Making Pita Bread at Home is Fun, Entertaining and Worth It

Stuffing the Pita

My husband seems to appreciate the Middle Eastern cooking kick I’ve been on for the past two months, and was especially excited to hear krantz (yeasted) cake is next on my “project” list.

Earlier this week, I made pita bread.

It was so much fun. When I put the first piece of dough in the oven, I screamed with joy as it bubbled into a round dome. (Seriously, my neighbor heard me and ran out of his garage wondering what had happened.)

I wasn’t sure if my first attempt making pita would be a success, but I was pleasantly surprised. The best part is watching it expand like the membrane of the vocal sac on a bullfrog.

It takes three minutes to rise, which felt like an eternity. I filmed the process, adding a clip as I cut it in half to show the pocket and softness of the bread. This is shown in the video below.

I used a recipe from one of my favorite blogs Serious Eats, substituting the wheat flour for spelt because it was what I had on hand. The result was a nice nutty flavor. I filled the pockets with roasted vegetables, green tahini and sprinkled it with feta and za'atar (a green mixture of Middle Eastern herbs) on top.

I highly encourage you to make pita at home. Once you have fresh pita, you’ll never go back to the store-bought kind.