Perfectly fluffy Homemade Pita Bread is made with only a few easy-to-find ingredients and in less than 30 minutes! This authentic Mediterranean bread recipe has no yeast and can easily be adapted to be gluten-free, too. Serve them as pita pockets for dinner filled with Greek meatballs or gyro meat, or enjoy them as chips with fresh tzatziki sauce and hummus!
Easy Pita Bread Recipe
What if I told you the ingredients you need for an authentic Mediterranean pita bread are already in your pantry?
This easy homemade pita bread recipe is made with flour, baking powder, oil, egg, and milk!
Yup! There’s absolutely no yeast in this recipe which also means there is no waiting time for the dough to rise.
No rise time means you are less than 30 minutes away from having a batch of ultra fluffy pita pockets ready to enjoy!
Slice them in half and fill the pockets up with your favorite Greek meatballs.
Treat them like a flatbread and roll them up with gyro meat.
Or, you can cut the bread into chips and dip it into your favorite homemade hummus or tzatziki sauce.
The options are endless once you master the art of this easy pita bread recipe.
What is Pita Bread?
Pita bread comes from the word “pita” which means “pastry” or “cake” in Greek. It is an authentic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern bread made from wheat flour that is leavened with yeast.
Unlike flatbread, a leavening agent is used in pita bread such as yeast, eggs, or baking powder which helps the bread puff up and create a pocket of air on the inside. This pocket can then be cut into and filled with gyro meat, lamb, chicken, or fresh cucumber, tomatoes, and onions. It’s the Middle East’s version of an American sandwich or Mexican taco.
Pita bread is also found served as an appetizer with souvlaki, hummus, or tzatziki sauce and can be cut into bite-sized chips.
Ingredients
The ingredients needed for this pita bread recipe are easy-to-find at your local grocery store. There are also a few simple substitutions you can make depending on your dietary preferences.
Flour – While all purpose flour is the most traditional type to use, a gluten-free 1-to-1 flour blend was used and tested in this recipe.
Egg – One large room temperature egg acts as one of the leavening agents in this recipe and gives the bread a wonderfully rich and buttery flavor.
Milk – Regular milk can be used, or any other type of plant-based milk such as cashew, almond, or soy milk.
Oil – A mildly flavored oil, such as avocado oil, is recommended, but olive oil can also be used. If using olive oil make sure you pick one that is lighter peppery olive flavor for the best-tasting pita bread.
Baking Powder – It’s very important that you use baking powder and not baking soda. Baking powder has an acidic component in it that is crucial to make sure the bread rises properly when cooked.
How to Make
The process of making homemade pita bread is actually quite simple and consists of 3 main steps:
- Mix the pita bread dough.
- Roll and shape it.
- Cook it in a skillet or bake in the oven.
So let’s take a look at each of these steps in a little more detail.
Mixing the Dough
The best and easiest tool to use when making homemade breads is a stand mixer. Not only does it mix at a uniform speed, but you can also give your arm a break.
If you don’t happen to have a stand mixer a regular hand-held mixer will work as well as a bowl with a spatula.
To prepare the dough:
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn it on low speed and mix until combined. (step 1 above)
- Pour in the egg, milk, and oil. Mix the ingredients on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes, or until the dough begins to form a ball. (step 2 above)
At this point you can either cover it in a slightly dampened towel and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days before cooking. Or, you can proceed to roll the dough into balls and bake or cook it in a skillet.
Roll and Shape
After doing quite a few test batches with this recipe, it’s very important that you form and shape the dough as close to the size recommended as possible.
If the dough is too thin, you will not get those wonderful air bubbles within the bread. If the dough is too thick, you’ll end up with a doughy middle instead of a perfectly fluffy and cooked-through bread.
To roll and shape:
- Lightly dust a cutting board with additional flour and place the ball of dough on the board.*
- Cut the dough into 8 equally-sized pieces. (step 1 above)
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball. (step 2 above)
- Flatten the balls of dough using a rolling pin, or your hands, until they measure ~4 inches in diameter and ~¼ inch tall. (step 3 & 4 above)
Cook’s Tip: You want to make sure you do not incorporate TOO much additional flour into your pita bread dough. It’s best to only use as much flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to your board or rolling pin, but not any more.
