Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Pita Bread – What’s in Your Pocket?

There are many baked products that you could make at home, but because of time, effort, and quality issues, probably shouldn’t. Fortunately, pita bread is not on that list. The dough is easy to make, and much like the flour tortillas we did, the taste and texture of the freshly made product is far superior to anything that comes with a twist tie.

The method is very straightforward, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about production. As you’ll see in the clip, after you roll the pita dough out, you’ll need to let it rest for 5 minutes before grilling. Since each one takes about 5-6 minutes in the pan, while one is cooking, you’ll want to roll the next, so it’s rested and ready to puff.

Speaking of “puff,” don’t be too upset if yours don’t go full balloon. Sometimes they all puff, sometimes some, and sometimes none. This is the way of the pita. But the good news is, even if they don’t fully puff, you should still get some sort of internal pocket with which to stuff. Even if you don’t, it’s okay…you’ll just call them “flatbread” instead! I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 8 pita breads:
For the sponge mix:
1 pkg dry active yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 cup warm water (about 90-100 degrees F.)
1 cup (4.5 oz by weight) all-purpose flour
Then:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose flour, or until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms (about 8-9 oz by weight)
*Let rise about 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Form 8 small, round loaves, let rise 30 minutes. Roll out and let rest 5 minutes before grilling.

View the complete recipe

107 comments:

David said...

This looks really great! So, the big question is, can I do this with whole wheat flour?

JessGGodfrey said...

Wow! Looks amazing! How long do these keep? Are they fine at room temperature?

nircMD said...

will this work in a regular stainless steel pan, as i dont own any cast iron cookware?

alternatively, what about baking in an oven?

nircMD said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Any tips on adapting this for whole wheat/whole grain?

Chef John said...

Never tried in oven, but I've seen others do it. It would have to be very hot.

They keep a couple days, like any bread.

Yes, you can use wheat flour, but they don't taste as good! :)

Chef John said...

Could stick in S.S., so I'd go with a non-stick skillet if you have that instead.

Anil said...


Hello Chef,

Just like David asked,

"So, the big question is, can I do this with whole wheat flour?"

Thanks

Daniel Bottoms said...

I pita da foo' who dont try dis!

ok joking aside, just wanted to ask, if you could guestimate how long from start to finish did you need... timewise. Looking for a fun project this weekend for my 7 year old (who loves to help me in the kitchen). doing a bit of math, looked to be a good 2 hours including resting/raising times.

Great video. Thanks!

gromgull said...

I'll try this tomorrow!

Now, how about a croissant video? :)

redforever said...

Someone asked if they could bake pitas and the answer is yes, which is how I make mine all the time.

Someone also asked if they can be made with wholewheat flour and the answer is yes to that as well. I use half wholewheat and half AP flour or else half pastry wholewheat and half AP flour. The method remains the same.

Here is a very basic recipe if you want to bake pita breads.

1 Tbsp instant yeast
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

1 Put the yeast, water, salt, oil, and 1 1/2 cups flour in the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with the bread hook and beat to make a batter. Add more flour until a rough, shaggy mass is formed. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add more flour only if the dough is too sticky.
2 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 pieces for large pitas or 12 pieces for small pitas. Form the dough into balls and then roll into 1/4-inch thick discs. Lightly flour the top of the pitas and then loosely
cover with saran. Let rest on the floured surface for 30-40 minutes or until slightly puffed.
4 Preheat the oven to 425F with a baking stone on the rack. If you don’t have a baking stone, use an inverted cookie sheet.
5 Flip the pitas as you transfer them to the baking stone. Bake the pitas for 10 to 15 minutes or until a light golden brown color.

TheAnimePiper said...

Hey chef! I was wondering, did you use AP or bread flour for this recipe =)? It didn't mention in the video and it doesn't on here either. So I just used bread flour for the sponge and AP for the rest.

