. (not verified)
Adding to my earlier comment, I suspect as other people have commented that a baking stone can yield inconsistent results. I started preheating my oven to 520 a good 30 minutes before I was ready to bake. (My oven thermometers-- yes, I have two of them --indicate that my oven temperature is about 20 degrees cooler than the oven's temperature setting.) I preshaped the pitas and gave them a 15-minute rest before rolling them out and letting them rest for another 15 minutes. I know some bread recipes call for preheating a stone or Dutch oven an hour before baking. The pitas might be less likely to puff up if the stone hasn't gotten hot enough. It's getting hot enough here in NC to the point where I might try grilling pitas indirectly in a very hot grill.
August 3, 2024 at 1:23am
In reply to Adding to my earlier comment… by Larry K. (not verified)
With electric ovens, there's a thermostat that will attempt to keep the *average* inside temperature at your setting. So it cycles on and off, often with a +/- 50-degree difference, even when you're at 500 degrees or more. I make store-box pizzas (thawed and on the bottom rack), and realized: I'm broiling from the bottom! There's a reason oven manufacturers tell you to keep the door cracked about 3-inches, when broiling. It's to prevent the thermostat from turning off the element: Broiling wants continual top heat.
Same with the bottom element in the oven for hot temps: Keep the oven door cracked about 3-inches. That will let enough hot air escape to fool the thermostat and keep the element going continually. I'll bet the lack of "pop" is related to the oven temperature dropping below the 500-degrees, maybe to 450, then cycling on to bring it back up. Like the electric stove burners. You get an "average" of 500-degrees, when for such a short cook time, you need a "constant" 500. Broil from the bottom, keeping the element always on.
April 8, 2023 at 12:31am
I know this is somewhat dated but wanted to add a success story. I baked pita based on this recipe in my Ooni Koda gas oven tonight. Couldn’t find much out there on this method so here ya go. I used a mix of flour: about 60% KA AP, 20% KA Whole Wheat, and 20% caputo 00 (percentages approximate but total precise). Added about 1 tsp of lemon juice to the water for the acid (in place of dough improver). Weighed everything. Let the dough hydrate 10-15 min then kneaded in the bowl by hand 10 min. Lovely dough. Proofed an hour in my warm kitchen then refrigerated about 4 hours till closer to dinner. Punched down & divided, rested about 15 min, rolled out & rested about 30 more while my ooni heated up (low on that oven for about 600°). I took the advice from a video referenced here and slid them into my pizza oven rolled side down. Used AP with a bit of salt on the peel. Everyone of them inflated beautifully!! Turned a bit. Flipped em for 30 sec. They were outstanding.
November 1, 2022 at 11:10am
I have a comment and a question.
First my question: If I wanted to a sourdough starter to add flavor and leaven the bread, how much would you suggest that I use? Would I be able to use only the starter, or would a little yeast also be recommended?
Regarding the failure of breads to puff, I have found that the only time that I have had a problem getting them to puff is due to problems with the initial shaping. Normally the process I use is to flatten each dough piece slightly, pull the edges up and join in the center (must be well sealed!), flip them over and roll them around to form a tight round ball (similar to shaping a hard roll). I flatten them slightly and let them rest while I shape all of the others. When I go to roll them out, I dust the surface liberally with flour, and flip them a couple of times during rolling. I find that it is essentially that you do not get any sticking or creases during the rolling process or they will not puff completely. I bake them, 3 at a time, seam side down, on a stone that has been preheated for at least 45 min. Normally they will fully inflate in about 2-3 minutes. The one time that I had a failure to puff was when one of my pitas stuck to the work surface. In that case only part of the pita puffed, and the part that didn't looked like it had a blow out.
November 3, 2022 at 4:47pm
In reply to I have a comment and a… by Vivian (not verified)
Thanks for such a detailed run down of your process Vivian! This kind of insight from our bakers is invaluable. Again, thank you! As for adding sourdough, if you have a nice healthy active starter you shouldn't need to add commercial yeast as well (but it never hurts if you aren't sure about how strong your starter is). We suggest starting out with about 150 grams of ripe or fed starter. You would then need to also remove about 75 grams of flour and 75 grams of from the ingredients listed in the recipe to keep everything fairly balanced. Best of luck with your next pita experiment!
November 9, 2022 at 1:57pm
In reply to Thanks for such a detailed… by mperry
I tried this yesterday and it worked out great! Used 150 g of starter, as you suggested, with no additional commercial yeast. All of my pitas puffed within about 2-3 minutes. I baked the pitas for only 3 minutes and didn't flip them because I find that they tend to get a little dried out if you bake them any longer.