This pita bread recipe is superior to the stuff you get at the grocery store; it's not even close. In addition to being delicious to eat, it's also extremely easy to make!
Almost perfect first time! I just watched the video for the first time - saw why I had to use a knife to make pockets! If you do not smush bubbles you will not get a good pocket! I used an electric fry pan @400 degrees as alternate cooking method (from another review thank you!). I used 100 degree oven to rise dough for 2 hours. Browning was faster using electric pan than times in instructions - went by browning color. Flavor so good I put a little butter in one and had for a yummy snack!
Read MoreI followed this recipe to the letter and my pitas didn't puff up. I guess I'm going to have to find another pita recipe.
Read More Almost perfect first time! I just watched the video for the first time - saw why I had to use a knife to make pockets! If you do not smush bubbles you will not get a good pocket! I used an electric fry pan @400 degrees as alternate cooking method (from another review thank you!). I used 100 degree oven to rise dough for 2 hours. Browning was faster using electric pan than times in instructions - went by browning color. Flavor so good I put a little butter in one and had for a yummy snack!
I tried making pita bread in the past and every time I failed miserably so of course I was skeptical that I could successfully prepare pita bread using your instructions (It's not you---it's definitely me). Call me a bit overdramatic, but I literally teared up when my first batch came off the stove browned to perfection and actually sturdy enough to open as a pouch. I guess I just had to watch someone else make them before giving it another shot. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. This is now my go-to recipe from now on. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a batch of falafels to make to go along with these bad boys.
SO TASTY! I see a lot of complaints about non-puffs, well, mine didn't either but they tasted better than any flatbread I've ever bought in my life. I started smooshing the bubbles on the last few I cooked, and got much better results. You gotta smoosh! It spreads the air through the sealed pita and really helps with that pocket. As for the pro-bakers, that works, but grilling it just gives it that to die for flavor that you just can't get any other way!
It is a simple and fool proof recipe. I hand kneaded the dough because I don't have the dough mixer attachment. It took me 15 minutes to knead the dough and I used about 2 table spoon flour which I sprinkled on my kneading board. All the pitas puffed and formed pocket. Since I don't portion equally, I noted pockets of the thinner bread is more fragile than the thicker bread. I suggest if you want to form good pocket for filling, make a thicker bread. But if you want to serve as taco shell, make a thinner bread. I had it for my brunch to go with mayo and fish. Fold it up, just like soft taco. Yum....yum.
I follow the same steps except the last one. I preheated the oven to 500 degrees. Placed the rounded dough in a heavy baking sheet, as much as it takes (depending on the size). Baked for few minutes (about three minutes depending on your oven) Got the bread out and put on towel for few minutes.
This was a wonderful recipe! The dough was so simple to make and I easily found a way to make and eat dinner while waiting the two hours for it to rise. When I placed the pitas in my skillet it puffed up so nicely!! I was expecting a HUGE fail but now I've completely fell in love with these pitas and will be making them every weekend! Did I mention they tasted amazing too? Light, fluffy, and so bread-y, they were exactly what I was looking for in a pita!
Really tasty bread. Mine didn't puff up like the video but I didn't have a stand mixer to make these. I did get a pocket, but I had to sort of help open it up a little..
Great recipe! The only thing I can't figure out is how Chef John rolls out the pitas with as little flour as he does. My rolling pin wants to stick. But, the flavor is great! People, if yours aren't puffing up, it's not that big of a deal. Cut your pitas into halves, and then run a paring knife down the middle of the insides, being careful not to cut through to the outside. I haven't had a wasted pita yet by doing it this way. Just go slow and be careful with your knife.
Make this all the time and it's great! Better than buying at the store because you know everything that's going into it. I also made this with whole wheat flour, substituting 3/4 cup whole wheat flour for every cup of white flour, and adding more while kneeding if necessary. Turned out great!!!
I followed this recipe to the letter and my pitas didn't puff up. I guess I'm going to have to find another pita recipe.
I got this recipe to work, but not without its fair share of trial and error. The dough recipe itself is alright, if not a tad on the salty side. But you know in step 8 where it says to pat them into rounds an inch thick? That's , flatten those puppies until they're pancakes and then some, because the shape they are when you put them in the pan is they shape they'll come off in. Mine didn't puff up at all. Also, I don't know what you're stove is like, but at "medium high" heat, my stove burned it in 2 minutes. I wound up cooking them at the 3/10 setting. To figure those two things out, I sacrificed a quarter of my yield. I also highly doubt that the half hour wait in step 7 and the 5 minute wait in step 8 are at all necessary. To be fair, I'll admit that I mixed the dough by hand, due to my lack of an electric mixer, but I doubt that made a difference. This recipe is workable, but for much more consistent results with less effort I'd recommend cooking them in the oven, which is something I've done in the past with greater success.