I just made some earlier to try with the chicken adobo I'm making tonight (your recipe as well) and they taste great!
I got them all to balloon as well. When I put them in the griddle, as soon as you could see bubble/little pockets forming, I flipped them. Then I waited until I saw a larger pocket form and I flipped it again and did so until it was evenly puffed up :D

Thanks for the recipes!

Francine said...

Do these freeze well?

Chef John said...

Never tried to freeze, but should be ok.

Chef John said...

AnimePiper, it's AP. Just added to list.

Unknown said...

Hey Chef John,

Yum, I buy a lot of flat breads, but I've never made any type of yeast breads at home before (call me a baking newbie). I don't have a standing mixer and I'd really like to try this recipe. Are there any tips or tricks you could give to make it without a standing mixer?

Thanks,
Jessica

bobrogue said...

The Pita Paul and Mary comment was funny because in Tokyo, the best place to buy Pita is a shop called Pita the Great!

Unknown said...

Can I use hand mixer or by wooden spoon ?

Chef John said...

Yes, of course you can do by hand! Bread pre-dates the electric mixer by several years. ;) Just knead by hand until the dough looks the same as mind!

Unknown said...

I pita the fool!

As an Arab American, I can attest that Chef John's recipe is legit. My family owns two specialty food markets in the Bay Area and we get pita bread from some of the best companies in the States. Called Crossroads Specialty Foods (@Chef John, you should visit us in Palo Alto or Hayward, you'll have a field day).

Going to home and make this tonight!

Anonymous said...

Chef John, do you speak Spanish?

Tess said...

Well I tried the recipe out today, only one puffed up, and It wasnt a very good puff. I'll try again next week, for now I'll just use the bread to make pizza. http://imgur.com/a/YI7Qu

I took photos of the process.

Traci said...

I have been so hesitant to try pita because of the horror stories I've heard about cooking it in the oven. After watching your video I decided to try it. I am so glad I did! Super simple! Tastes so yummy! We ate it with hummus(yum). I only had 2 that didn't puff up but I think that was my fault(didn't roll them out thin enough and didn't let them rest before cooking them). The rest of them puffed up like balloons. Thank you so much for sharing

Hudoo said...

chef John,
you're just amazing !
I've made it my tradition to cook/bake any random recipe from your blog every week for my family!
last week was the pull-apart bread and today is this lovely pita which am sure it's gonna turn out amazing as usual .. (( & ofc made the tzatziki on the side :) ))
thank you for all your tasty recipes ..
wish you all the best ..

Chris K. said...

Nice one,chef. Sage advice!

I always make time to roll the next one while I'm puffing.

roddie said...

Looking forward to making this! Thanks, Chef John!

(BTW - Your "Pin It" button doesn't seem to be working anymore. Some kind of problem with the image.

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John! i love all your recipes! keep them coming.. Could you do a good soft yet crunchy ciabatta bread recipe? It would be great for homemade sandwiches :)

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John! I love all your recipes I've tried. Could you do a soft yet crusty ciabatta bread recipe for sandwiches. The recipes I found in Italian seem so hard to do.

momorin said...

Hi Chef!
I haven't cook any from your recipes but they look very yummy and I
love to cook this pita bread.

Akiko from Japan.

Edgard said...

I've done this today, and it worked perfectly. Even rolling thinner than in the video, every one puffed, except the first two.

Seeing these two I think you have to let each side just cook slightly and then flip again, in the beginning. If one side is left for too much time, most of the dough will cook on it, and there will be too little left to form the other side, so it puffed slightly or not at all.

Cooking evenly as I said every one puffed, so much that I could even hear the steam coming out ; ).

Thanks for the idea and the recipe!

F. K. said...

Hi Chef John,
(Long time fan by the way. LOVE your videos!)

I tried these last weekend and they came out perfect. (They were all gone in less than 5 minutes).

