Rustic Sourdough Pita Chips Recipe [easy sourdough snacking]
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These rustic sourdough pita chips are going to change the way you snack! Crunchy homemade pita chips made with your sourdough starter, topped with flaky sea salt and olive oil and baked until they're golden and crunchy!
Using a simple sourdough pita bread recipe based on my sourdough flat bread recipe, these crunchy, salty rustic sourdough pita chips are going to be on repeat in your house, I just know it! They make a nice alternative to sourdough bread when you've got active sourdough starter ready to use.
If you love making snacks with your sourdough starter, make sure you check out these soft sourdough pretzels, sourdough pizza rolls, sourdough tortillas or these sourdough onion rings.
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
So Versatile - these sourdough pita chips are so versatile! They are perfect for all types of snacking whether you're serving them on their own or alongside a special dip, sauce or using them as the base for nachos. They work with so many different things, you're going to love these so much!
Can Be Frozen - You can freeze the pita breads once they've been cut into wedges. Then when you want some crunchy, salty goodness, just pop them on a baking tray and drizzle in olive oil. They can be baked from frozen!
Can Use Up Leftover Dough - While I've provided the recipe for making these sourdough pita chips from scratch, you can use leftover pizza dough or sourdough flat breads to make these too (I've added instructions for this further down).
A Quick Lesson in Sourdough!
If you're just beginning your sourdough journey, or perhaps looking for ways to improve your knowledge and technique in this area, you might find these sourdough resources helpful:
- Sourdough Glossary
- 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Sourdough Starter
- Best Time To Use Sourdough Starter
- What Should Sourdough Bread Actually Look Like?
This recipe uses active sourdough starter. If you don't already have a starter, you can find instructions for making a sourdough starter here.
How To Make Rustic Sourdough Pita Chips
There might seem like a lot of steps to these sourdough pita chips, but they really aren't complicated to make. Much of your time is just waiting for the dough to rise!
So let's get mixing!
Measure out the flour, water, sourdough starter, olive oil and salt into a large mixing bowl. Gently combine all the ingredients so it forms a shaggy dough. Let the dough sit for around 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, tip the shaggy dough onto the counter and knead the dough for around 5 to 10 minutes. You shouldn't need any extra flour as the dough shouldn't be sticky.
Check the texture of your dough. It should be smooth and silky.
Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, place it into a glass bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until it has doubled.
This may take several hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Watch the dough and it will show you when it's ready, rather than going by a set amount of time.
Using 200g of sourdough starter means the process will happen faster than if you used less (you can read more about how the amount of starter affects the fermentation process here).
Once the dough has doubled, separate the dough into smaller balls so they are ready to be rolled out. I find around 50g to be the perfect size.
The easiest way to do this is to flip the dough onto your counter, making sure the sticky side is facing up. Use a metal dough scraper to gently cut chunks of the dough away. Gently form into a loose ball.
Leave the balls on your counter top, covered with a tea towel, for around 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax. (see notes)
Roll each piece of dough out into a round circle using a rolling pin (they don't have to be perfect). You want them to be fairly thin. It's ok if the dough is a bit thicker in some places. If it tears, just pull it back together. These can be quite rustic, it won't matter.
Have some semolina or cornmeal handy to use if you're using a rolling pin so the dough doesn't become sticky. The olive oil in the dough will make it quite elastic though.
When you're ready to cook, heat a frying pan, cast iron skillet or bbq plate until it's HOT! These pita breads need a very hot plate. You don't need any oil or water in the pan, just a hot surface.
Pop each round of dough into the hot pan for a minute on each side. If you find the dough has "shrunk" a little from when you shaped it, just gently use your hands to stretch it a little before you drop it in the pan.
You can pop a lid on the skillet if you want to to help them bubble, but it's not entirely necessary.
They will only need around 1 minute each side. They will bubble up and brown very quickly. Once it bubbles, flip to the other side to brown and then remove.
Once the pita breads are cooked, wrap them in a cotton dish towel until they're all done.
Now preheat the oven to 200C (390F). Place a piece of parchment paper onto a large baking tray. Cut the round pita breads into wedges or triangles (they don't need to be perfect).
Drizzle the pita triangles with a little olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt (you could also drizzle on some lemon juice if you like for a little zing too).
Bake the sourdough pita chips for around 10 minutes at 200C (390F) or until they are golden and crispy. Allow them to cool on a wire rack before serving with your favorite dip.
Recipe Variations for Sourdough Pita Chips
This recipe works just as it is, but if you would like to change things up a little, here are a few suggestions for ingredients swaps and add ins:
Flour - I've used bread flour to create these sourdough pita chips. You can substitute up to half the bread flour with whole wheat flour.
Olive Oil - experiment with flavored oils like lemon oil, chili oil or herb oil. I prefer to use plain oil in the dough and then use flavored oil for the drizzle before baking.
Corn Meal - if you'd like to add an extra crunch to your sourdough pita chips, sprinkle your pita triangles with corn meal once you've drizzled them in olive oil. This will add some extra crunch to. your pita chips.