The secret to the puff, and you will get it about 95% o the time is you have to flip early. When you add to the skillet wait 10 seconds then flip, wait another 10 seconds and flip, wait for the puff! Found out half way through the batch and then all the last one started to puff this way. At first I would let it cook from the bottom but i would see large bubbles on top and when I would flip it wouldn’t get it to bubble. Try it on one and you will see the huge bubble all the time!
Solid pita bread. That's 1.5 teaspoons of yeast for those of you using yeast in bulk.
Wonderful recipe, I didn't have a stand mixer so I did it the hard way but it still came out great. I used a rolling pin at the end to get them as thin as I wanted and I got some nice even bubbling as I got better and better at flattening(My first few were way too thick and just made tougher yet still delicious bread circles). Waiting for the dough to rise on another batch now. Lasts a nice while too if sealed or bagged, doesnt get stale very fast when exposed either. Going to try toasted them with olive oil and rosemary to make pita dip chips (:
Was totally awesome and made it exactly as called but the times for cooking are off. 30-40 seconds then flip is all that's necessary on med. high heat. If you wait 3 min. you'll be serving black manhole covers instead of pita bread
I love bread. Lately I've been loving flat breads, andy I've been trying to eat less sugar, so I was happy to try this recipe and stop having to buy pita bread every week. Watching the included video is extremely helpful. I folowed the recipe, and used my kitchen aid with the dough hook and my pita turned out perfect. I'm using this as a starter recipe and will probably make changes depending on my mood. But will definitely make this as is again. In a lot of the reviews I noticed people have been having trouble getting the poof, and I think rolling the dough thinner might help with that. My son was "helping" me and the ones he rolled out were a bit on the thicker side and although they tasted delicious, they didn't poof and i have to cut a pocket in. Once he wandered off, I rolled the dough to be thinner and they all proofed! Best pita ever.
I grew up on pita bread and this recipe isn't what I expected. Middle Eastern pita bread is very soft and a little chewy as well as thinner. This recipe is a little salty, very soft but it doesn't have the chewiness. Two problems I found making it with a cast iron skillet was that the bread took on a strange flavor and medium high was way too hot and it scortched my first one. It's an easy recipe but next time I'll cut the salt way down and try baking it on a baking stone in the oven on high heat, lower rack. I'm not sure if that will help with the chewiness though. Chewy and soft is what makes a great pita.
This bread is absolutely delicious! And very easy to make. It takes time and effort, but it is very good. Wish I had taken a photo :-(
I have tried to make home made pita bread many many times and have yet to be successful. This one had such great reviews for being easy and tasty I figured id give it one more try. I was careful to follow the recipe exactly. I am making my husband home made Gyros for his birthday dinner and I wanted homemade pita to go with it. The dough divided into 8ths made for very tiny pita...it is maybe a 5inch circle tops. They don't taste that great....its ok for me as a snack but to serve as a special birthday dinner is not good. It turned out more like a thick tortilla...I am sure I must have done something wrong but since I did follow the directions it seems a waste of 3hrs....not to mention the 1 hour walk it took to get to the store to get ingredients. My fun surprise for my husband will end up with a call for him to pick up pita bread on his way home! haha oh well!
I followed the instructions but I did not like making mine on the cast iron pan. I did not get the poof. After making one in the frying pan I switched to a 500 degree oven. I baked them on the top rack for 5-6 min.
My first time making pita. It turned out great. I used a bread machine to make the dough. I also used bread flour instead of all purpose flour. I think I'll try all purpose flour next time to compare. Chef John is right; these were better than any pita I have bought in a store. I liked experimenting by rolling them out to different thicknesses. 1/4" like the recipe was great; I also liked thicker pieces. Very nice.
All but one of my pitas puffed up as shown in the video, but it was still easy enough to make a pocket in it. These turned out much smaller than I was expecting. Maybe next time I will cut into 6 rather than 8 to make them a little bigger. I never got my dough to look as pretty as the video, but these are delicious even if they are a little less than perfect. Probably added a little less salt than called for, but that was the only change I made.
first attempt at making pita bread and it was absolutely delicious! thanks for the recipe!