Followed the recipe exactly. One question though - I measured the flour by cup, not weight, and as I was slowly adding the second batch of flour, I noticed that the dough was getting too tough to add the full 1.75 cups. I couldn't get more than one cup into it before it started to pull away from the sides and get firm. I was doing it by hand, not with a mixer.

I tried it again this evening (dough rising as we speak...er...type) and same thing happened. Got about 1.25 cups in and the dough started to feel too dry.

Has anyone else had this experience? Is it because I'm using a cup measurement rather than a weight one?

Chef John said...

Could be the cups depending on how packed the flour is!

fany said...

Hi Chef John!!
I tried your recipe, but any of my pitas puffed!! :(
I did use half whole wheat and half plain flour, also added a little crushed garlic, the taste was great. But when I was kneading it, it continued to brake, I couldn´t get it smooth, any advise? Thank you for all your recipes!!

Chef John said...

Probably the wheat flour. That makes a difference and much harder to work with. Next time use all white!

Elton Carvalho said...

Hi, Chef!

Thanks for the recipe1 It's great!

I gave a boring question to make: How much dry yeast (by weight) goes on the dough?

I ask this because I have a good amount of non-dried yeast and I know that the weight conversion is 3 to one, but the volume conversion is not so straightforward, so, how much (in weight) goes in this recipe? I'm guessing 10g or about 0.35 oz of dry yeast?

Chef John said...

i just googled for you and it says those packages are 1/4 oz so about 7 gr

Stare at the Sun said...

Mine did not puff at all!
Am I supposed to flip after 3mins or flip back and forth for around 3 min per side?

Chef John said...

I usually flip after the first side starts to brown a little. Maybe a minute or two. Not really a time thing. More of a look thing. They do go about 3-4 minutes total, but depends on pan, heat, and how thick u roll.

Ruth person said...

The risk with baking these awesome pitas in the oven is them burning. You would need to set the oven temperature very high and WATCH THEM LIKE A HAWK!
I've made pita in the oven and found them to be profoundly okay. When I use my NS skillet, lightly oiled of course, they turn out much better.

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John!
is it ok to leave the dough overnight?
Thanks

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John!

I just made this for the first time and it was super great!! I also got one puffy bread (out of 8) Im so proud of myself right now :)

Thanks for the vdo!

The Wai Wai said...

Thank you Chef John for this easy yet delicious recipie! Was planning to save 1 for breakfast but they were all gone. Can I put in a Foodwishes request for French Baguette? Thank you!!

Chef John said...

Probably would over-rise overnight I think. Never tried.

Unknown said...

I've seen other pita bread recipes that have an overnight rise - you just put the dough in the refrigerator. That slows down the rise.

Unknown said...

None of mine puffed, any idea why that would happen? They were still delicious and I wasn't planning on stuffing them but, couldn't figure out the problem. Thanks for the great tutorial!

Can you please add common mistakes/troubleshooters to you vids I think that would be a helpful addition

Chef John said...

I would, but I honestly don't know why they sometimes don't. That's happened to me.

Greg Cooper said...

I apologize for the plebeian nature of this question...but will the dough keep for any length of time? I have visions of starting each morning with a fresh fried egg stuffed into a freshly fried pita bread with some homemade mayo, lettuce and select few herbs...but I don't want to wake up at 4:00 to make the dough!

Chef John said...

I'm sure it would last a day, give it a test.

Unknown said...

Made these yesterday and it has been the only recipe I have made that it has come out exactly how explained. Today I made them with some medium boiled eggs, plum tomatoes and cheese, Yummmm. Best Pita bread Ever. Thank You so much. Looking forward to try out more of your recipes.

Reem said...

Yummmii what's better than fresh pita! I tried this recipe today and they turned out awesome!had some nice puffs! I made them with chicken Shawerma but we ended up eating the bread immediately before stuffing it with Shawerma! can't thank you enough Chef john for your great recipes and the explanation.

Anonymous said...

I there an alternative to oil? We ran out.. Would butter work?

Unknown said...

