Druze pita is filled with labneh (thick yoghurt) and topped with olive oil and za'atar. Traditional breads in Greek cuisine are leavened loaves, such as the round καρβέλι karvéli or the oblong φραντζόλα frantzóla. Regional variations in the shape, baking technique, and toppings create distinctive styles for each region. It is best either soon after baking or on the same day, and can be served warm. Pita is traditionally served fresh from the oven (typically a wood-fired oven similar to a pizza oven). In Egypt, it is called eish baladi (عيش بلدي ʽēš baladi) or simply eish (عيش ʽēš, 'bread'), although other subtypes of "bread" are common in Egypt, such as eish fino and eish merahrah.
- If it’s too wet, add a little bit of flour at a time, but do this sparingly—you don’t want your dough to be too dry.
- And the soft, pillowy results will make the whole process worth it.
- Pita cooked in the skillet will not puff as well as when baked in the oven, but they turn out so soft and fluffy.
- In Cyprus, pita is typically rounder, fluffier and baked on a cast-iron skillet.
Pita Bread
The enduring appeal of pita lies in its simplicity, versatility and the way it seamlessly integrates into various cuisines. Pita has a rich history that dates back thousands of years, making it one of the oldest known breads. It’s a versatile bread that’s perfect for stuffing and pairing with dips. When it comes to pita, many know them stuffed with falafel, tahini sauce and chopped salad. Our test kitchen teams rely on the same rigorous development process and share the same commitment to creating reliable recipes and trustworthy reviews. After quickly making the dough in the stand mixer, we shape it into balls and let them proof overnight in the refrigerator to develop complex flavor.
This easy homemade pita recipe shows you how to make soft and fluffy pita bread right in your own kitchen. Our recipe creates tender, chewy pitas with perfect pockets, every time. Reheat leftover pitas by wrapping them in aluminum foil, placing them in a cold oven, setting the temperature to 300 degrees, and baking for 15 to 20 minutes. Pita cooked in the skillet will not puff as well as when gyro king jacksonville photos baked in the oven, but they turn out so soft and fluffy. Or, cook them in a skillet for soft and fluffy flatbread. To cook pita bread in the oven, preheat your oven to 475°F (246°C).
I cook on my pizza steel, which promotes the pocket even more. Let the dough rest, and then you are ready to cook them. Your search for the perfect pita recipe has ended! The word pita itself, on the other hand, is used for pie in the general sense in all local languages, and is mostly used for börek or various sweet phyllo pastry dishes (with the exception of baklava which is always called that). The pita are then air-cooled for about 20 minutes on conveyor belts before being shipped immediately or else stored in commercial freezers kept at a temperature of −12 °C (10 °F). There is evidence from about 14,500 years ago, during the Stone Age, that the Natufian people in what is now Jordan made a kind of flatbread from wild cereal grains.
Test Kitchen Techniques
We recommend weighing the flour and water. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Your email address will not be published. I love using the skillet when serving with dips like hummus.
Since 2009, we’ve been dedicated to creating trusted, easy recipes to help home cooks feel confident and excited in the kitchen. 2 ¼ cups (295g) bread flour or all-purpose flour Bake them for perfect pita pockets. Thanks to that pita pocket, you can also stuff almost anything into your homemade pita. Lightly flour the squares of parchment paper and place the pita rounds onto them. If you do not have one, place a baking sheet into the oven while preheating to mimic the baking steel.
Easy Flatbread Pizza
The skillet pita is soft and fluffy, while the oven-baked pita has a pocket in the middle, perfect for making sandwiches. Modern commercial pita bread is prepared on advanced automatic production lines, processing 45,000-kilogram (100,000 lb) silos of flour at a time and producing thousands of pitas per hour. When removed from the oven, the layers of baked dough remain separated inside the deflated pita, which allows the bread to be opened to form a pocket. Most pita breads are baked at high temperatures (230–245 °C or 450–475 °F), which turns the water in the dough into steam, thus causing the pita to puff up and form a pocket.
When baked, the dough puffs up, creating a hollow interior that can be sliced open and filled with a variety of delicious ingredients. If you’d like to go for the fluffier version, fear not, you can still use the same pita recipe and make some small adjustments. Sign up to be a Recipe Tester and join the 70,000 home cooks who test our recipes and provide our test cooks and editors with invaluable feedback. A high hydration level and a generous amount of oil help keep the pita tender, and honey adds a touch of sweetness.
Arepas (Venezuelan Cornmeal Flatbreads)
I found it much more foolproof to tackle in the oven. If you don’t have access to an oven, you can do it on the stovetop as well. Then pull it out quickly, and go in with your next pita. Use a rolling pin to roll out each piece of dough to ¼”-thick circle about 6” wide. Cover it in a bowl with plastic wrap or a towel, then let it rest for an hour (or until it doubles in size).
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The photo below shows pita dough cooked in a skillet (top of the photo) and pita baked in the oven (bottom of the photo). Line a bowl with a clean towel, transfer the hot pitas inside and fold the towel over to keep them warm and soft, then repeat with the remaining dough. Recognizable by its puffy, pocket-like appearance, homemade pita bread is made from simple ingredients like flour, water, yeast, oil and salt.
Ingredients
First, we’re going to bloom our yeast by adding it to warm water (around 110° F) along with our sugar. You'll still need an extremely hot pan (or pizza stone), which you'll preheat in a 500° oven. Storing homemade pita is simple and ensures you have fresh bread ready to go whenever you need it.
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