This pita bread made with fresh milled flour is soft and pillowy and it has pockets! You can fold them in half for pita tacos, cut them in half and enjoy a stuffed pita sandwich, or dip them in hummus. You will never want another store-bought pita again!
When I added that these have pockets I imagined a woman showing off her new dress and saying, “Look, it even has pockets!”
Ok, back to the recipe! This is not a hard recipe, but they can be finicky so try not to veer off of the recipe if you’re a beginner for pita bread making. Make sure to read my tips further down in this post to help make sure you get the best puff.
While pita bread can be both cooked on the stove-top or baked in the oven, I prefer to bake them in the oven as I got more puff and pocket. In the pictures below I have the oven baked on the left vs. stove-top on the right. The end product was still soft for both. If you don’t have the ability to bake in the oven, no worries, we could still pull apart and open the thin pita that was cooked on the stove-top to fill. It just didn’t get as puffed.
If you don’t have a clean puff that separates when you cut in half you can use a fork to help open it up like pictured below.
What You’ll Need To Make This Pita Bread
Water– Lukewarm
Instant Yeast– I use SAF
Sugar
Fresh Milled Hard White Wheat Flour
Salt
Olive Oil
What The Dough Looks Like When Making Pita Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour
The dough is a stickier dough. As you can see below it should come away from the edges, but will still stick to the bottom. You’ll want to oil your hands to transfer it to an oiled bowl to rise for an hour or until doubled.
Pita Bread Dough In Bosch Universal vs. KitchenAid
I wanted to share what the dough looks like when it’s done kneading in a Bosch universal vs. KitchenAid stand mixer so you can reference back and see what I mean by the dough clearing the sides, but sticking to the bottom. The Bosch dough doesn’t stick as much to the bottom as the KitchenAid.
What If My Pita Doesn’t Fully Puff Up?
Pictured below is a pita that is being baked at 475 degrees F for 2 minutes puffing up on the left, and it is fully puffed after being flipped over for 1 more minute.
Don’t be discouraged if 100% off your pita bread doesn’t puff like pictured above. Mine either puff all the way like pictured above or puff with little bubbles like pictured below, but they all will open up for stuffing with fillings to enjoy! You also don’t even have to worry about the puff or pocket if you just want them for dipping in hummus or something else.
Tips For Making Pita Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour
- Don’t roll the dough out too thick or too thin. Too thick and they won’t puff correctly, and too thin they will be more crispy and not as foldable. You can find a nifty rolling pin that has thickness rings so you can get 1/4 inch every time here.
- When rolling your dough out be gentle and don’t completely deflate. You want to keep some of the little air pockets. These will help the puff.
- Don’t use oil for rolling out your dough. You want to use flour as you roll out. This helps create the skin on the top to help the crust set and trap air to puff.
- After you roll out your pita bread circles let them rest for 10-15 minutes. This will help it puff up a little before baking.
- Another handy tip is to set your rolled out pita bread to rest on parchment paper and then cut the parchment paper so each pita can easily be transferred to your skillet or pan. (see pictures below)
- If you want a bigger pita bread you can just change a batch of dough to 4 pieces of dough instead of 6 and they will be bigger in diameter. I would recommend making a double batch or more for this so you make it worth your while and get more than 4 pitas.
- Bake on a preheated cast iron skillet or stone for the best results. I use my cast iron pizza pan and it can bake two 6 inch pitas at a time.
Storing/Freezing Pita Bread
This is best eaten fresh and warm, but it will store in an airtight container or bag for 2-3 days.
For freezing, make sure it is cooled completely. Then store in freezer ziploc bags. Make sure to get as much air as you can put. Layer wax or parchment paper between the pita bread so you can take one out at a time. These can be frozen up to 3 months and when you’re ready to pull one out, just warm them up in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 minutes. You do not need to thaw them beforehand.
What To Eat With Pita Bread
- Gyros
- As a snack with baba ganoush, hummus, or tabbouleh as a dip
- Stuff with falafel
- Stuff with fajita mixture
- Use in place of bread for a sandwich
Shop This Post
Rolling Pin With Thickness Rings
KitchenAid Mixer or Bosch Universal Plus Mixer
Cast Iron Pizza Pan For Baking
My top 2 places to order wheat berries are Azure Standard or Country Life Natural Foods. If it’s your 1st order through Country Life use code: freshmilledmama for 10% off!
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Pita Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour (Soft & Pillowy)
Ingredients
- 240 grams lukewarm water (1 cup)
- 7 grams instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp, I use SAF)
- 4 grams sugar (1/2 tsp)
- 305 grams fresh milled hard white wheat flour
- 2 tsp salt (can use 1 tsp if you don't want as much salt)
- 28 grams olive oil (2 tbsp)
- extra flour for rolling out pita bread about 1/2 cup
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl make a sponge by adding your lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Add 1/2 a cup of your milled flour and whisk together. Set aside in a warm spot for 10-15 minutes uncovered to form a loose sponge and get bubbly.
- Next add salt, olive oil, and remaining flour. Stir (if making by hand) or mix in stand mixer and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. (I used speed 2 on my KitchenAid and speed 1 in my Bosch and make sure to use with dough hook extender for single batch) Cover and let your dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead again for 3 more minutes. The dough will be sticky, but should come away from the sides, but still stick to the bottom of the bowl.
- Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn it to coat it in the olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. *Towards the end of this rise I like to start preheating my oven.
- Punch dough down and divide into 6 equal pieces. Shape into balls and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes to rest.
- Next using a floured rolling pin and workspace, gently roll your pita dough balls into a circle that is about 6 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Don't roll out so hard that you're completely deflating your pita. If your rolling pin or dough stick sprinkle a little more flour. Let your rolled out pita bread rest for another 10 minutes uncovered on parchment paper.
If Baking Pita Bread
- Preheat your oven to 475℉ with the cast iron or baking stone you are using in it from the start. I put mine on a lower oven rack. Once the oven reaches 475℉ let it go another 10-15 minutes to make sure your baking surface is thoroughly heated.
- Bake for 2 minutes on one side, then flip with tongs or a spatula and bake for 1 more minute.
- Remove and place on a plate and cover with a kitchen towel while you finish baking the rest. This helps keep them soft.
If Cooking on Stovetop
- Heat up your cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. (Water should sizzle when it's ready) Add a thin layer of olive oil to coat your skillet.
- Cook pita on skillet for 30 seconds, until bubbles form. Flip pita over and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side until you see big toasted spots on the underside. Flip again for 1-2 minutes. You will know when your pita is ready when it puffs. If it doesn't puff it should still be done when you see both sides are nice and toasted. They kind of remind me of giant English muffins or tortillas. *With this method mine didn't get as puffed as the oven baked ones, but we could still pull them open when cooled a little bit, but still warm. If they won't pull apart they are still wonderful for dipping in hummus or folding for tacos or gyros, etc.
MORE FRESH MILLED FLOUR RECIPES:
I enjoyed a sandwich in one so good!
Can you use hard red wheat fresh milled?
You should be able to swap for hard red. I haven’t tried doing so just yet. If you beat me to it I’d love to hear your results with it!
These were fantastic!! I used half hard white and half spelt. I baked them two at a time on my pizza stone at 500 degrees for 3 minutes on the first side and 13o on next. I pressed them gently in my tortilla press to just a little under 1/4 an inch and with that combo, I got perfect pockets 😊
Glad to hear! Thanks for sharing your process!