I made a big batch of these to turn into pita chips for the superbowl tomorrow and I believe I've figured out a way to make them puff reliably:

* Cook the pita on one side for about 20 seconds. The idea is to cook it just long enough to make a skin form on the bottom, but not long enough that bubbles start to form on the top.

* Flip the pita over and cook it all the way through on the back side.

* Flip the pita back over to the original side and it will balloon up.

As far as I can tell the skin that forms from that first quick cooking traps the air in. Cooking it for a short time prevents small bubbles from forming, which I found then tend to burn and pop when they're on the bottom, preventing a full puff.

For full disclosure: I used a no-knead pizza dough (which was way too sticky, so I kneaded in another cup or two of flour until the dough was manageable). My pitas were fairly small, 16 pitas from 4 cups of flour (plus the extra I added).

Marilia Karpodini said...

Hello I would like to ask if I can do this with a hand held mixer because i dont own a standing one...

Chef John said...

Yes all doughs can be made by hand.

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John,
I'm Fabio from Italy.
Please,I have a question about your pita bread recipe:
-I developed intolerance to dry active yeast...I'd like to try the recipe using sourdough starter,the same you use to make San Francisco bread.Do you think it is possible?
-could you help me with new proportions of sourdough,water and flour?
-if i use sourdough starter,do I need to follow the first step of the recipe(where you dissolve yeast,water and flour and you!
Thanks a lot,forgive my bad english please!
Congrats for your website!
Best,
Fabio

Chef John said...

Sorry, I'm really not sure. I know you can, but can't give you specific instructions! Maybe if you google sourdough pita, someone will have done so.

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot for your answer!
I'll make a search with google.
One last question:do you have any ideas to substitute active dry yeast?baking power?baking soda?
Thanks again

Chef John said...

You can use BP and BS but it depends on the recipe, and it doesn't work for breads very well!

Ami said...

Arrrrgh! Mine didn't puff up at all! I wonder what I did wrong. :/ Oh well, instead of awesome pitas, I wound up with awesome flatbreads instead! Went great with your tzatziki sauce recipe and some stewed lamb!

Ami said...

Oh, and by the way these really ARE far superior to any store-bought stuff. We ran out of pitas before the tzatziki and when we used store bought pitas it was like eating cardboard. I've got more dough rising in the oven right now. <3

Unknown said...

Hi chef....can I put the dough into the freezer for another day use.,,??? Thanks for the pita bread recipe👍👍👍

Wren said...

Medium-high heat is pretty far above the smoke point of the olive oil I've got. Is the idea to have the oil polymerize and add a layer of seasoning to the pan? I chickened out and did them around medium-low, but none puffed.

Delicious though.

Chef John said...

You need higher heat! I don't worry about smoke points. :)

Ami said...

I GOT PUFF!

I tried it again, and I turned up the heat as you said. However, the trick I found is that if I flipped them constantly, I'd get puff. When I just cooked one side and then the other like you did in the video, I was puff-less.

So I guess you really are the (ugh) Puff Daddy. After all, you're makin' dough and packin' rolls!

Chef John said...

:-)

Vicky said...

Chef John, Thanks so much for your great videos. My 1st attempt at pitas resulted in tasty flat bread. I watched your video prior to my 2nd attempt and got the 'puff' I was looking for, AND the pliable pita needed to make a rolled pita wrap (similar to The Pita Pit). Today's lunch will be an gyro and egg pita wrap using mayonnaise also made by your recipe.

I used freshly ground wheat (abt 3 cups), 1/2 cup unbleached flour, and increased water to 1-1/2 cups, 2 tsp instant yeast, 2 tsp sugar, maybe 2 tsp salt, and olive oil as needed. Mixing and kneading by hand in the bowl.

So, yes, whole wheat works fine, and stand mixer not needed. I gave my Kichenaid away months ago.

Unknown said...

Just found your awesome blog a couple of days ago. Decided to jump in with this pita bread recipe first. I had tried to make pitas once before in the oven, they ended up more like puffy crackers than bread.

