An Oven Baked Greek Pita Pocket Bread recipe that is tasty and easy to make.
Mediterranean Bread on Repeat
This delicious Greek pita pocket bread recipe can be made in the comfort of your own home with pantry essential ingredients such as all purpose flour or whole wheat flour. The comforting Greek bread can be used to make tasty gyros or falafel sandwiches and it pairs well with an extra virgin olive oil dip, hummus, tzatziki sauce, or my garlic labneh recipe.
When you venture off into making a recipe that you have never made before things can be a bit overwhelming. I understand. But trust me, when I say this Greek Recipe is fail proof thanks to one of my friends! She has all the tips and tricks, I tell you. Pita bread can turn out to be chewy or flat sometimes, which only discourages us from trying again. Am I right or am I right? If that has been your experience, then I urge you to try it one more time with this detailed recipe.
I LOVE BREAD!
What kind of flour is needed for Greek Pita Bread?
I prefer to use all purpose flour for this recipe. Nothing fancy, just regular American All Purpose Flour is perfect. In our home, we purchase organic variations of all purpose flour. In most cases, I buy it from Costco in bulk because I love to bake breads.
Can I make Gluten Free Greek Pita Pocket Bread?
I have never tried to make it before, but my friend swears by gluten free flour by Bob's Red Mill. If you do try it as a replacement in this recipe, I would love to hear how it came out.
Whole Wheat Greek Pita Bread Recipe
You can make this recipe using whole wheat flour as a substitution for all purpose flour and they turn out just as great!. Growing up, whole wheat was used more than all purpose flour. In fact, my parents rarely ever bought white bread, flour tortillas, etc. For that reason, I have always used whole wheat flour to make Greek Pita Bread. I must say though, all purpose flour tastes a lot better and the end result of the pita is a lot more sturdy to hold the ingredients inside.
Is Greek Pita Vegan?
YES! This recipe is 100% vegan without any substitutions. Hence, it's naturally this way!
Does Greek Pita Bread have dairy?
My recipe listed here has no dairy. It is a vegan Greek Pita Bread that tastes phenomenal as is.
What to eat with Greek Pita Bread?
I love it as is, no joke. It tastes great with an extra virgin olive oil dip such as this one, hummus, or my Garlic Labneh Recipe (to die for). My kids eat stuffed pita pockets with veggies, mayo, mustard, and their choice of deli meat that I purchase or make (chicken). My husband likes eating these pita pockets with gyro meat from Trader Joes or homemade falafel fritters.
Can I make Pita Bread ahead of time?
You bet! Make a stack of these and refrigerate them for days at a time. Simply reheat in a microwave or a covered pan in the oven. Yes, you read that right "covered pan". Dry heat can make the pita bread chewy. The trapped heat will help keep them moist and soft especially when heating multiple breads at once. You can also roast them over an open flame on the stove top to eat immediately.
How long can I store them?
I don't recommend anything over 1 week, because they are so easy to make you can make a fresh batch in a matter of a few of hours total. Be sure to store than in the refrigerator.
Can I add spices to the dough?
Yes! My husband loves them with cumin seeds. I personally like them plain as can be which gives me more room to make spicy and flavorful dips to pair it with.
Where can I buy Greek Pita Bread?
This was once a million dollar question. Whole Foods almost always has them in stock. I remember as a kid we could never find Pita Pocket Bread in Little Rock, but it was more so because we never went to health food type grocery stores such as Whole Foods. My parents love falafels, so we learned how to make them at home or bulk buy whenever they were available.
Detailed Greek Pita Pocket Bread Recipe
Don't let the long list of instructions in the recipe discourage you. I tried to be as detailed as possible so there are no errors along the way. I truly hope you enjoy the recipe!
Greek Pita Pocket
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups all purpose flour + some for dusting
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoon dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + extra for coating
- 1.5 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir gently with a silicone or wooden spatula and set it aside for about 5 minutes so the yeast activates.
- Add ½ cup of all purpose flour to the mixture. Mix it gently with a silicone or wooden spatula and set it aside for 15 minutes. No need to cover it.
- Slowly, add the remaining all purpose flour, salt, and oil to the large bowl. Mix it well with a silicone or wooden spatula until the contents form one large ball that you can manage to knead.
- Dust a deep bowl/pan with a generous amount of all purpose flour and set it aside.
- Dust a large surface area with all purpose flour.
- Take the dough and continue to knead by hand on the dusted surface for about 5-7 minutes until a smooth elastic ball has formed. Trust me, this is fun!
- Coat the dough with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil and then place it inside the dusted bowl/pan.
- Dust the top of the dough with all purpose flour and then wrap the bowl/pan with plastic wrap or cover with a damp kitchen towel assuring it does not touch the dough. You want to leave space for the dough to rise.
- Place the bowl/pan in a warm spot for 1 hour (microwave works well for me). The dough will double in size.
- Dust a surface area with all purpose flour again. Place the double in size dough on the surface, form a log without kneading too much, and divide it into 8 pieces.
- Take each piece and roll it in your hands to form a smooth ball once again. Isn't the elastic dough fun to play with?
- Place each hand kneaded dough ball back into the bowl assuring they don't touch each other (no additional dusting is required).
- Heat an oven to 500 degrees.
- Cover it tightly again with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let it rest again for about 15 minutes in the same warm spot as before.
- Using a large surface area (I like to use a cold surface like granite or marble) roll out the pita pocket one at a time to about 8-9" in diameter. Use flour for dusting if the dough begins to stick to the surface.
- Place the pita pockets on a non-stick baking pan assuring they are not touching each other. Note-get these Pita Pockets in the oven ASAP after rolling them out.
- Put the pan in the oven and cook for about 7 minutes. Check on them via the oven light because the excitement to see them puff up is real. The oven light will eliminate how often you open the oven door. High temperature cooking is key here.
- Pull the pans out of the oven once the Pita Pockets have browned to your liking and wrap them with a dry kitchen towel until they cool down. This will help soften them.
- Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- REHEATING INSTRUCTIONS- in a microwave for 5-10 seconds or over an open gas flame right before eating.
- Stuff with your favorite ingredients, dunk in your favorite dips, or split in half and top with your favorite ingredients. Either way, enjoy 🙂
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