Written by Kate Tietjerecipe on Mommypotamus right before Jacob was born, and I just had to try this pita bread.
In fact, I spent three hours the day before he was born baking a triple batch of them. I was determined to get it done before he was born (in retrospect, this was an obvious “burst of energy” right before labor), so I ignored that my back hurt and that I was burning up in my hot kitchen and exhausted and pushed through to bake them all — 44, to be exact.
It did prove very helpful in the next couple of weeks. I served sandwiches with marinated chicken and crockpot pulled pork (like Chipotle’s carnitas in spice). Later, I used them for pita pizzas.
I have since made my own version of this recipe. I have even been known to top the pita with a thick coat of homemade butter sprinkled with a little sucanat and cinnamon for a snack. They’re great to have around for all sorts of different meals.
I have made a couple more batches, about one doubled or tripled each month. I always have them around. Best yet, they’re soaked and about as good as grains can get!
Soaked Pita Bread
A single batch makes 8 – 12, depending on size.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups whole wheat flour (preferably freshly ground)
- 1 1/2 tbsp. honey
- 1 1/4 cup water, roughly at room temperature
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice (about one lemon)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 packet (2 tsp.) of yeast
Directions:
Step 1: All these ingredients are in a large glass bowl.
Step 2: Mix thoroughly. It will form kind of a strange, almost sandy dough. That’s okay. It won’t be like that later.
Step 3: Leave on the counter, covered, for 12-24 hours.
Step 4: After soaking the flour, add 2 teaspoons salt and 1 packet of yeast (2 teaspoons).
Step 5: Sprinkle the salt and yeast over the dough and knead until incorporated (still in the bowl). Then, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 10 minutes.
Step 6: Fold the dough over, push it, turn it 90 degrees, and repeat. Continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. It loses that “sandiness” once you add these additional ingredients and knead.
Step 7: Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it. Put it in a warm place to rise, about an hour. It will roll out better if you let it sit for 3 – 4 hours.
Step 8: Place a pizza stone in the oven and start preheating to 400ºF for about 40 minutes before you are ready to bake.
Step 9: When doubled, punch it down and knead for a minute. Break off small dough balls and roll them out on a floured surface three at a time.
Step 10: Use a spatula to transfer them to the baking stone, three at a time. Bake for about 5 – 8 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
Step 11: Roll out the next batch while each is baking. Transfer the baked pitas onto a plate to cool. See how they puff up as they bake? Once cooled, you can put them in a plastic bag and freeze if desired.
Soaked Pita Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole wheat flour preferably freshly ground
- 1 1/2 tbsp. honey
- 1 1/4 cup water roughly at room temperature
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice about one lemon
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 packet yeast (2 tsp.)
Instructions
- All these ingredients are in a large glass bowl.
- Mix thoroughly. It will form kind of a strange, almost sandy dough. That's okay. It won't be like that later.
- Leave on the counter, covered, for 12-24 hours.
- After soaking the flour, add 2 teaspoons salt and 1 packet of yeast (2 teaspoons).
- Sprinkle the salt and yeast over the dough and knead until incorporated (still in the bowl). Then, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 10 minutes.
- Fold the dough over, push it, turn it 90 degrees, and repeat. Continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. It loses that "sandiness" once you add these additional ingredients and knead.
- Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it. Put it in a warm place to rise, about an hour. It will roll out better if you let it sit for 3 - 4 hours.
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and start preheating to 400ºF for about 40 minutes before you are ready to bake.
- When doubled, punch it down and knead for a minute. Break off small dough balls and roll them out on a floured surface three at a time.
- Use a spatula to transfer them to the baking stone, three at a time. Bake for about 5 - 8 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
- Roll out the next batch while each is baking. Transfer the baked pitas onto a plate to cool. See how they puff up as they bake? Once cooled, you can put them in a plastic bag and freeze if desired.
What temperature do you bake these at?
The Mommypotamus site said to bake at 400 degrees.
Thanks for the recipe! I've been missing our pita pockets that I previously made since we've been striving to soak all our grains. I'll definitely be trying this out!
Tried these today. I couldn't get the dough to get elastic-y… It kept sticking to my fingers…
Try incorporating more flour into the dough as you knead it. Bread making is all about the feel of the dough. So if it doesn’t feel right, mess around with it a little bit until it seems right to you. Also, make sure you are kneading pretty hard. Although I haven’t made this recipe yet, it usually takes about 5- 10 minutes of aggressive kneading to form an elastic dough. Good luck!
I bet you can make nice ones with your sourdough as well
can you make these with sprouted flour and just skip the soaking part? would you add all the ingredients except for the lemon juice?
I’m making these now. My dough was also very sticky. I kept adding more flour but ended up using a nonstick baking mat to finish kneading it. Didn’t want it to become too dry and heavy. It’s resting now. Can’t wait to try it for dinner tonight!
Just made these and they look AWESOME. Haven’t tasted them yet…gonna put them in the freezer for easy meals later. Woohoo! Like others, my dough was pretty wet/sticky, but a little flour in the shaping/rolling stage took care of that. Thanks for the recipe!
Are you able to cut these open and actually use them as a pita pocket? Thanks for sharing!!
If baked really hot and not rolled too thin, yes.
If you don’t have a pizza stone, can these be baked on a regular cookie sheet?
Yes, but you might want to line the baking sheet with parchment paper so it doesn’t stick!
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