I really liked these and will be my new go-to pita shells. I like pan frying, rather than baking, as my other ones did. My only problem was that after cutting, they were hard to open up. I see from other reviews that I should have smooshed the bubbles. I think my heat may have been a bit too high as well.
Just as Chef John commented - better than any pita breads you will find in the supermarket. It takes a little effort, but well worth it.
I watched the video and read the reviews and I thought I knew what to do to get my pitas to puff, but when I cooked them in the skillet they didn't puff. Since they weren't working anyway, I figured I'd cook them the easy way and bake them, and surprisingly, a few of them did puff in the oven! They turned out tasting okay, but I didn't think they were better than store-bought. I won't make this recipe again.
Looks great but doesn't seem as easdy as they say it is. Instructions are not very good.
I tried this recipe 4 times tweaking and tweaking and more tweaking.... NOT ONCE that a pocket came out. not even one time. The bread comes up out flat and with a few bubbles. getting frustrated. Maybe it's time to check other recipe. I'm looking (since I know it exists) for a pita bread that had a pocket is that it is not thin. 3/12/2017 just tried again. I swear.... there is NO WAY you can fit 3 cup of flour like this recipe calls for and mix is with 1 cup of water. NO WAY!!!!
This recipe was great. First time making pita bread. I should have made more by doubling recipe.
I followed the directions exactly and they turned out great! Definitely way better than anything store bought. Not all of them puffed up like in the video, but they puffed up just enough to have decent pockets for stuffing. Paired these with tonight's dinner of shakshuka and everyone was grabbing for seconds and thirds! Doubled the recipe for my family of 6 but next time I'll triple or quadruple lol They're really that good! Thank you for this recipe!
The video is right- it is MUCH better then store bought. I loved it! The only thing is that it was too salty for my taste. I will reduce this next time. Also, I had to leave mid-way, so I popped the dough in the fridge to rise. The dough still doubled in size, but it did not form nice pockets with the dough being cold.
It turns out fantastic, will say 1.5 Tbl of Greek yogurt added to the wets takes it to a whole new level!
Be sure to watch the video. I was surprised how easy the pita was to make following Chef John's demonstration. And how delicious and attractive they were. I doubt that I will ever buy pita bread from a store again.
This recipe is perfection! I used a regular pan instead of cast iron; they came out just fine and puffed. So good. Will definitely be making these again.
Easy and delicious!! I've never made homemade pita before and since my 2 year old likes it so much I thought I'd give it a try. This was better than the farmer's market fresh pita. Thanks again Chef John!
These turned out great! I did not get a pocket in all of them, but I think that is me not the recipe because it did work sometimes. The thinner ones had a better pocket, but even without the pocket this is a yummy flatbread! I will make this again foe sure, but think ahead this recipe has a lot of wait time!
I've never been good at making dough but this turned out silky and smooth. It was beautiful! Only got a few air pockets but will definitely be trying again
I have made these several times and love them. Just wanted to note that yesterday, I knew I wasn't going to be home after the step where you shape into balls of dough and let rest for 30 minutes. So I refrigerated them for a couple of hours after shaping into 8 balls of dough. When I was ready to continue with the recipe, I pulled them out of the fridge for about an hour and proceeded (rolling out, cooking). Worked out perfectly and, in fact, may have been even better than usual.
I made this and they ended up more like a naan texture because for some reason mine didnt puff up to a hollow in the center, but turned out to be a nice cross between a flat bread and naan in the end
Wow, these tasted great. They were a little difficult to make, I had to add a lot more flour then what was called for, before I could get the right consistency. While cooking them, mine did not puff up very much, so I had trouble getting the pockets in mine. I had to use my finger to force the bread to open.
This is a great recipe. I'm Lebanese, but have lived near good Middle Eastern bakeries most of my life; it didn't make sense to make pita bread at home. Now I live in the south, and grocery store pita bread just doesn't cut it. I was a bit intimidated to try the recipe, and was amazed to see how easy it was. Most of my loaves puffed up beautifully, with a couple of exceptions. Based on the recommendations of other reviewers, I reduced the salt a little bit, and I thought the flavor and texture of the bread were excellent.
My son made this the first time around then showed me how to make. It takes time but the pitas are amazing! Can eat with any meal!
Very tasty. I added garlic powder. It was delicious! I used instant dry yeast. It didn't rise nor inflate. Maybe the water was too hot. I'll try with colder water next time and If that doesn't work I'll try with different kinds of yeast :) Maybe the temperature of the pan stopped it from inflating.
I never knew Pita bread could taste so good. I will never buy Pita bread from a store ever again! Thanks!