But, with this recipe/technique, I had awesome results and even achieved full blown puffiness in the last 3 of the batch. Hubby loved them and was already discussing all the great things he could stuff inside them and he hadn't even finished eating his first one. His comment was 'you're going to be making a lot of these' - coming from him that was one of the greatest compliments.

Thanks for your fun and easy to understand videos, I could spend the whole day just watching them and trying to decide what to try next.

Rick said...

All I can say is that I feel so used by crappy pita mass producers. One bite of these easy to make pitas will convince you of the same. You will never eat those cardboard patties again.

I don't have a stand mixer so I had to knead by hand. It kind of felt good. They all blistered and puffed up perfectly and colored up nicely.

Good thing I made a batch of hummus to go with them. I assume that like most combinations of grains and legumes they form a complete protein. A chickpea is a legume - right?

This recipe is so worth the time it takes to prepare.

Unknown said...

I cooked these in my cast iron pans on a very hot charcoal grill. The smokiness added was very nice & it was convenient since I was grilling lamb to stuff them with.

〴⋋_⋌ 〵RoGa ♐ ≧◡≦ (─‿‿─) said...

Great, I love the recipe so much and the breads turned out to be awesome. Thank you!

I used sprouted whole wheat flour for everything and my breads turned out still pretty amazing. However, here are some useful observation:
_ they didn't puff as much (5 of them puffed a bit, and the others 3 didn't at all)
_ I ended up using 2 cups of flour in total
_ all of my 8 pita breads were kinda thin and it was harder to cut them open. I recommend dividing the dough into 6 (or even 5) small portion if you want large size bread
_ I kept them in the freezer for a month and they still tasted great. Heat them in the oven at 350 for roughly 5 minutes should be good.

Thats it :) thanks again for your wonderful recipe chef!

tamari said...

thank you!! i just made them and was sooooo good next to my humus! i miss pita so much since i grew up in israel and it was the only bread i liked and for the last 3 years ever since i moved back to europe i cant find it at all (only the packed ones but they are so bad!)

Sophie said...

Hi chef, i have never made any sorts of breads before but after watching this i'm planning to make pitas for my family gathering. My question is how can i use instant yeast in the recipe? Thx so much for the recipe :)

Becky C said...

To those who tried wheat flour and failed, I used half white, half wheat, and gave mine an extra 30 minute rise for the gluten to break down after the original 2 hour rise. They were smooth and exactly as the video explained.
Becky C

Carolyn4JESUS said...

Chef John, thank you for a great recipe. I love homemade hummus served with Pita bread. Our urban area doesn't always have it available so I thought I'd find a recipe for it. I'm going to use your's with the video. Thanks for an entertaining one at that!

Unknown said...

Great success. Your recipe made 8 pita. Seven of the eight gave me the "full inflation" the seventh only partial. I've made pita for years in the oven and I e never had this kind of success.
I'm testing today to see if I can hold the dough overnight in the fridge. I suspect I can. I'm also trying one pita I made yesterday to see how I like it after one day. You'd be right if you guessed I'm planning a middle eastern dinner party next week. Homemade hummus in the Vitamix, main is your Lambage rolls which I call Malfouf.a carrot parsnip veg dish with middle eastern spices.
Thanks your your fabulous recipes and to allrecipes.com for having your recipes for us.
A loyal fan,
Terry

Unknown said...

The trick with this pita dough is to make the sponge first. If you don't it will require too much flour and the pita will be heavy. Ask me how I know.

Even with rapid rise yeast you need to add one cup of warm water with 1 cup of flour and let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes then start adding the addition 1 3/4 flour and your dough will be perfect. If you don't, the mix requires too much flour and the pita will be heavy.
Have a super hot skillet..I mean gas on the highest and Always follow chefs directions.
Terry - who just made a perfect dough. Can I do that first rise overnight in the fridge?
Getting ready for dinner party.

