Homemade Pita Bread - Greek Flatbread Recipe

I am Greek, and I live in Greece. This is hands down the softest and most flavorful Pita Bread I've tasted my whole life!

Homemade Pita Bread doesn't compare to storebought really. But this is the best one by far! Made with Greek yogurt, flour, olive oil, salt, baking powder & baking soda.

Table Of Contents

• What Is Greek Pita Bread Made Off
• Is Pita Bread And Flatbread The Same?
• What To Make With Greek Pita Bread
• How To Make Pita Bread
• Freezing
• Thawing and Reheating
• Recipe

Baking soda and baking powder are like the two sides of the same coin. While they do the same thing more or less, baking soda is better at making food become less dense, while baking powder is better at making food rise.

In other words, let's say you have a cake if you add baking soda it will be nice and airy but won't rise as much. On the other hand, if you add baking powder it will rise well, but the texture won't be as airy.

So adding these two together gives us the best texture. And in this case, the softest flatbreads ever!

What Is Greek Pita Bread Made Off

Usually, Greek Pita Bread is made of just water, flour, yeast, and salt. That's the classic version that you can find in grocery stores and grill houses. But that's not the Traditional Greek Pita Bread!

Pita bread used to be bread dough leftovers that were shaped into flatbreads and cooked on fire (charcoal grill or wood oven ). That was when bread was made using sourdough instead of yeast. This means it had a better flavor and didn't have that chewy texture that we get when using yeast.

So since sourdough isn't as easy to use as opening your cupboard and adding some, I made this Homemade Pita Bread using baking soda & baking powder instead. To make them soft and fluffy and not chewy.

Is Pita Bread And Flatbread The Same?

A Pita Bread IS a flatbread! It's an unleavened type of bread, therefore, a flatbread. But flatbread can be made from anything even just plain flour and water. Other types of flatbreads include Naan (West & South Asia), Piadina (Italian), Lavash (Armenian), Roti (India).

What To Make With Greek Pita Bread

You just HAVE TO TRY Pita Gyros. The famous Greek wrap is made either with Chicken Gyros or Pork Gyros. That's what we mostly make with Pita Bread in Greece. But other than that we serve it with grilled meat like Pork Souvlaki (pork skewers) or Chicken Souvlaki (chicken skewers) for example.

If serving with grilled meat, drizzle pita bread with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper, and grill. That's the real thing!

You can also serve it with any traditional Greek dip like Tzatziki (which is also used in Pita Gyros Wraps), Melitzanosalata (Roasted Aubergine Dip), Skordalia (Potato & Garlic Dip).

How To Make Pita Bread

Make The Dough: Whisk all ingredients except flour in a mixing bowl. Then incorporate the flour into the mixture while mixing with a wooden spoon.

The dough should come out in one piece and be a little bit sticky. To handle the dough you will need to dust it with flour.

NOTE: The reason we don't simply add more flour and knead until the dough isn't sticky is because it will make it more dense and less fluffy. So dust your working surface, the surface of the dough, and your hands with as much flour as needed to handle the dough.

Shape: Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, using a knife or dough cutter. Shape each piece into a ball. Then take one ball and place it on a floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with some flour as well, and open it with your hands into a flat round disk of about 14-15 cm (5½ - 6 inches) in diameter.

Cook: Heat a non-stick pan, one that comes with a lid. Or use a cooking pot lid, we need this to create steam while the pita flatbread cooks for it to become soft and fluffy.

Once the pan is almost smokey hot add the pita and cook for 1 minute covered. Then flip and cook for one more minute on the other side, covered again.

Cool: Transfer to a cooling rack to cool down to room temperature. Then stack the flatbreads on a plate and cover them with plastic wrap so they won't air-dry.

Freezing

The best thing about pita bread is that you can keep it in the freezer for up to 6 months and thaw quickly without even needing to reheat it.

To freeze pita bread place them one by one or stack them inside freezer bags and add to the freezer.

Thawing and Reheating

To thaw these yogurt flatbreads, simply leave them at your kitchen counter for 1-2 hours depending on the room temperature in your house. Once thawed you can use it straight away. If you want to reheat it, heat a non-stick pan over low heat and add the pita bread. Heat for a couple of seconds to 1 minute.

Using the microwave you can instantly thaw pita bread. Remove from the freezer bag and place it on a plate without covering it. Microwave at medium heat for a couple of seconds to 1 minute.

Recipe