Fluffy Pita
- MakesMakes eight 6-inch pita breads
- Cook Time4 hours
- Active time plus cooling45 minutes active
Cottony-crumbed pita with a little tooth-sinking chew and a generously sized pocket can be made at home. The secret is two types of leavening: yeast supplies both flavor development and lift, plus baking powder to ensure an even oven rise. Homemade pita requires a couple tools, specifically a steel or stone on which to bake the breads and a peel to shuttle them into and out of the oven. The steel or stone needs to preheat for 45 to 60 minutes in order to provide the intense heat that helps the pita puff, so make sure to fire up the oven midway through the dough’s post-mix rise. Enclosing the breads in kitchen towel immediately after baking keeps them soft and pliable. They are best freshly baked. However, if you have leftovers, store them in a zip-close bag for up to a day. To rewarm, wrap in foil and heat in a 300°F oven for about 5 minutes.
Don’t turn the dough balls seam side up when rolling them into rounds, and make sure the rounds are placed seam side down on the peel. This ensures the breads won’t split during baking. Also, an even ¼-inch thickness is important. If the rounds are thicker, they won’t form a proper pocket. Finally, when rolling out the dough balls, use even pressure so the edges are not thinner than the center, which will reduce puffing.
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