Best Einkorn Flour Pita Bread
October 11, 2023
One of the things I’ve learned about food is that it’s often the simple pieces done well that makes the biggest difference. How many times have you made a delicious, elaborate meal and the one item people walk way talking about are the homemade dinner rolls?! Or the tortillas that were made fresh that day instead of bought from the store. This homemade einkorn flour pita bread recipe is no different. These can take a simple meal and turn it into something truly special.
Egg sandwich in the morning? Use a fresh made pita pocket to add the egg filling into instead of using regular bread. If its burger night, instead of using buns use a fresh rolled out pita pocket to add the burger patty into. Use as a dipper for freshly made soups. Pita pizzas are so delicious and something you must try!
There are so many ways to use this homemade pita bread recipe! Some classic dishes you could try using pitas would also include Chicken Souvlaki with a pita pockets on the side. Baba Ganoush is amazing with some fresh toasted pita bread cut into triangles and toasted! Homemade pita chips are always a classic you can make and a huge crowd pleaser at any gathering. You could make a Greek pita, chicken gyros, or even just eat them plain right out of the hot oven with some delicious garlic butter!
This easy pita bread recipe takes no time at all to make and has very simple ingredients that you likely already have at home. My kids gobble these up when I have them on hand! I love them because I can also prep a double batch in advance and store the extras in the freezer in airtight container. Reheat in oven for 10 minutes of leave on counter overnight to bring to room temperature.
Why Homemade Pitas
You’ve likely been to the store lately and walked down the bread isle. Its full of every option under the sun! Not just the bread isle but also most grocery stores have bakeries that are also full of fresher options. Why would you bother to make our own pitas? Or any bread for that matter? I asked myself the same question a few years ago. I went down a rabbit hole when my family started to develop gluten sensitivities one by one. Most of the flour used in many of the store bought bread options use bleached and enriches all purpose flour.
Bleached and enriched flour are essentially stripped of any and all nutrients the wheat once held when they bleach it. They also then have to enrich is because they just took out all the naturally occurring nutrients we need. So they add them back in but they use a much cheaper, less quality version of these. Our bodies can’t use and absorb most of these added in vitamins/minerals so we don’t end up getting much from this flour. Also, this type of wheat is hybridized and in turn the gluten structure is much stronger and harder to digest. That combined with the lack of vitamins/minerals we need to break it down can leave many of us with an overload of gluten.
We opt for Einkorn flour in our house and have noticed a huge difference. You can read more about einkorn flour here and its benefits. If you are looking to try it, you can find the best deal here!
We also love homemade pitas because we can use cleaner oils and leave out all the preservatives. Its a win win for a healthier option and a more flavorful pita bread!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 c einkorn flour (2 1/2-2 3/4 c all purpose flour)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 1 c warm water, not hot
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Directions
Make Dough
To start, you will need a large mixing bowl. You will want to add the yeast, honey, olive oil, and lukewarm water. Make sure its not hot as this will kill the yeast and your pitas won’t rise. Mix these ingredients well and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes. You will want the yeast to get all puffy and foamy. This lets you know its ready to be used! Don’t skip this step, this can help make sure you don’t throw out a flat batch of unrisen pitas because your yeast wasn’t active and ready.
Once yeast is ready, add flour and salt. You can start mixing with a wooden spoon or larger spoon and form a dough ball. Once this forms, use your hands to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until its soft and not sticking to the counter. You could also place the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Let that do the hard work for ya! After that, I like to add some flour or some oil to the bottom of a clean large mixing bowl and place the dough ball back in.
You’ll wan to cover at this point to keep the warmth in. I use a thick kitchen towel but you could also use plastic wrap. We are going to let the dough rest and rise. It will need a warm place to do this well, so find a sunny spot or turn the lights on in your oven and let the bowl sit in there for an hour up to 2 hours. The rising time can vary based on how warm your environment is! So keep a close eye!
Shape & Bake
You want the pita bread dough to be doubled in size and elastic looking. Once the dough rise, you are ready to divide it out into equal pieces and roll it into that classic pita bread shape. You can use a kitchen scale to weigh our your dough and be very precise or you can eye ball it! Either way, it will be fine. I got about 8-9 pieces, depending on how large you want your pita pockets. Roll each dough ball into a neat little circle and cover with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rest another 25-30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, you’ll want to preheat the oven to 450 degrees. I know, that seems so hot! But these pitas cook quick and fierce so you need the heat! If you have a pizza stone or another type of pan you could toss into preheat, do that while oven is preheating as well. To get the perfect pita, you want the pitas to touch a hot surface right away which causes that famous pita pocket. If isn’t not hot enough, this can inhibit the rise. If you don’t have a pizza stone, a baking sheet will work just fine. I also like to position my baking tray on the middle oven rack.
