Homemade Pita Bread

Once you start making this homemade pita bread recipe, you won't be able to stop! Soft, puffy, and flavorful, it beats any kind from the grocery store.

Pita bread

This homemade pita bread recipe comes from my friend Molly Yeh’s Short Stack Yogurt cookbook. It’s been on my list to try since the book was first released two years ago, but for one reason or another, I never made it until this spring. When I finally did, what Jack and I thought would be a fun, one-time cooking project turned into a full-on pita bread obsession. We started putting extra yogurt on the grocery list just so we could make it!

If you’re thinking, “Wait. Yogurt? In pita bread?”, you’re not crazy. It’s not a typical pita bread recipe ingredient, but Molly’s book is all about yogurt – how it’s a versatile, flavorful ingredient that happens to be good for you too. She uses it in a huge range of recipes – from soup to cookies to ranch dressing and mac and cheese.

In my opinion, it’s the secret ingredient that makes this pita bread so exceptional. It’s not only thicker, softer, and puffier than any other homemade or store bought pita I’ve tried, but also it has a tangy, sourdough-like flavor. It’s just as delicious plain as it is with a filling or a dip, and as Molly writes, it’d make a pretty great sleeping bag too. If your experience is anything like ours, once you start making it, you won’t be able to stop.

Ball of dough

How to Make Pita Bread

This pita bread recipe is easy to make! Here’s how it goes:

First, make the dough. Activate the yeast by mixing it with warm water and a teaspoon of sugar. When the yeast mixture foams, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and mix it with the flour, salt, remaining sugar, oil, and yogurt. Knead the dough, either with the stand mixer on medium speed or by hand, until it’s soft and slightly sticky, 7 to 10 minutes.

Pita bread recipe dough

Once you’ve kneaded the dough, let it rise. Transfer it to an oiled bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Set it aside for about 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Balls of dough on baking sheets

Then, divide the dough into balls. This recipe makes 12 small flatbreads, so you’ll split it up into 12 equal parts. Cover the balls, and let them rise for 20 more minutes.

How to make pita bread

Next, roll out the pita bread! Use a rolling pin to roll the dough balls into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick circles. Keep any dough you’re not working with covered as you roll out the pita.

Dough on a baking sheet

Once you’ve rolled out all the dough, bake! Arrange the dough circles on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time at 500 degrees until the pita bread is puffy and golden brown on top. That’s it! Transfer the freshly baked pita to a wire rack to cool, and enjoy.

Note: When we make this pita bread recipe, there are always a few pita that don’t puff up to form pockets. That’s ok! They’re still great for dipping or enjoying as flatbreads.

Pita bread in oven

Pita Bread Recipe Tips

  • Weigh your flour. Because this pita bread recipe uses a large amount of flour, you should weigh it if you can. This way, you’ll know exactly how much flour you’re using. Cup measurements are much less precise, as they can vary based on a variety of factors (your specific measuring cups, how tightly you pack your flour, etc.). If you don’t have a kitchen scale, check out this post for my best tips on measuring flour with measuring cups.
  • Bake one sheet at a time. Because temperatures vary throughout an oven, bake one sheet at a time for the most even cooking. You don’t want the pita bread on the bottom rack to burn before the top rack starts to brown! And with only one baking sheet in the oven, you can position a rack in the center to give the pita space to puff up.
  • Rotate the pan. Jack and I start checking our pita bread a few minutes before we think it’ll be ready, at around the 5 minute mark. At that point, if one side of the pan is more puffy or golden than the other, we rotate it and bake for a few more minutes so that both sides can cook evenly.
  • Freeze some for later. Whenever we make this recipe, we almost always freeze half the batch to have on hand for snacking later on. If you plan to store and reheat the pita bread, pull it out of the oven just before it starts to brown. Molly recommends thawing or reheating it in the toaster, where it’ll brown up without getting too crisp or burnt.

Homemade pita bread

Pita Bread Serving Suggestions

This pita bread is so soft, fluffy, and flavorful that we honestly love to eat it plain! However, it’s also fantastic with all sorts of fillings, spreads, and dips. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

How do you like to eat your homemade pita bread? Let me know in the comments!

Pita bread recipe

More Favorite Breads and Tortillas

If you love this homemade pita bread recipe, try making one of these recipes next:

pita

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Homemade Pita Bread

rate this recipe:
4.88 from 74 votes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Rising Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Serves 12
This homemade pita bread is so much better than store bought! Soft, puffy, and flavorful, it's just as delicious plain as it is with a topping or dip. The recipe is from the Short Stack edition Yogurt by Molly Yeh.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons), active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 3/4 cups bread flour (469 grams), plus more for dusting
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl
  • 3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt, (we use Stonyfield)

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, combine the water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let the mixture sit until it’s foamy on top, about 5 minutes.
  • In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, and remaining tablespoon sugar. Add the yeast mixture, oil, and yogurt, and mix to combine. Knead the dough, either in the stand mixer on medium speed or by hand on a clean work surface, adding more flour if needed, until it’s soft and slightly sticky, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rise until it’s doubled in size, about 2 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 500°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide it into 12 equal balls. Cover and let rise an additional 20 minutes.
  • Roll the balls out into circles that are 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Place them onto the baking sheets an inch apart, then bake, one sheet at a time, until they’re puffy and lightly browned on top. Begin checking at 5 minutes. We bake them for about 8 minutes, rotating the pan after the 5 minute mark if one side of the sheet is puffing up more than the other. Transfer the pitas to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Note: These freeze really well. Molly recommends pulling them out of the oven just before they’re brown if you plan to store and reheat them. To thaw, pop them in the toaster - they’ll brown up a bit as they toast.

