Homemade Greek Pita Bread is incredibly easy to make and so rewarding. The whole process can be done in under 90 minutes. This delicious recipe uses standard pantry staples. Enjoy with your favorite dips or make your own wraps.
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Enjoy these pitas with chicken gyros, chicken souvlaki, shish tawook and chicken shawarma (Check out my roundup post on what to serve with homemade shawarma for some inspiration!)
Make a simple platter with Greek pita triangles, feta cheese, olives, fresh vegetables and Greek yogurt. Toast the pita triangles and use them in dips like homemade Tzatziki sauce, mutabal (roasted eggplant dip), eggplant hummus and galayet bandora (fried tomato dip).
Greek Pita vs. Levantine Pita (Khubz)
The term Pita originates from modern Greek and is connected to the Turkish term Pide, which also means flat bread. Pita has become the standard name for this bread type in English-speaking nations and the West.
Traditional Greek pita bread is typically thicker than its Lebanese counterpart. It can be folded to create souvlaki wraps or cut into triangles and toasted for dipping. Greek pita tends to maintain its shape better, while Middle Eastern pita bread may crumble if not fresh.
Both varieties of flatbreads have their own delightful qualities and serve distinct culinary purposes. Ultimately, the commonalities between both cultures are so profound that the differences often blur.
The ingredients used in this homemade pita bread recipe are identical to those in my Lebanese Pita recipe. The difference lies in the shaping and cooking.
Ingredients
Simple pantry ingredients are all you need to make this Greek pita recipe.
- Flour: This recipe uses all-purpose flour. You can also use strong bread flour. However, you can certainly substitute some of the white flour for whole wheat flour. Adjust the ratio to suit your needs and taste.
- Yeast: I use instant yeast to make the recipe quickly (instant yeast doesn’t need to be pre-bloomed in water). But if you have Active dry yeast, feel free to use that. You’ll need to bloom it in water for a few minutes to activate it first.
- Olive oil: An important and traditional ingredient. You don’t need to use fancy extra virgin olive oil here. Any olive oil will do.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make this Greek Pita Recipe
This recipe is quite straightforward. If you’ve made flatbread before the steps will be familiar to you. Read through all the steps first to get a good handle on the process.
Step 1. Mix the dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar and olive oil. Wisk to dissolve the yeast. Then add the flour and salt. Mix well until a shaggy dough forms.
Step 2. Knead the dough. Transfer the shaggy dough to a clean work surface and knead until the dough comes together. It should be supple and soft. Avoid adding any extra flour to the counter. Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel.
Step 3. Rise. Let the dough rise for an hour. It should double in size.
Step 4. Divide and shape. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. You can guesstimate or use a kitchen scale to get precise portions. Shape each piece into a tight ball and let rest for 5 minutes.
Step 5. Roll out. Roll out each dough ball into a 5-6 inch wide disc. They should be about ¼ inch thick.
Step 6. Second Rise. Place the rolled-out pitas on a flowered towel and cover with another towel. Let the dough discs rise for 15 minutes before you cook them.
Step 7. Cook. Place a cast iron pan, skillet or comal on your stove and heat on medium-high. In one swift move, place an uncooked dough circle on the hot pan. You should start seeing bubbles form on the surface of the dough. After about 30 seconds flip the pita over and cook on the other side for another 20-30 seconds. An air pocket may form inside the pita and it will puff up. This doesn’t always happen, so don’t worry too much if it doesn’t. Keep an eye on the heat, you may need to turn it down if the pitas start to burn or turn it up if there’s little to no browning.
Step 8. Serve. Store pitas in a bowl lined with a towel and cover them lightly. They will steam further and soften up.
Expert Tips
- The Perfect Pocket: Let the pitas rise once you have rolled them out. Don’t rush this process. This second rise will help create the desired pocket. The pan should be preheated. The high heat causes the water in the dough to turn into steam, creating a pocket inside the pita.
