Pita Bread

Ingredients

• 8 oz water
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2.25 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2.5 oz whole wheat flour
• 10 oz all-purpose flour

Method

Mix the water, olive oil, sugar, and yeast in a stand mixer bowl and leave for five minutes to bloom — the yeast will visibly swell and cloud the liquid, confirming it's alive. Add the salt, whole wheat flour, and all-purpose flour. Run on low speed for three minutes, then medium speed for eight to ten minutes until the dough clears the bowl's sides and springs back when pressed. The bread-dough should feel tacky but cohesive, not sticky. If it clings heavily to your fingers, add water a teaspoon at a time; if it's crumbly, add water the same way. This dough-hydration matters — pita depends on enough moisture to puff aggressively in the pan.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave at room temperature for one hour. The yeast-fermentation produces gas and organic acids that loosen the gluten network. You're looking for the dough to increase by roughly half its volume, not double — pita doesn't need aggressive rise because the pan's fierce heat will do the expansion work.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into eight equal pieces (weigh them at around 65g each if you want consistency). Roll each piece into a tight ball by pinching the underside, then set seam-side down on the floured surface. Cover again with the damp cloth and rest for ten minutes. This brief dough-rest relaxes the gluten so you can roll without excessive resistance.

Using a rolling pin, flatten each ball into a disc roughly 20cm across and no thicker than 4mm. Stack them on a piece of baking parchment (not a cloth — paper prevents sticking better for such thin dough) and leave uncovered for thirty minutes. Small blisters will appear on the surface; this is residual fermentation preparing the structure to puff under heat-application.

Heat a cast-iron-pan over high heat for three minutes until it's genuinely hot — water droplets should bead and skitter across the surface. Place one disc in the dry pan and cook for one to two minutes until the underside colours with dark brown patches. Flip and cook the second side another ninety seconds. The pita will puff into a cushion as steam inflates the interior — this is the defining move of the technique. Transfer to a plate and drape with a cloth to trap steam and keep it pliable. Repeat with remaining dough.