Sourdough Pita Bread

Soft, pillowy sourdough pita bread is a recipe you're going to use again and again. The perfect alternative to sandwich bread, leftovers can be used for pizzas, dipping or turned into pita chips!

Course Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword Sourdough Recipes

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2

Fermentation Time 10

Total Time 10 32

Servings Pita Bread

Calories 177kcal

Equipment

Stand Mixer (optional)
Rolling Pin
Cast Iron Skillet (or frying pan - optional)
Pizza Stone (optional)

Ingredients

500 g Bread Flour
280 g Water
200 g Sourdough Starter (or sourdough discard)
15 g Olive Oil
15 g Salt

Instructions

Measure out all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl. You don't have to pre mix, you can just add them all in on top of one another. This dough is extremely forgiving.
Gently combine all the ingredients so it forms a shaggy dough. Let the dough sit covered for around 30 minutes.
Once the dough is hydrated, it's time to knead it. You can do this by hand or you can use a stand mixer, it's completely up to you (I prefer to use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment).
You'll need to knead the dough until it is smooth and silky (this is the same whether you're doing it by hand or in a stand mixer). I find kneading by hand takes around 10 minutes, doing with a stand mixer takes around 3 to 5 minutes.
Once the sourdough pita dough is sufficiently kneaded, cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until it has risen around 50%.
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. You'll notice the dough will be puffy and have bubbles forming on the surface, even if it doesn't seem like it's risen.
Once the dough is ready, separate the dough into smaller balls so they are ready to be rolled out. I find around 80g 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 loose balls.
Leave the balls on your counter top, covered with a tea towel, for around 1 hour to allow the gluten to relax and the dough to proof.
Once the dough has relaxed you can easily roll them out into rounds using a rolling pin. You want them to be fairly thin, but not as thin as tortilla dough. You want them to form a pocket without tearing.
I find when I roll them out, I squash the ball into a round, then use my rolling pin to roll it flat. Leave it while I do this to another one, then come back and roll out again. When you go to throw them in the pan, you can gently stretch them out a bit more with your fingers.
Have some flour 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, skillet or bbq plate until it's HOT! These sourdough pita breads need a hot, fast cook.
Gently use your hands to stretch out each tortilla before you drop it in the pan (they do shrink up a bit when they are resting).
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 and keep warm in a towel while cooking the rest.
If you aren't eating them straight away, keep the sourdough pita breads stacked and wrapped in a dish towel to ensure they stay nice and soft and pliable.

Notes

Using a Stand Mixer to Knead the Dough

The easiest way to make this dough is in a food processor, stand mixer or Thermomix. This recipe requires kneading so I find it easiest to use a machine (mainly because I'm time poor).

Knowing When the Dough Is Kneaded

If your dough is still sticky, sprinkle a little extra flour and knead for a further minute or two until it becomes silky smooth. You'll know it's ready when you can hear it slapping the sides of the bowl. Generally it takes 4-6 minutes of kneading but the time will depend on your dough as well as the strength of your machine.

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. I recommend using some commercial yeast with your sourdough discard if you are going to use it - unless your starter is mature.

Nutrition