Pita: the flatbread that puffs itself into a pocket in the oven
A flat yeast bread that, in a very hot oven, balloons in three minutes and leaves a pocket inside for hummus, falafel, salad or grilled meat. The dough is as simple as roll dough; the whole art is a scorching tray and thin, evenly rolled discs. Eight pieces, and they freeze perfectly.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Kneading 15 min
- Rising 60 min
- Rolling 15 min
- Discs resting 10 min
- Baking 15 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneKnead the dough
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water with the sugar. Pour the yeast water and the olive oil into the flour and salt, mix and knead 8–10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, soft and elastic, slightly tacky but coming away from your hand.
Ingredients: 500 g plain or bread flour · 300 ml water · 10 g fresh yeast · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tsp salt
TipThe dough must be soft: stiff, over-floured discs don't puff, they just bake dry. If it sticks to your hands, oil them instead of adding flour.
Smooth, soft, elasticLet it rise
Shape into a ball, put in an oiled bowl, cover and leave 60 minutes, until doubled.
An hour, until doubledDivide and roll
Heat the oven to 250 °C (its maximum) with a tray or stone inside: the tray must heat for at least 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 balls of about 100 g and roll each into an 18 cm disc 5 mm thick, even, with no thinner spots. Cover with a cloth and leave 10 minutes.
TipEven thickness means an even pocket. A thinner spot lets the steam out and the pita tears instead of puffing. Roll from the centre outwards, turning the disc every few strokes.
18 cm discs, five millimetres, evenBake on the hot tray
Take out the hot tray, quickly lay 2–3 discs on it and return it to the oven. Bake 3–4 minutes: after a minute the disc starts to swell, after two it is a balloon, then it colours lightly. Don't open the oven until they have puffed. Remove and bake the next batch at once — all the batches take about 15 minutes in total.
Ingredients: 500 g plain or bread flour · 300 ml water · 10 g fresh yeast · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp sugar · 2 tsp salt
TipThe pocket is steam: the hot tray flashes the water in the dough into steam that pushes the disc apart from inside while the top and bottom set separately. A cold tray bakes pita slowly and flat.
Three minutes, a balloon, lightly goldenWrap in a cloth
Stack the baked pitas at once and wrap them in a linen cloth: the steam inside softens the crust, the pita stays pliable and can be split into a pocket. Left loose on a rack they quickly dry out and turn hard.
In a cloth, to stay softServe or freeze
Cut in half, or slit the edge and open the pocket. Fill with hummus, salad, falafel, grilled chicken. Cold pitas freeze in a bag for 2 months; refresh 30 seconds in a toaster or on a dry pan.
A pocket ready for anything
Before you start
In a pan
No oven: a dry cast-iron pan over high heat, the disc a minute on one side, flip and cover with a lid for a minute; the steam under the lid puffs the pita just the same.
Wholemeal
Swap 200 g of the flour for graham or wholemeal and add 20 ml more water. Puffs slightly less, tastes nutty.
The pita didn't puff
Tray too cold, discs too thick or uneven, or dough under-risen. Tray 20 minutes at maximum, 5 mm, even, and dough doubled.