I'm weird, I just freaking LOVE salads in a pita. This recipe is great and the pitas are so light and fluffy. I stuff them with salad, drizzle on dressing....and devour.
I used my Rock crepe pan as I do not have a cast iron pan. The resulting pitas were less than wonderful. I cooked them using olive oil and cooked them for the prescribed time on each side. They were overdone, and less than wonderful. I will not be using this recipe again. I am normally very pleased with Chef John’s recipes and directions. I ate a couple of the pitas, then decided they weren’t worth it
Thank you so much for this recipe. I was afraid making this would have a bad outcome because I have no experience with making any type of bread, and I don't really bake much, but these came out perfectly!! And they're delicious as well!
Followed the directions and I even had old yeast. Turned out great. I will make this again.
I tried spreading the dough with my fingers as well as rolling the pitas out with a wine bottle and only one of them puffed up, so I guess there's a bit of luck involved. Regardless, they tasted great and worked just fine with my halal street chicken.
Delicious!! When cooking next time I’d add a tiny bit of salt to the pan with the oil to give it a little bit more flavor. This is the best pita I’ve ever had and I’m so glad I found this recipe.
These came out perfect
I made Chef John's pita bread recipe for the first time today. THEY TURNED OUT PERFECT!Followed the recipe to the letter. You have to let them rest both times. The first batch was pretty good...watching them PUFF was fun but I don't think I let them rest as much as the second batch. The second batch was also rolled just a hint thinner. The heat control is also a major factor. My first batch had a lot more charred spots...the second batch, a lot less which may also be a contributing factor for the perfection I got with my second batch. Every one puffed but that second batch....indescribably perfect and absolutely delicious! I'll never use any other recipe but this one again. Thank you Chef John!
Followed recipe exactly and this turned out as expected. I got 'air' in all of my pita breads when cooking them. I made small pitas because I want to serve appetizer size gyros for a holiday gathering and this recipe allows you to make any size you want.
This pita recipe is now in my permanent "keep" box. Excellent! I rolled them a little too thin but it didn't stop us from loving them. I made gyros and it all came together perfectly. I had perfect bubbles :) Thanks for another great recipe Chef John!
This was my first attempt at making pita, and it's wonderful! So much better than any storebought. It's now a staple in our house.
Perfect recipe for beginners! Never made bread before but these bad boys came out delicious. Noticed that if some didn’t bubble up when they were flipped we smacked the top once with the spatula and wa la bubble town. Give it a shot you’ll be so pleased with yourself. Good cooking vibes everyone!
Great recipe- put in proofing drawer for 1 1/2 hours to rise and it was fine. We only got 4 regular sized pita rounds out of this recipe, so in the future I would double. Great flavor!
Quite good! I probably used too little water and they turned out a little chewy.
I made it just like the recipe said and we love it! I will definitely be making it again.
half puffed and half didnt, and I cant figure out what was i did differently with the puffers vs non puffers. anyway... tasted great. will make again.
This was my first pita attempt. It was okay. The taste wasn't great - a bit salty. My very first pita puffed BEAUTIFULLY...like a balloon. (The others, not so much). However, the pocket wasn't even. One side was quite thin. So I don't know what happened. I'm going to give this one more go and follow the directions even more closely!
Turned out very good! I don't have an electric stand mixer, so i kneaded by hand. It took maybe 10 extra minutes, but the end result was worth it. It was so cheap and easy to make, I'll never buy pita bread again.
This is some of the best pita bread I've ever tasted. It goes perfectly with homemade hummus. My only complaint is how long it takes to make it one by one... But it's worth it!
Followed recipe exactly, I am not a baker and was nervous about it. Turned out perfect and family loved it.
I used half APF and half whole wheat. I found that if I just let the bubbles start to form on the first side and then turned it. The pita would puff up fully. So timing isn’t as important as how the bubbles form.
Gluten free - My first try at this recipe and I used cassava flour so my expectations were very low. I got in trouble right off the bat with the sponge, which was way too thick. I fixed that with an additional 1/2 cup of water and went merrily on my way, following the video at every step. The resulting dough was quite impressive, and I anxiously anticipated tossing the first pita into the skillet. Based on my experience with tortillas and several suggestions here I set the stove a tad below medium. To my utter amazement the first pita poofed beautifully. Unfortunately, it turned out gooey inside. I fiddled with the thickness, heat, and time for the remainder of the recipe and although all poofed, none would produce a pocket. The taste was superb, however, so I'll keep at it. Next batch I'll use Pamela's Artisan Flour and see how that works.
