Name: Homemade Pita Bread
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern , American
Ingredients: 8 cups flour; 2 tablespoons active dry yeast; 2 teaspoons white sugar or honey; 2 teaspoons salt; 1/2 cup olive oil; 2 1/2 cups warm water ( this should be lukewarm to the wrist)

Homemade Pita bread is so easy on a cast iron gridded skillet with that rustic old fashion flavor!

Starting with homemade dough, these pita bread can be either baked or made on the stovetop, either one is will smell heavenly and the in taste will be nothing like any store-bought brand.

I love using pita bread for sandwiches, pizza, cut into triangles for dips, and so much more!

Amazingly enough, this is an easy dough, baked on high heat, puffs up quick and flattens, and again either baked or in a cast-iron skillet it's delicious!

We love it stuffed and filled with salad greens and cold cut meats then drizzled with olive oil and vinegar.

Many times we even make a greek version with the popular greek salad dressing and feta cheese on top.

You can serve pita bread with any meal and it goes great with chili, stews, and soups as well!

The recipe is after all the tips and suggestions below just scroll to the bottom hit print to avoid the ads.

We love to make homemade ciabatta and Italian hard-crusted bread, or Easter bread, Focaccia, Potato Bread, so many favorites!

this is pita bread homemade made in a cast iron skillet

Where Pita Bread Originated

Pita bread goes way back and has roots written down that it was one of the prehistoric flatbreads of the Middle East.

They have found evidence as far back from about 14,500 years ago, during the Stone Age.

It was written that the Natufian people in what is now Jordan baked some kind of flatbread from certain grains of cereal.

Tips:

Roll 1/4 inch thick for best results
Kneading by hand will ensure the moistness you don't want a dry dough
Don't over flour the board when rolling
Always heat the baking sheet first
Preheat oven
Using a panini maker cooks evenly both side but will be more of a naan style flatbread no pocket
Stovetop gridded cast iron works great on medium heat, just watch closely

pita bread stretch into rounds cooking in a skillet

Making Perfect Pita Pockets

You must have preheated baking sheets for starters.
Then high heat starts to dry and set the dough on the top and bottom in the oven, if doing this on top of the stove it will be more of a flatbread but still the same recipe for either one.
The moisture in the center will make the pocket and then the dough will puff up like a round rock.
The pressure from the center pushes out the pita from the middle and then inflates it.
Since the top and sides were already set, that is why it works perfectly.

Cast Iron Gridded

Shape dough into (10 or 12) 2-inch balls on a floured work surface.
Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise 15 minutes.
Roll balls into 1/4-inch-thick circles.
Cover, and let stand 20 minutes more.
Spray or brush the cast iron skillet with canola oil, and heat over high heat.
Place rolled circle dough on the skillet.
Cook 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until pita is puffed, pushing on puffed pita with a spatula to cook edges.
Repeat with remaining dough circles, continue spraying the pan in between pita.

Recipes To Make With Pita Bread

Sandwiches
Pizza with Garlic or Tomato Sauce
Pita Chips
Toast
Topped with Salad

Topping suggestions:

slices of tomato, fresh spinach and ricotta and fresh basil leaves, sliced olives, chopped peppers, cooked meats IE sausage crumbled, sliced pepperoni, crushed meatballs, roasted chicken, ham and pineapple, sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced zucchini or eggplant, garlic oil and butter with mozzarella and a dollop of ricotta cheese.

You can also make a white pizza (shown above) by brushing with melted butter, 1 clove crushed garlic, fresh parsley, and oregano to the top with mozzarella cheese. A light layer of ricotta spread on top makes this extra cheesy!
Use any of the suggestions above in any combination you like.

Place the pita on a lightly sprayed piece of tin foil. Bake at 400 for around 10 minutes, Remove from oven. Top with your favorite sauce, meat or vegetable combinations then cheese, sprinkle with grating cheese. Bake at 400 until cheese is browned and bubbling.

Additional toppings can be used, you can get creative by topping the pita with sauce then adding meats of your choice, peppers, olives, eggplant. Use your imagination whatever kind of regular pizza you love can be made with these. Pizza bites are also a great pita appetizer! Just cut them into small triangles.

I like to toast the pita on cookie sheets sprayed with oil, then take them out add the topping and rebake for a crispier pizza.

Bake them on 400 degrees until the cheese is melted.

this is pita bread baking on silpat mat in the oven

Using The Mixer

The mixer is great to get the dough incorporated well.

After it's mixed the dough should still be moist not too dry.

I usually knead it by hand for 10 minutes after that process is completed.

Ingredients You Will Need

flour
active dry yeast
white sugar or honey
salt
olive oil
warm water ( this should be lukewarm to the wrist)

Pizza Recipes

Here's all you need to get started:

store-bought pita bread or this homemade pita bread recipe
any store-bought jar sauce of your choice
mozzarella cheese slices or shredded
garlic, olive oil, sesame seeds, freshly chopped basil, dried oregano

Pin for later Homemade Pita Bread

Cooking Methods:

Stovetop in a grided cast-iron skillet
Baked on a cookie sheet
Using a panini maker
Waffle Irons also work great but more like flatbread

this is pita bread cooking in a cast iron skillet

Easy To Make

The bread is easy to make and so much worth the time and effort over store-bought.

Of course, if you're in a hurry, by all means, buy the packaged ones to make quick dinners for the kids for pizza.

Just remember there is nothing like the taste of homemade dough, no preservatives and the smell of this pita bread baking is wonderful!