Unknown said...

Be careful not to roll the dough too thin, like a tortilla or you won't get the puff. At least that has been my experience. Chef John says 1/4 inch. Works for me.
Listen to the man, he knows his stuff!

VRod said...

I'm one that has been struggling with making the perfect dough for anything...pizza, tortillas, baguettes. I don't have a scale so I just scoop my flour. Recently in videos I notice people scooping out with one measuring cup and transfering to the desired size measuring cup. I realized that by scooping straight into my measuring cup I was packing it in (more flour than needed). Makes sense since it seems like my dough is always heavy. For this recipe I measure my flour by "sifting the flour" into my measuring cup. Followed the recipe from sponge to all of the times for rising/resting. And Voilà! Puffiness and everything. Finally a dough recipe that worked for me as expected. And the taste was awesome. For puffiness I noticed two things. If it's too thing or big it was harder to puff up because the pita would break a seal letting the steam escape and thwarting your pita from puffing. Sometimes if I could press on the "leak" it would continue puffing up. Also, someone suggested turning your pita after the first 20 seconds. This proved effective in the puffing process. So when I left my pita at a 1/4 inch thick, about 5-6 inches in diameter and turned it after the first 20 seconds I was almost guaranteed to get full puff. So cool. Never will I buy any pitas again. I guess if you are going to use as flat bread and not stuff them then making them thinner and not getting the puff is not a problem. They will still be soft and yummy! Thanks Chef John.

Unknown said...

Chef John I made the recipe thank you!! I used wheat flour they come great!! Delicios. Looks the same you made. ��������

Sam said...

amazing! I love cooking up your recipes

Unknown said...

I love your recipes! All of mines puffed! So delicious! Thank you!

Unknown said...

Just got finished making these. Oh my goodness are they ever delicious!

truthven said...

Mine dough wouldn't unstick from the side of the mixing bowl - I iust kept adding flour and it kept on sticking to the sides? Any idea why that would happen?

Unknown said...

Do you think this would work with chickpea flour?

Unknown said...

I followed the directions in the video and the pitas turned out perfectly. I got the puff and the taste and texture of the pitas I buy from and nearby Middle Eastern shop. I found that it's better to let them cool before you try them. A pocket was created in each of them. Thanks for the great recipe!

Unknown said...

Thank you Chef! Pita bread has been a staple in our family that stems from our Sephardic Middle Eastern background. I totally amazed everyone with this recipe! And it was so much fun to make my own! That's the whole point!
Can't wait to try your other recipes!

Unknown said...

HI Chef John
I really enjoyed your video. I was wondering if this recipe would work with any of the gluten free flours?
Such as rice, almond, chickpea, coconut, etc.
Second question is do you think you could do more than one at a time on a griddle?

Unknown said...

Hi Chef,
I've been using your recipe for pita bread to make gluten free ones. And they turn out great every time. I just have to let them sit of at least 5 minutes before putting on skillet, and I put 1 tsp of BP to dough, this makes my gluten free dough rise better then when I put only yeast. I'm going to make some tomorrow again. Can't wait!

Thank you

MikeNJ said...

Chef John,

I tried this recipe this evening to go with some homemade hummus (not your "green" version - just a "regular" one), veggies and other apps.

Tasted great, but my results were more like sort-of big slim English Muffins than pita. Not much pocket and denser than expected (had good yeast and great rises so I think the leavening was OK). I see 3 variables that might contribute to my variance from your results: wetter dough (mine seemed more fluid than the video - might be my tendency since I've been doing "no-knead" wetter-dough recipes for some months now), food processor dough blade rather than a mixer dough hook (and total time running), and electric range temp difference from your gas range. I did seem to get more bubble-rise when I lowered the temp from electric medium-high to medium-medium high halfway through the batch. Used cast iron skillet.

My guests liked the bread. I've had pita somewhat like this in Greek restaurants ("loafy" with no pockets), so I think I'm in the ballpark ... any hints for improvements for next time?

