Homemade Greek pita bread

This homemade Greek pita bread recipe is easy to make with only a few basic ingredients and is better than store-bought pita. This soft and fluffy bread is often served with chicken gyros or souvlaki and a salad like horiatiki.

How to make Greek pita bread

You can make them either in a skillet on the stovetop or in an oven. If you want your pitas to have a pocket or if you want to make multiple at a time, then the oven is your best friend. They won't puff up that much on the stovetop, but they will have a nice brown crunchy outside.

Step 1:
Add the water, yeast, and sugar to a large bowl or standing mixer. Mix it well and let it stand for a few minutes until it starts to foam. You can ignore this step if you are using instant yeast.

Step 2:
Add the flour, salt, and olive oil and stir this together with a spoon until it is well combined.

Step 3:
Turn the dough and the remaining flour out on a well-floured work surface and knead the dough for about 5-10 minutes until you have a soft, slightly sticky but souple dough. Add a little more flour if your dough is too sticky or a little water if your dough is too dry.

Step 4:
Lightly oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, cover it with a clean towel and let it rise for about 60 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

Step 5:
After one hour, divide the dough into 6-8 pieces.

Step 6:
Turn each piece of dough into a small ball, cover them with a towel and let them rest for another 15-30 minutes.

Step 7:
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or your hands until they are about 1 cm or ½ inch thick.

Step 8:
Bake the pitas for about 2-3 minutes on each side on medium heat in a hot cast-iron skillet or until they puff up in the oven.

Ingredients

• Flour – I like to use bread flour when making Greek bread, but any flour will work. You can also use a combination of white and whole wheat flour.
• Yeast – this recipe is made with instant yeast (I know you don't have to activate the yeast) but dried, or fresh yeast will work as well.
• Salt – this is added to give your bread a better flavor.
• Sugar – sugar is added to help the yeast grow and won't affect the flavor.
• Olive oil – gives flavor and helps to keep the bread soft and moist.

My tips for the best Greek pita bread

• Add some herbs like oregano or rosemary for extra flavor.
• You can make the dough in a stand mixer to make your life easier.
• You can freeze leftover pitas and keep them in the fridge for about three months. Let them cool completely and put them into Ziplock freezer bags or containers. When you are ready to eat them, just take them out and let them thaw. You can heat them again in an oven or a hot skillet. They will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
• They will keep for a few days in an airtight container or bag.
• Replace half of the flour with whole wheat flour if you want to make whole wheat pita bread.
• You can use this recipe to make gluten-free pita bread. Just replace the flour with your gluten-free flour.
• Rub the warm pitas with a garlic clove for extra flavor!

Other Greek recipes you will love!

Chicken souvlaki

Tzatziki

Classic Greek salad (Horiatiki)

Sadly I haven't been to Greece (yet!). Have you ever been to Greece? What is your favorite Greek food?