From scratch · Flatbreads and tortillas

Pita bread

Rounds of simple dough baked on a hot sheet until they puff into pockets.

✋ 45 min hands-on ⏱ 2 hr 25 min start to finish 🍽 Eight 6½-inch pitas.

ContainsWheat.

Ingredients

  • 360 g all-purpose flour
  • 4 g active dry yeast
  • 6 g table salt
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup water, about 110°F

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

StepHands-onWaiting
Mix and knead the dough15 min1 hr 15 min
Shape the rounds15 min10 min
Bake at 475°F in batches15 min15 min
In all45 min1 hr 40 min

How long it keeps

  • Counter: in a bag once cool, about 3 days (NDSU’s figure for bread).
  • Freezer: bag them, up to 3 months; warm in a skillet or toaster.

Nutrition

Estimated from the ingredients’ USDA FoodData Central numbers.

Steps

You’ll need: bowl, rolling pin, heavy baking sheet or baking stone (or a cast-iron skillet).

  1. Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Add the oil, salt and flour and knead 8 minutes until smooth.
  2. Cover and let it rise until doubled, about 1 to 1½ hours.
  3. Heat the oven to 475°F with the baking sheet on the lowest rack for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Divide into 8 balls and rest them 10 minutes, covered. Roll each to a 6-inch round about ¼ inch thick, without creasing.
  5. Bake 2 or 3 at a time on the hot sheet, 3 to 5 minutes, until puffed and just starting to color. (On the stove: cook in a hot dry skillet 1 to 2 minutes per side.)
  6. Stack them in a towel so they stay soft as they cool.
⚖️ ScalingEach pita is an eighth of the dough (about 75 g).
🛡 SafetyDon’t taste raw dough or batter, and wash your hands and the counter after handling flour: raw flour can carry germs that only baking kills (FDA).
Good to knowUneven thickness or creases keep them from puffing; they still taste fine as flatbread.

Sources

  1. Food Storage Guide (FN579), NDSU Extension, reviewed January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  2. Tips for Storing Bread, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Herkimer County, 2020. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  3. How to Freeze Home-Prepared Foods (GH1505), University of Missouri Extension. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  4. Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to Know, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 2026-10-25.

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