Homemade Pitta Bread

Ingredients

• 500 g strong white flour
• 7 g fast-action dried yeast
• 10 g salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 320 ml warm water

Method

1. Mix a slack dough

   Combine everything into a soft, slightly sticky dough and knead until smooth and elastic. It needs to be wetter than a loaf dough — the steam from that water is literally what inflates the pocket.

   10 min

2. Prove

   Cover and leave until doubled, about an hour.

   1 h

3. Rest the shaped rounds

   Divide into eight, roll each to about 5 mm, then let them rest on a floured cloth for 20 minutes. Rolled and baked immediately, the gluten is too tight and they refuse to puff.

   20 min

4. Preheat until genuinely hot

   Heat a stone or heavy tray at 250°C for a full 30 minutes. Fierce, immediate bottom heat flashes the water inside to steam and blows the two layers apart — this is the entire mechanism and a moderate oven simply cannot do it.

   30 min

5. Bake fast

   Bake two at a time for 3 to 4 minutes. They should balloon dramatically within the first two minutes. Take them out while still pale — browned pitta goes crisp and will not fold.

   4 min

6. Stack under a cloth

   Pile them into a clean tea towel as they come out. The trapped steam collapses them gently and keeps them soft and foldable.