Thanks again for your continuing series. I've been working my way through a bunch of your recipes this summer.

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John!
I love your videos. In the video you used this cool contraption to knead the dough. I don't have this, is it OK to do it by hand?

Thanks

David said...

Hi Chef John,

Thank you for such a wonderful video. By the way, Can I use atta flour and hand knead?

Thanks

Stark Radio said...

Hello Chef John! I love your cooking lessons.

I am making this as we speak, but I have already messed up and did not weigh the flour, as I don't have a kitchen scale at this time. I think my sponge was too dry.

Question: should I keep going or start over? I have soft water and hard winter white wheat, and as I said.... no kitchen scale.

Stark Radio said...

Hello Chef John, and Happy New Year to you and yours!

I love this recipe; I followed as best I could (no scale yet), so I was worried as the sponge was a bit dry, but I soldiered on, and the pita turned out great! They all puffed, and as you said, the taste is far superior to any storebought.

I really enjoy your blog and videos, thank you for teaching so many of us to have fun and learn to cook without trepidation.

Cheers!

Unknown said...

I have tried making these twice now. No matter the temp of my pan, the outside of the pita burns before it is done. I suspect it is the flour, but I am unable to get all the flour totally off. Suggestions?

DD said...

Look very good, I have time to make this especially for lentil soup. Nothing better than fresh and hot. Yum
Thanks for recipe and video.

Jacklyn Cornwell said...

I turn the oven to 450 and place the pita bread on the pizza stone. Still takes about 5-6 minutes, but every loaf puffs fully. I also use 1/3 of the bread flour as sprouted wheat or white wheat flour.

Jacklyn Cornwell said...

Btw, my food wish is canele's.

Unknown said...

Just made these delicious pita breads and they came out puffy and lovely. Im impressed with myself :) ...Looking forward to dinner.

MIFSR said...

Hi Chef John, very good vid and we like pita. Do you have a recipe for Naan and/or a video?

Unknown said...

Chef John
Mine came out a bit undercooked inside while almost burning outside with doughy perimeters. Should the flame be medium or medium high? If you've answered this before my apologies for asking again. Too many comments to read through. 😬🙄
Thanks

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John,

I tried this twice, and am having an issue that perhaps you can assist with. Both times, when I fold the dough under (pulling from the top) it has small breaks in the dough...is not smooth on top like yours. Is this too much flour, or too little? (also.....last night, i mis-read and saw 1.75 TBSP salt, not tsp...seemed like it made a very salty english muffin.....).

Thanks,
chaz

Unknown said...

Redforever I love the whole wheat recipe! Thank you. I use whole wheat for naan, and as you say the trick is to have some white flour, or the texture isn't quite right. Cheers, everyone.

Unknown said...

I've made this recipe once and they turned out great. I am planning on making them again for tonight's dinner but I want to double the recipe. Do I need to also double the yeast? I'm just afraid of ending up with a doughy mess. Thanks ahead of time.

Unknown said...

Great videos. I ran a couple of recent recipes together though and ended up with Lebanese Mountain peta. But who can go wrong with flat bread? thanks Chef John.

Unknown said...

Thank you just made the pitas with Millstone Cake Flour. It came out great. I just noticed that mine puffed up already in the first 2 min on one side. And if i turn it over after 3 min they are already fully puffed. When I turn them they deflate a little but there was still a pocker inside. Thank you

Adam and Jinny said...

Just made this, and they are picture perfect! Your recipes and videos have enriched my life so much! Warm pita + rainy day = grateful happiness!

TRamos said...

Mine never seemed to puff up completely. Then I decided to let the pitas rise a second time AFTER rolling each one out. I rolled each to about 1/8" (thinner than I have done in the past). Covered the batch with a tea-towel then set them aside for about a 30 minute rise. All but one puffed up completely a were absolutely delicious.
Same recipe, slight change in technique!