Super Simple Pita Bread Recipe (No Yeast)

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WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE

You’ll only need a few basic ingredients and a cooking time of fewer than 5 minutes. The result is doughy and warm homemade pita bread that is so irresistible!

If you’d like, you can cut the pita bread into smaller triangles to serve with Greek dips like houmous or creamy sour cream tzatziki or use it to wrap your gyros or souvlaki.

The buttermilk and baking soda in this recipe create a slightly doughy texture while the outside becomes crispy. Brush your cooked pita bread with olive oil and sprinkle with dried oregano and sea salt for an elevated snack or appetizer.

HOW TO MAKE PITA BREAD: STEP BY STEP

STEP 1: Mix all dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, salt, baking soda) in a large bowl and set aside.

STEP 2: Heat the buttermilk in the microwave or a small saucepan until it’s lukewarm. Buttermilk is acidic and an important ingredient because it activates baking soda and helps to create doughy pita bread!

STEP 3: Transfer the lukewarm buttermilk to a mixing bowl. Add in the olive oil. Using an electric stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, slowly add the flour mixture to the buttermilk and mix on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes or until the dough is mixed.

STEP 4: Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead it into a ball. Place the dough inside a lightly oiled bowl.

Even though there is no active dry yeast or dry instant yeast in this recipe, it’s a good idea to cover the smooth dough ball with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 15 minutes at room temperature. Allowing the dough to “settle” will make it easier to roll it into circles.

STEP 5: Prepare a clean work surface. It could be a kitchen countertop or dining room table. Sprinkle the clean surface lightly with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.

After 15 minutes, remove the pita bread dough from the bowl and use your hands to knead the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface. Next, cut the dough into six pieces and roll them into evenly sized-balls.

STEP 6: Roll the dough balls into flat circles using a rolling pin. The thickness of the dough will depend on how you like your pita bread. The thinner the dough, the crispier your pita bread will be.

What Goes Well With Pita Bread?

There are so many great options! Pita bread is so versatile. For example, you can use homemade pita bread to make chicken or pork souvlaki wraps and gyros.

Enjoy pita bread as an appetizer with tzatziki or other popular Greek dips like taramasalata, tirokafteri, or fava.

Pita bread is an excellent addition to Greek salad, meatballs with marinara sauce, or dinner options like mousaka or pastit*io. Or, even enjoy warm homemade pita bread on its own!

How To Store Pita Bread?

Pita bread does dry out quickly and doesn’t keep well in the refrigerator. The good thing about this recipe is that it makes 6 servings, so you likely won’t have too much pita bread left over.

But, If you do have extra pita bread that you’d like to save for another time, I would suggest storing the pita in a bread basket or paper bag and in a cool, dry area of your kitchen. Pita bread at room temperature will usually last for about 2-3 days.

If you’re looking for longer storage options, you can wrap the pita bread individually with plastic wrap or place a few in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer.

That way, when you’re ready to enjoy it, you can take it out of the freezer and heat the pita in a non-stick frying pan or the microwave.

How To Heat Pita Bread?

Pita bread doesn’t taste as good cold or refrigerated, but the good news is that it’s easy to heat up! You can quickly heat pita bread in the microwave using a microwave-safe dish. It will get more doughy than crispy, but in about 15 seconds, you’ll have ready-to-eat pita bread.

Alternatively, you can reheat the pita in a nonstick frying pan. Heat a little bit of olive oil in the pan and place the frozen pita bread in the warmed pan. It will only need a minute or two on each side.

Lastly, if you’ve cut your pita bread into triangle pieces, you can heat your pita bread in the toaster. The pita bread will be crispier compared to the microwave or pan-frying.

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Print Recipe

5 from 8 votes

Learn how to easily make homemade pita bread! Enjoy pita bread as an appetizer with tzatziki or other popular dips like hummus and taramasalata!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Greek Appetizers

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: easy pita bread, no yeast pita bread, pita bread

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 320kcal

Author: Ria Mavrikos

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour for dusting
1 ¼ cups buttermilk lukewarm
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for the pita dough
1/2 teaspoon white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
About 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to use when cooking the pita bread and brushing the cooked pita
Dried oregano to sprinkle on top optional
Salt flakes to sprinkle on top optional