Cook in Skillet or Bake in Oven
There are two ways you can cook your pita bread: in a large skillet or bake in the oven.
Cooking pita bread in a skillet is the best and most authentic way to do it. You’ll get those gorgeous brown and slightly burnt spots that are typically found on pita bread at restaurants. These are hard to get when baking them in the oven.
To cook in a skillet:
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add 2-3 pita bread doughs in a single layer, making sure they do not overlap.
- Cook pita bread for 2-3 minutes on one side, or until you start to see bubbles form and the edges crack. (step 1 above)
- Flip the pita bread and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side. Repeat this process with the remaining dough. (step 2 above)
To bake in the oven:
- Preheat oven to 425 °F.
- Lay a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the oven while it heats up.
- Place pita bread in a single layer on the baking sheet and cook for 6-8 minutes. Flip the pita bread halfway through.
Serving and Storing
Homemade pita bread tastes so good that it can easily be enjoyed by itself with a light brushing or olive oil or garlic herb butter.
Cut the pita bread in half down the middle and use a sharp or serrated knife to open it up into pockets. *This is easiest to do within a few minutes after cooking.
You can also cut the bread into 6 or 8 triangles and serve as chips with your favorite hummus, tzatziki, or other Mediterranean dip recipes.
Homemade pita bread will last for 2-3 days at room temperature when stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.
*Refrigerating this bread is not recommended since it will quickly lose its moisture and become dried out and stale.
If you would like to store it longer term, wrap the bread in wax or parchment paper and freeze for up to a month.
FAQs
Is pita bread gluten-free?
Most pita bread found at restaurants and at the grocery store is not gluten-free. However, this recipe is when using a gluten-free 1-to-1 flour blend.
What if my dough is too dried out?
If you end up using too much flour on your cutting board and the dough appears dried out, there’s a quick fix. Simply brush a very light coating of oil over the surface of the dough before cooking. Make sure not to overdo this as the oil will burn in the skillet when cooking.
Can I prepare this ahead of time?
You can easily meal prep this pita bread dough ahead of time by stopping at the dough phase. Place the dough in a bowl just big enough to fit it and cover it with a damp paper towel or dish towel. Store for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator before proceeding with the remainder steps. Check on the paper towel every 8 hours to ensure it is still damp. Do not store the pita bread in smaller balls of dough as they will quickly dry out in the refrigerator.
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Easy Pita Bread Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cups flour gluten-free 1-to-1 blend
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. oil olive or avocado
- 1 egg room temperature, whisked
- ¾ cup milk cashew, soy, or almond
Instructions
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until combined.
- Add oil, egg, and milk. Mix on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes, or until a ball of dough begins forms.
- Lightly dust a cutting board with additional flour and place the ball of dough on the board.*
- Cut the dough into 8 equally-sized pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball.
- Flatten the balls of dough using a rolling pin, or your hands, until they measure ~4 inches in diameter and ~¼ inch tall.
To Cook in a Skillet:
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add 2-3 pita bread doughs in a single layer, making sure they do not overlap.
- Cook pita bread for 2-3 minutes on one side, or until you start to see bubbles form and the edges crack.
- Flip the pita bread and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side. Repeat this process with the remaining dough.
To Bake in the Oven:
- Lay a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the oven while it heats up. Preheat to 425℉.
- When ready to bake, place pita bread in a single layer on the baking sheet and cook for 6-8 minutes. Flip the pita bread halfway through.
- Serve pita bread with homemade tzatziki sauce, hummus, or Greek turkey meatballs and enjoy!
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
In your printable recipe you do not tell people at what temp. to set the oven to bake the pita bread.
“Thank you so much for letting me know! I’ve updated the recipe card so hopefully there is no more confusion. Thanks again for taking the time to comment, Glenn!”
What temp do you bake it at?
When baking in the oven, preheat to 425 °F and cook for 6-8 minutes.
I made these and the flavor was very tasty, but they didn’t puff up to where I could cut them. Kind of fell apart too but was wondering if my backing powder was old? Very tasty though!
This can happen if the pita bread is too thin. Next time, try making the rounds a little smaller and thicker as well as swapping out the baking powder (never hurts!). This might do the trick!
Hi! Do you think using just All-Purpose Flour would work in this recipe?
Yes, Lori! It should work great!