How To Make Sourdough Pita Chips with Leftover Dough
These sourdough pita chips can be made from leftover dough. If you have some leftover sourdough pizza dough, you can make the pita breads from this dough and then cut and bake.
Leftover sourdough naan bread and sourdough flat bread work really well as sourdough pita chips too. Even if the breads are a few days old, this is a great way to use them up without wasting them. You might also like this post on how to use up leftover sourdough bread.
How To Serve Sourdough Pita Chips
These sourdough pita chips are super popular in my house. My 4 year old eats them faster than I can make them - he just likes them spinkled with salt and served on their own. Meanwhile the rest of my family love using these rustic sourdough pita chips in the following ways:
- Served alongside an easy hummus recipe (we especially love this roasted vegetable hummus).
- As the base of nachos (they work really well and stay crunchy, even with lots of salsa).
- Served alongside this whipped ricotta dip or delicious zucchini yogurt dip.
- We love using these instead of corn chips or potato chips. I love topping them with different herbs and spices instead of just plain salt. Cumin seeds, sesame seeds, Italian seasoning, Za'atar or ground paprika all work really well! I'm sure you could think of some others to use too!
How To Store + Freeze This Recipe
These sourdough pita chips will last in a glass jar for around a week without going soft. The great thing about these is that if they do get soft, you can just toast them a little in the oven and they will crisp back up.
Once they're baked, they aren't suitable to freeze. However, if you want to have some on hand at all times, I recommend making the pita breads, cutting them into wedges and then freezing those (you can lay them onto a baking sheet to freeze and then transfer to a zip loc bag once frozen). When you want fresh sourdough pita chips, simply lay the frozen pita chips onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt. You can bake these from frozen.
Sourdough Pita Chips
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Cast Iron Skillet or Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 280 g Water
- 200 g Sourdough Starter fed and active
- 30 g Olive Oil
- 15 g Salt
Instructions
- Measure out the flour, water, sourdough starter, olive oil and salt into a large mixing bowl.Gently combine all the ingredients so it forms a shaggy dough. Let the dough sit for around 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, tip the shaggy dough onto the counter and knead the dough for around 5 to 10 minutes. You shouldn't need any extra flour as the dough shouldn't be sticky.Check the texture of your dough. It should be smooth and silky.
- Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, place it into a glass bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until it has doubled. This may take several hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Watch the dough and it will show you when it's ready, rather than going by a set amount of time. Using 200g of sourdough starter means the process will happen faster than if you used less (see notes)
- Once the dough has doubled, separate the dough into smaller balls so they are ready to be rolled out. I find around 50g to be the perfect size. The easiest way to do this is to flip the dough onto your counter, making sure the sticky side is facing up. Use a metal dough scraper to gently cut chunks of the dough away. Gently form into a loose ball. Leave the balls on your counter top, covered with a tea towel, for around 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax. (see notes)
- Roll each piece of dough out into a round circle (they don't have to be perfect). You want them to be fairly thin. It's ok if the dough is a bit thicker in some places. If it tears, just pull it back together. These can be quite rustic, it won't matter.Have some semolina or cornmeal handy to use if you're using a rolling pin so the dough doesn't become sticky. The olive oil in the dough will make it quite elastic though.
- When you're ready to cook, heat a frying pan, cast iron skillet or bbq plate until it's HOT! These pita breads need a very hot plate.Pop each round of dough into the hot pan for a minute on each side. If you find the dough has "shrunk" a little from when you shaped it, just gently use your hands to stretch it a little before you drop it in the pan.They will only need around 1 minute each side. They will bubble up and brown very quickly. Once it bubbles, flip to the other side to brown and then remove.
- Once the pita breads are cooked, wrap them in a cotton dish towel until they're all done.
- Now preheat the oven to 200C (390F). Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a large baking tray.
- Cut the round pita breads into wedges or triangles (they don't need to be perfect).
- Drizzle the wedges of pita bread with a little olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Bake the sourdough pita chips for around 10 minutes or until they are golden and crispy. Allow them to cool on a wire rack before serving with your favorite dip.
Notes
If your dough is still sticky, sprinkle a little extra flour and knead for a further minute or two until it becomes silky smooth.
Notes on Bulk Fermentation
This recipe uses 200g of sourdough starter, which means that your dough will ferment fairly quickly. For more information on how the amount of starter affects fermentation time, go here. Ingredient Subs This recipe works just as it is, but if you would like to change things up a little, here are a few suggestions for ingredients swaps and add ins: Flour - I've used bread flour to create these sourdough pita chips. You can substitute up to half the bread flour with whole wheat flour. Olive Oil - experiment with flavored oils like lemon oil, chili oil or herb oil. I prefer to use plain oil in the dough and then use flavored oil for the drizzle before baking. Corn Meal - if you'd like to add an extra crunch to your sourdough pita chips, sprinkle your pita triangles with corn meal once you've drizzled them in olive oil. This will add some extra crunch to. your pita chips.
Nutrition