Instructions

Mix all of the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, salt, baking soda) in a large bowl and set aside.
Heat the buttermilk in the microwave or in a small saucepan until it's lukewarm.
Transfer the lukewarm buttermilk to a mixing bowl. Add in the olive oil. Using an electric stand mixer with a dough hook attachment slowly add the flour mixture to the buttermilk and mix on a low-medium speed for about 2-3 minutes or until the dough is mixed.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead it into a ball. Place the dough inside a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
Prepare a clean work surface. It could be a kitchen countertop or dining room table. Sprinkle the clean surface lightly with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. Remove the pita bread dough from the bowl and use your hands to knead the dough on a clean lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into six pieces and roll them into balls.
Roll the dough balls into a flat circle using a rolling pin.
Heat up about 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Place the pita bread into the nonstick pan and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side on medium heat.
Repeat this process until all the dough is used. Wrapped the cooked pita bread with a clean cloth or aluminum foil while the remaining pita bread cooks so that it can stay warm.
Brush the cooked pita bread with a little bit of olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with dried oregano and sea salt.

Notes

Buttermilk is acidic and an important ingredient because it activates the baking soda.
Allowing the dough to rest for 15 minutes will make it easier to roll the dough into circles.
The thinner the pita bread when you're rolling out the dough, the crispier your pita bread will be.
Keep an eye on the pita bread when you're cooking it so that it doesn't burn. It only needs about a minute or two on each side!

Nutrition

Date Published: February 14, 2022

Super Simple Pita Bread Recipe (No Yeast) - ririsgreekeats.com (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pita not fluffy? ›

If the round of dough is too thick, the dough is too dry or the oven temperature is too low, pita breads will struggle to puff. That's because the puff is steam-powered.

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Why is my pita bread hard? ›

This needs to happen quickly—in a mere two to three minutes—so don't go running off when the pitas are baking. As soon as they puff, they're done. Over-baking will leave them hard and dry. *If you don't own a baking steel or stone, you can bake the pitas in a cast iron skillet instead.

Do flatbreads contain yeast? ›

The primary difference between flatbread and pizza dough is that many flatbreads are unleavened, whereas pizza dough uses yeast. The yeast used in pizza dough requires the dough to rise for a certain amount of time before cooking and creates a fluffier, thicker crust.

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Can you freeze homemade pita bread? ›

The baked pita will stay fresh for about 3 days stored in an airtight container or bag. Reheat before serving. You can also freeze the pita for up to three months. Finally, as with nearly all leavened breads, use the refrigerator as needed during the rising period.

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How do you get pita bread to puff up? ›

Working in batches, place the rolled-out pitas directly on the hot baking baking sheet (I was only able to fit 2 at a time). Bake for 2 minutes on one side, and then, using a pair of tongs, carefully turn pita over to bake for 1 minute on the other side. The pita will puff nicely and should be ready.

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How to keep pita from falling apart? ›

Instead of cutting the bread directly in half, trim a 1 ½" opening from the top. Flip that trimmed piece over and tuck it into the bottom of the pocket before filling it with whatever you happened to be craving. You're basically giving your pita a kevlar vest.

Keep Reading ›

Do you cut pita bread before or after heating? ›

Heating up the bread in the microwave tends to warm it up and make it easier to cut because it puffs up more than before.

What makes pita bread chewy? ›

If you have never used bread flour, or maybe don't know much about it, bread flour contains a higher amount of protein that traditional all-purpose. The higher the protein the stronger the gluten which is critical when making bread. Bread flour is going to give this homemade pita bread a great chewy texture, and rise.

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Why does my pita bread taste yeasty? ›

If your bread has a sour, yeasty flavour and smells of alcohol then you have either used too much yeast.or you may have use stale yeast or creamed fresh yeast with sugar.

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What is the name of bread without yeast? ›

Soda Bread

This sturdy breakfast bread comes together and relies on baking soda as a leavener.

Is there a substitute for yeast? ›

You can substitute yeast with equal parts lemon juice and baking soda. So if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of yeast, you can use half a teaspoon of lemon juice and half a teaspoon of baking soda. Keep in mind that the bread will not need the typical proofing time and the dough will begin rising right away.

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Does Ezekiel bread have yeast in it? ›

Ezekiel bread ingredients typically include the following: organic sprouted wheat, filtered water, organic malted barley, organic sprouted rye, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted oats, organic sprouted millet, organic sprouted corn, organic sprouted brown rice, fresh yeast, organic wheat gluten and sea salt.

What is the shelf life of homemade pita bread? ›

Storage. Pita bread is best enjoyed fresh, and because it's so easy to make, it's worth making it right when you want it. That being said, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Keep Reading ›

Do you refrigerate pita bread after opening? ›

We would not suggest storing the pita bread in the fridge, as that will dry it out quickly. You can freeze some and then reheat in the oven. Also, after all that, pita bread is very easy to make yourself! Try it sometime; extra-fresh bread like this should also stay delicious for longer.