I've made this twice this week alone. The first time I didn't get a puff in the pan. The second time I did it I flipped a baking sheet upside down and put it on the second highest rack. I baked it on broil and was able to do 2 at a time and every single one puffed. This being said, if you do it this way you don't get the lovely charred bits on the bread but it's still soft, slightly chewy, and delicious.
Delicious!! My family loved them -served with homemade hummus ! Thanks for the tutorial too. Very helpful!!! Wouldn’t change a thing...except to make more!
First time I ever even tried making pita bread and this was awesome! I skipped steps 7 and 8 and just wen straight to cooking the pitas and they still were perfect! Everyone was so impressed that I made them from scratch and they tasted just like the ones from the store. Great with hummus and for wraps.
Omg !!this was so easy and soooo much better than any other pita bread I've tried. I made gyros from scratch and my husband and son just loved them. Thank you for sharing with us.
I followed the recipe and instructions for half of the dough and was not happy with the result. Mine did not fluff up like many people. I saved half of the dough by putting the balls in a plastic container in the fridge overnight to cook in the morning. Pull them out of the fridge to bring back to room tempurature while I heated the oven to 450F with a pizza stone. I then put the flattened bread on it once the oven reached tempurature. And within 2 minutes, the full puff happened. I flipped them once and did not leave them in the oven more than 2 more minutes to prevent from drying. I think I may turn the oven to 500F next time hoping for some browning. It‘s not something you can walk away from but the result is so worth it.
This one gets rave reviews at family dinners and department pot-lucks. It's becoming a staple.
So perfect. I followed the video's instructions exactly! They didn't puff up completely, but they were still soft and wayyyyy better than store-bought pita. I think if I make it thinner and let it rise for a bit longer it might puff up. But I'm not so crazy about the puffing up. I got good bread and it's good!
Followed the recipe perfectly and I only got puff on 2 of the 8. Darn.. I like the recipe but my results were not that great. Instructions were very good. So lets see how it goes again. I will try this one to get better results.
I love this recipe & have been using it for a couple years. There are a few variations I do to ensure that I get puffy pitas every time. I do everything according to Chef John until the final stages. After my dough balls have rested I'm very careful when rolling them out. Try not to make holes or roll to hard on them. The variation I do is during the cooking process. I put my pita in for about 30 seconds them flip them right away. I'm not sure why but this seems to be the trick. I can successfully make a batch of 20 & have them all puff like little pillows. I hope this helps, good luck & have fun.
Followed recipe to the letter. First one didn't fluff at all ...that's the first one that got ate! After cast iron skillet got warm enough those that followed puffed up like Pita Paul and Mary! The video does help a lot.
Oh my is that ever good! I just had it for dinner and couldn't believe it. Like others here, I didn't get pockets, but since I usually just have it as a side it didn't matter. I just hope it will taste as good tomorrow. I don't have a stand mixer, and my hand-held didn't work very well even with dough hooks, so I ended up kneading by hand.
This is one of the best pita recipes I've tried. I will definitely be using this often.
This was so easy! I don't have a stand mixer so I had to knead it by hand. However, they were just a tad salty for us, we are on a low salt diet,so I will use a bit less next time and I think I rolled them a bit thin but my husband loved them! I actually got a full puff on one of them. :) Will definitely keep this one.
I made wheat bread pitas, substituting 1-1/4 cup whole wheat flour for white flour. I usually proof my yeast but decided to follow the recipe as written, even using a digital thermometer to ensure water was at correct temperature. Dough did not rise at all (yes, yeast was good as we just bought it yesterday so my wife could make pandesal which came out perfect). Mixing in the remaining flour, it was just too dry and more water had to be added. After 2 hours still no rise to the dough. Continued on and made the balls as shown in the video and covered. After 30 minutes they had risen almost double. Fried the first one and no puffing occurred. While the second was frying I cut the first one in half and tried to make a pocket but it wouldn't open. I expected to have 8 flatbread but from the corner of my eye I saw the second begin to puff up. In all, 4 fully puffed, a couple with a little spatula "encouragement," 3 partially puffed up, and of course the first one. Having altered the recipe and not knowing what the outcome would be, I was thrilled to have such successful results.
I used gluten free flour and they were really yummy! As mentioned by other reviewers, they did not bubble up as much as in the video, so I had to cut them with a knife but that wasn’t a big deal. I made 6 instead of 8 since I wanted them to be the same size as the store bought pita breads. Also next time I would cut back on the salt.