After the dough circles have rested, grab a floured rolling pin and roll out the pita dough balls into about 5-6 in circles on a clean work surface. You’ll want these to be about 1/4 inch thick. If the dough balls are a bit sticky you can add some flour to your working surface to help. Roll out 3-4 at a time, however many your pan will fit. They are ready for the oven!
Be very careful with this part, using oven mitts, pull out the hot tray or pizza stone and place your pita pockets on. Close the oven and bake for about 4-5 minutes. You’ll want to see the pitas getting golden brown and also puffing into that perfect pita pocket shape! Remove from oven once ready and place on a wire rack to cool before eating! Continue this process until all the pitas are cooked and cooling.
Storing
The best part about this pita bread is that you can prep a large batch in advance! If you have any leftover pita bread after you bake it or are just trying to prep, store the pitas in a Ziploc bag or other airtight container and freeze. These reheat really well in the oven on 325 or you can leave on the counter overnight and they will come to room temperature and ready to use by morning! If you don’t want to freeze, they will last about 2-3 days when stored in Ziploc or other airtight container.
This homemade pita bread recipe is truly such a simple one to make but really doesn’t add so much to any recipe you are making! The store-bought pita bread doesn’t hold candle to this delicious, soft, and flavorful homemade version. The best part, you know all the ingredients that you use and can keep your family eating clean and healthy. Pack them in your kids lunches, use for wraps or sandwiches, use as a side for soup, get creative! There are so many uses for these easy homemade pita breads! I hope you will make a batch soon! Your whole family will thank you.
Best Einkorn Flour Pita Bread
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 c einkorn flour 2 1/2-2 3/4 c all purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 1 c warm water not hot
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Make Dough
- To start, you will need a large mixing bowl. You will want to add the yeast, honey, olive oil, and lukewarm water. Make sure its not hot as this will kill the yeast and your pitas won’t rise. Mix these ingredients well and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes. You will want the yeast to get all puffy and foamy. This lets you know its ready to be used! Don’t skip this step, this can help make sure you don’t throw out a flat batch of unrisen pitas because your yeast wasn’t active and ready.
- Once yeast is ready, add flour and salt. You can start mixing with a wooden spoon or larger spoon and form a dough ball. Once this forms, use your hands to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until its soft and not sticking to the counter. You could also place the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Let that do the hard work for ya! After that, I like to add some flour or some oil to the bottom of a clean large mixing bowl and place the dough ball back in.
- You’ll wan to cover at this point to keep the warmth in. I use a thick kitchen towel but you could also use plastic wrap. We are going to let the dough rest and rise. It will need a warm place to do this well, so find a sunny spot or turn the lights on in your oven and let the bowl sit in there for an hour up to 2 hours. The rising time can vary based on how warm your environment is! So keep a close eye!
Shape & Bake
- You want the pita bread dough to be doubled in size and elastic looking. Once the dough rise, you are ready to divide it out into equal pieces and roll it into that classic pita bread shape. You can use a kitchen scale to weigh our your dough and be very precise or you can eye ball it! Either way, it will be fine. I got about 8-9 pieces, depending on how large you want your pita pockets. Roll each dough ball into a neat little circle and cover with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rest another 25-30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, you’ll want to preheat the oven to 450 degrees. I know, that seems so hot! But these pitas cook quick and fierce so you need the heat! If you have a pizza stone or another type of pan you could toss into preheat, do that while oven is preheating as well. To get the perfect pita, you want the pitas to touch a hot surface right away which causes that famous pita pocket. If isn’t not hot enough, this can inhibit the rise. If you don’t have a pizza stone, a baking sheet will work just fine. I also like to position my baking tray on the middle oven rack.
- After the dough circles have rested, grab a floured rolling pin and roll out the pita dough balls into about 5-6 in circles on a clean work surface. You’ll want these to be about 1/4 inch thick. If the dough balls are a bit sticky you can add some flour to your working surface to help. Roll out 3-4 at a time, however many your pan will fit. They are ready for the oven!
- Be very careful with this part, using oven mitts, pull out the hot tray or pizza stone and place your pita pockets on. Close the oven and bake for about 4-5 minutes. You’ll want to see the pitas getting golden brown and also puffing into that perfect pita pocket shape! Remove from oven once ready and place on a wire rack to cool before eating! Continue this process until all the pitas are cooked and cooling.
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