Bread & Dough
Traditional Pita
Soft yoghurt pita cooked in a dry pan on the stove.
We make these in my bread classes, and they are the pita I use for wraps at home. A little yoghurt and olive oil keep them soft, and you cook them in a dry pan on the stove, no oven needed. Keep them warm under a towel and they will stay soft until the table is ready.
8 pitas · About 2 to 3 hours (mostly rising), 25 minutes to cook
Ingredients
- 300 g flour (10½ oz, about 2⅓ cups)
- 200 ml water (¾ cup plus 1 tbsp)
- 50 g yoghurt (1¾ oz, about 3 tbsp)
- 30 ml olive oil (2 tbsp)
- 10 g sugar (⅓ oz, about 2½ tsp)
- 7 g salt (¼ oz, about 1¼ tsp fine salt)
- 5 ml yeast (1 tsp)
- 5 ml baking powder (1 tsp)
Method
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them into a soft dough.
- Knead the dough until it is shiny and elastic, then cover the bowl and let it rest until it has doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down and divide it into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball, cover them, and let them rest at room temperature until they have doubled again.
- Stretch each ball into a round of 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches).
- Heat a heavy pan, with no oil, over medium heat on the stove.
- Cook one pita for 30 seconds, flip it, and cook it for another 30 seconds.
- Keep flipping it every 30 seconds for about 3 minutes in total.
- Stack the cooked pitas and keep them covered with a clean towel while you cook the rest.
Notes
- A cast-iron pan works best because it holds its heat.
- Rising times depend on your kitchen. In a warm room each rise takes about an hour; in a cool one it can take longer.
- These are very good filled with roast chicken, tzatziki, hummus, arugula and pickles.
Cook with me
Want to cook this with your team?