The Best Pita Bread Recipe Homemade, 100% Easy and Quick

How to Make the Best Pita Bread ?

Pita or pita bread, also known as Arabic bread, Syrian bread, Lebanese bread, or Turkish bread, is a round-shaped flat bread that originated in prehistoric Middle East and is often consumed throughout Southern Europe – East and Middle East, but it varies by area. The spelling pitta is also found.

Pita is said to be derived from the Greek word pktos, which meaning “solid” or “coagulated lumps.” Flatbreads like pita are known as khubz in the Arab world (“ordinary bread”). Kitab al-Tabikh by Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi, a 10th-century Arabic cookbook, lists six khubz recipes, all of which are prepared in a tandoor oven.

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Origins of Pita

Pita’s origins may be traced back to ancient Middle Eastern flatbreads. Around 14,500 years ago, during the Stone Age, the Natufian people of what is now Jordan fashioned a sort of flatbread from wild cereal grains. Wheat and barley were among the earliest cultivated crops in the Fertile Crescent around 10,000 years ago.

By 4,000 years ago, bread was a vital part of the diet in Mesopotamian societies like the Babylonian culture, where the earliest-known written records and recipes for bread-making are found, and pita-like flatbreads cooked in a tinûru (tannur or tandoor) were a staple of the diet, similar to today’s tandoor bread.

However, the steam-puffed, two-layer “pocket pita” is not mentioned in ancient literature or in any medieval Arab recipes, and culinary historians such as Charles Perry and Gil Marks believe it was a later creation.

PREPARATION

The goal of our recipe is to produce a pita bread with pockets. To make pita bread you need stovetop in a hot cast iron skillet the outcome is quite pleasing.

But, since lots of people generally suffer with this cooking method We opted to bake the pita instead. You’ll still need a very hot pan (or pizza stone) that you’ll prepare in the oven at 500 degrees.

Most pitas are cooked at high temperatures (450–475 °F (232–246 °C), which causes the dough to puff up and form a pocket by turning the water in the dough into steam.

The layers of cooked dough within the deflated pita stay separated when taken from the oven or the pan, allowing the bread to be opened to form a pocket. However, “pocket-less pita” is a type of pita that is cooked without pockets.

Pita is proofed for a relatively short time—only 15 minutes—whether it is produced at home or in a commercial bakery.

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp of active dry yeast
• 1 tsp of granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 cup of warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing dish and whisk until completely dissolved. 12 cup flour, stirred in, and set aside for 15 minutes, or until mixture foams.
2. Stir in the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour (reserving 12 cup) until a shaggy lump forms using a wooden spoon. Dust a clean surface with part of the saved flour and knead the dough for about 7 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, adding additional reserved flour if the dough is too sticky. Soft and wet dough is ideal. (If you need a break from kneading, cover the dough and set aside for 10 minutes.)
3. With a clean large mixing bowl, cover the dough in plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour in a warm area, or until it has doubled in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and place a pizza stone or a large cast-iron pan inside. Using flour, gently dust a clean surface. After pounding the dough down, turn it out onto the surface. Divide the dough into eight equal portions and roll each into a ball. After wrapping with a towel or plastic wrap, set aside for 10 minutes to rest.
5. Roll each round into a 14″ thick, 8″ wide circle, one at a time, sprinkling dough with more flour if it starts to stick.
6. Open your oven as fast as possible and lay as many pitas as will fit without touching on your skillet or stone. Allow 3 to 5 minutes for an air pocket to form and the pita to turn golden brown. Continue with the remaining rounds.
7. To keep cooked pitas warm, wrap them in a clean kitchen towel.

Serving and Accompaniement

Pita bread can be served at any occasions and is perfect for small snack and diets. any accompaniement would be a perfect match with this bread and still make it delecious, here are some accompaniements to dress up with Pita :

• Fresh Veggie Pockets : They’re a quick-fix meal while you’re on the go, crunchy with crisp veggies and nutty sunflower nuts.

• Greek Beef Pitas : If you like, you may add olives to the beef and Greek sauce.
• Pita Tacos :  you may also use the Pita bread for a taco filling with mexivan chilly sauces.
• Beef Pita Pockets : Turn the pita into your sandwich bread and fill it with roasted beef and hot sauces not forgetting some green.
• Meat Loaf Gyros : Although this is a unique gyro meat dish, it is delicious! leftover meat may be sliced into individual chunks and frozen for when you want a gyro.
• Scrambled Egg Pockets : Fill your Pitas with scrumled egges and some veggies and cheese. Children love it !
• Pita Chips and Layered Mediterranean Dip : The robust mix of hummus and Greek yogurt will be a new most-requested meal at your next family gathering, and it’s not your usual layer dip.
• Meatball Pita Sandwiches : Make patties or meatballs out of the ground beef, then stuff them with onions, garlic, and herbs for the sauce.
• Falafel Pitas : This is the most famous Pita sandwich, you just need to fill your pitas with falafel, salad and greek sauce and you’re set to enjoy!
• Pita with salad : The Pita can accompany amazingly any kind on salad with any kind of sauce and still tastes great.

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