- Use a Stand Mixer. If you’re not interested in kneading the pita bread dough by hand you can use a stand mixer with dough hook attachment. A stand mixer can be great if you’re looking to double this recipe and make a large batch of Greek pita bread. Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and knead on medium speed for 6-8 minutes.
- Overnight rise: If you prefer to let the dough rise overnight in the fridge, follow the recipe as outlined but reduce the amount of yeast by half. Once the dough ball is formed, place it in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the fridge.
- Use an oven. If you don’t want to cook the pitas in a pan, you can cook them in an oven on a baking sheet baking stone or baking steel. Set the oven to 475F (240C).
Recipe FAQs
I like to store pita in a Ziploc bag on the counter for 2-3 days.
Yes, you can certainly freeze it. Stack the pitas in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. I recommend placing a piece of parchment paper between each pita to make it easier to remove individual pitas from the bag as you need them. Let them defrost on their on at room temperature, it’ll only take a few minutes.
It’s not traditional, but you can certainly experiment with adding dried herbs like oregano and rosemary to the dough.
If you make this Homemade Greek Pita Bread recipe or any other Baking recipes on Urban Farm and Kitchen, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe.
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Recipe Card
Homemade Greek Pita Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Warm water - 240 grams
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Instant yeast - One packet / 7 grams
- 1 teaspoon Sugar - 4 grams
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil - 30ml
- 2 ¾ cups All purpose flour - 380 grams
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt - 5 grams
Instructions
- Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar and olive oil. Wisk to dissolve the yeast. Then add the flour and salt. Mix well until a shaggy dough forms.
- Knead the dough. Transfer the shaggy dough to a counter and knead until the dough comes together. It should be supple and soft. Avoid adding any extra flour to the counter. Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel.
- Rise. Let the dough rise for an hour. It should double in size.
- Divide and shape. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. You can guesstimate or use a kitchen scale to get precise portions. Shape each piece into a tight ball and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Roll out. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball into a 5-6 inch wide disc. They should be about ¼ inch thick.
- Second Rise. Place the rolled-out pitas on a flowered towel and cover with another towel. Let the dough discs rise for 15 minutes before you cook them.
- Cook. Place a cast iron pan, skillet or comal on your stove and heat on medium-high. In one swift move, place an uncooked pita disc on the hot pan. You should start seeing bubbles form on the surface of the dough. After about 30 seconds flip the pita over and cook on the other side for another 20-30 seconds. An air pocket may form inside the pita and it will puff up. This doesn’t always happen, so don’t worry too much if it doesn’t. Keep an eye on the heat, you may need to turn it down if the pitas start to burn or turn it up if there’s little to no browning. The pitas should be golden brown on both sides.
- Serve. Store pitas in a bowl lined with a towel and cover them lightly. They will steam further and soften up.
Video
Notes
- Flour: This recipe uses all-purpose flour. You can also use strong bread flour. You can certainly substitute some of the white flour for whole wheat flour. Adjust the ratio to suit your needs and taste.
- Yeast: I use instant yeast to make the recipe quickly (instant yeast doesn’t need to be pre-bloomed in water). But if you have Active dry yeast, feel free to use that. You’ll need to bloom it in water to activate it first.
maxx
Tried this recipe last night and it worked really well!! We were very happy with the results and can’t wait to use it for future dishes. I’m a new to bread baker and this was really great.
I wonder if it’s possible to replace the yeast with sourdough since I have a starter, but IDK anything about subbing it in? In any case, I’m very happy with this recipe. It was easy to follow and tastes great.
Luay Ghafari
I have not tested with sourdough starter. You may need a longer rise time and perhaps additional stretching for gluten formation. If you try, please report back!
Carol Boles
Can I use gluten free flour for these?
Luay Ghafari
I have not tested the recipe with gluten free flour, but you can certainly try.
Sarah
One of the most fool proof recipes I have tried in a long time. Never made pita before in my life and yet this recipe turned out perfect!
The step by step pictures are a great help.
Luay Ghafari
Glad you like the recipe. Thank you for your review. -Luay