126 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Tara
    03.06.2024

    Can I use plain Forager cashew yogurt? Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.06.2024

      Hi Tara, I haven’t tried these with vegan yogurt, I’m not sure if they’ll puff up the same way.

  2. Jordan
    02.05.2024

    5 stars
    So good! After letting them rise for 2 hours I had to run somewhere so I put the dough in the fridge overnight. The next morning I took the dough out, divided them into 12 pieces, let them sit for 20 min (come to room temp) and then I cooked them as normal. They turned out great. Thank you for the recipe!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      02.09.2024

      Hi Jordan, amazing! So glad you loved the pita!

  3. keo
    01.08.2024

    I made these per the recipe and they came out so delicious! First batch was too dark so I ended up only needing to cook next batch for 6 min total. I would suggest others just keep watch on their oven and take them out once they see a couple of brown spots forming.

  4. Kim
    12.06.2023

    Hello,

    Can I use regular AP flour instead of bread flour?

  5. Bec
    11.28.2023

    5 stars
    I have used this recipe many times now & we love it. I was wondering though, if I were to make it in the morning can I store in the fridge after second rise and cook later that night? Or would they continue to rise.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      12.01.2023

      Hi Bec, I’m so glad you love the pita recipe! We haven’t tested putting the dough in the fridge, so I can’t guarantee the results. However, I think it might work to refrigerate it immediately after dividing it into balls (skip the 20 minute rise at this point). When you’re ready to bake, let the dough balls rest at room temp for 20 minutes before rolling them out and baking.

  6. anita
    10.22.2023

    Can I cook these pitas stove top using a cast iron instead?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.23.2023

      Hi Anita, I haven’t tried them that way so I’m not sure.

    • Bec
      11.28.2023

      We cook them on the BBQ and get amazing results! I’m sure the cast iron would be similar.

  7. Aurora Young
    10.08.2023

    Can i make without yogurt

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.08.2023

      Hi Aurora, no, not this particular recipe.

  8. Kylie
    09.21.2023

    Can these turn out hard & crisp as they cook if iv over worked in the mixer ?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      09.21.2023

      Hi Kylie, overworking the dough can make the pitas tougher, or they may have overbaked in the oven. Hope this helps!

  9. Klb
    09.02.2023

    5 stars
    I make the dough and let it rise in the instant pot. I then put it in a ziplock bag in my fridge. When I want fresh bread, I rip off a ball of the dough, turn on my toaster oven air fryer, and roll it out into a circle. I don’t let it rise or come to room temperature. I think leaving the dough in the fridge overnight helps. It take two minutes for the toaster to heat up and five minutes to cook. They puff every time.

    • Klb
      09.04.2023

      5 stars
      I’m literally making this twice a week now instead of buying pita. The dough doubles after just over an hour in my instant pot and it’s really not labor intensive. I didn’t know the yogurt setting on the instant pot could be used for this but works great. I think I saw this suggestion on another recipe.

      • Jeanine Donofrio
        09.05.2023

        I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying them!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.05.2023

      thank you for the tips!

  10. Lisa
    08.08.2023

    Can you please tell me the speed at which to knead in the stand mixer? Should it end up in a ball?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      08.11.2023

      Hi Lisa, Great questions! Knead the dough at medium speed in the stand mixer. The dough doesn’t have to form a ball, but it should be cohesive, soft, and slightly sticky.

      • CC
        03.17.2024

        Also, do you switch to a dough hook to knead or keep the paddle on? Thanks!

        • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
          03.21.2024

          Good catch! I’d switch to the dough hook to knead.

  11. Jennie
    07.19.2023

    4 stars
    Delicious–but mine only puffed up a little–and some not at all. What am I doing wrong? I followed the recipe exactly as written.

  12. Mical
    05.23.2023

    5 stars
    These were so delicious!! I used plain yogurt since I didn’t have any Greek yogurt on hand, otherwise followed the recipe as written. They were soft, tasty, puffed up beautifully, and froze really well.

  13. Katie
    05.23.2023

    5 stars
    I forgot to roll out the dough flat before baking and they still turned out great! Instead of pita shaped they were more bun shaped but the flavor is amazing and I can’t wait to make these again!

  14. Laura
    04.17.2023

    can I use sour cream in this recipe rather then Greek yogurt?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.20.2023

      Hi Laura, we haven’t tried this, so I can’t guarantee the results, but I think it would work!

  15. L
    04.02.2023

    5 stars
    These were so good! I couldn’t resist trying one right after the first pan came out, and I’d finished another before the second pan came out! If anyone is wondering if fat free yogurt would work, it worked for me. I used the same measurement of 0% Fage Greek yogurt and they came out great. They work out to 189 calories each when using the fat free yogurt.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.07.2023

      Hi, I’m so glad you loved the pita!

    • Leanne
      12.30.2023

      I was wondering this exact thing, thank you for commenting!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.