Whole-Wheat Pita Bread

The recipe, step by step

These homemade whole-wheat pita breads are wonderfully soft, with just enough wholemeal flour to give them a little extra flavour without making them heavy. They are perfect for tearing into pieces and scooping up hummus, filling with salads or serving alongside grilled meats and vegetables.

The dough is straightforward to make and uses only a handful of everyday bread ingredients. Once proved, you can either bake the pitas quickly on a very hot baking tray or cook them individually in a frying pan on the hob.

One of the things I particularly like about pita bread is how useful it is. Serve it warm at the table, split it open for sandwiches, or cut it into wedges for dips and mezze.

Recipe Highlights

• Easy dough: A simple yeast dough made with water, olive oil and a mixture of wholemeal and white bread flour.
• Soft texture: Combining the two flours gives you more flavour while keeping the pita soft and pliable.
• Two cooking methods: Bake the pitas on a hot tray or cook them individually on the hob.
• Quick cooking: Each oven batch takes just 3–4 minutes, while the hob method takes 1–2 minutes per side.
• Makes 10: The recipe makes 10 individual pita breads.
• Time: 15 minutes preparation, approximately 1 hour proving and quick cooking in batches.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Water: Use 300 ml at room temperature. This provides the moisture needed to bring the dough together.
• Caster sugar: Use 1 teaspoon. A small amount gives the yeast something to work with at the beginning of the recipe.
• Yeast: Use 10 g fresh yeast or 3 g fast-action dried yeast.
• Extra virgin olive oil: Use 2 tablespoons in the dough, plus approximately 1 tablespoon if cooking the pita breads on the hob.
• Wholemeal bread flour: Use 200 g wholemeal bread flour. This gives the pita its characteristic whole-wheat flavour.
• White bread flour: Have 280 g strong white bread flour ready, although you may not need to add all of it. Begin with 240 g and add the remainder gradually.
• Fine sea salt: Use 1 teaspoon to season the dough and balance the flavour.

How to Make Whole-Wheat Pita Bread

1. Start the dough: Place the room-temperature water and caster sugar in a large bowl and stir in the yeast. Leave for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to begin working.

2. Add the flour and oil: Add the olive oil, wholemeal flour and 240 g of the white bread flour, followed by the salt. Using your hands or an electric mixer, bring everything together into a soft dough.

3. Add the remaining flour gradually: Continue mixing while adding the remaining white bread flour a little at a time. Stop adding flour as soon as the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. You may not need all of it.

4. Knead the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until soft, smooth and elastic. Use as little additional flour as possible. Alternatively, knead in a stand mixer for 5–6 minutes.

5. First prove: Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth or cling film and leave until doubled in size, approximately 45–60 minutes. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, it may take a little longer.

6. Divide the dough: Once doubled in size, divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and shape each one into a ball.

7. Rest the dough: Place the balls on a baking tray, cover with a damp cloth and leave them to rest for 10–15 minutes. This allows the dough to relax after shaping.

8. Prepare for cooking: For the oven method, preheat the oven to 230°C fan / 250°C conventional / 480°F / Gas 9 and place a baking tray on the middle shelf so that it becomes thoroughly hot.

9. Roll the pitas: Lightly oil the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball of dough into a circle approximately 15 cm in diameter.

Oven Method

10. Bake in batches: Carefully place the rolled pitas directly onto the hot baking tray. Bake for 3–4 minutes. Depending on the size of your tray, you may only be able to bake a couple at a time.

11. Keep them soft: Remove the baked pita breads from the oven and immediately cover them with a clean cloth while you bake the remaining batches.

Hob Method

10. Heat the pan: Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Add a tiny amount of olive oil and wipe away any excess.

11. Cook individually: Cook one pita at a time for 1–2 minutes on each side, until lightly coloured and puffed.

12. Keep them covered: Transfer each cooked pita to a clean cloth and keep covered while cooking the remainder.

Nigel’s Recipe Tips

Do not add all the flour immediately. Start with 240 g of white bread flour and add more only until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. A softer dough will give you softer pita bread.

Use as little flour as possible when kneading. Adding too much can make the finished bread heavier and drier.

Give the dough time to prove. The first prove is complete when the dough has approximately doubled in size rather than simply when the clock reaches an hour.

Do not skip the second rest. Those 10–15 minutes allow the shaped dough to relax, which makes the pitas considerably easier to roll.

Get the baking tray properly hot. For the oven method, allow the tray to heat with the oven before adding the pita breads.

Cover them as soon as they are cooked. Keeping the hot pita breads beneath a clean cloth helps retain their moisture and keeps them soft and flexible.

Variations

Use More Wholemeal Flour

You can experiment with increasing the proportion of wholemeal flour for a stronger whole-wheat flavour. Bear in mind that increasing it substantially will also change the texture and may affect how much water the dough needs.

Oven or Hob

Both methods work well. The oven is particularly useful when cooking several pitas, while the hob gives you a little more control when cooking them individually.

Serving Ideas

Serve these pita breads warm alongside hummus, salads, grilled vegetables or meats. They can also be split open and filled to make an easy lunch or sandwich.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Haven’t My Pitas Puffed Up?

Make sure the dough has been rolled fairly evenly and, when using the oven method, that the baking tray is thoroughly hot before the pita goes onto it. Even when a pita does not form one large pocket, it will still be perfectly good to eat.

Do I Have to Use All 280 g of White Bread Flour?

No. Begin with 240 g and add the rest gradually. Stop as soon as the dough reaches the correct soft consistency and begins to clean the sides of the bowl.

How Thin Should I Roll Pita Bread?

Roll each portion into a circle approximately 15 cm in diameter, keeping the thickness as even as possible.

Can I Make Them in a Frying Pan?

Yes. Lightly oil a pan and cook each pita over a medium heat for approximately 1–2 minutes per side.

Why Should I Cover Cooked Pitas?

Covering them while still warm traps some of their steam and helps keep the breads soft rather than allowing the surface to dry out.

Tools You’ll Need

• Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
• Rolling pin
• Baking tray or frying pan
• Clean tea towel
• Kitchen scales

Storage and Freezing

Storing

Allow the pita breads to cool completely, then store them in an airtight bag or container at room temperature. They are best eaten within 2–3 days. To refresh them, warm briefly in a dry frying pan, toaster or oven before serving.

Freezing

Pita breads freeze very well. Once completely cool, place them in a freezer bag or airtight container, separating them with pieces of baking parchment if you want to remove them individually. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Defrost at room temperature, then warm briefly in a dry frying pan or oven to soften them before serving.

I would not recommend refrigerating them, as bread tends to stale and dry out more quickly in the fridge.

Nutrition

Serving: one pita bread

Calories: 195.76 kcal · 10% DV
Total Fat: 3.74 g · 5% DV
Carbohydrates: 35.83 g · 14% DV
Sugars: 0.55 g · 1% DV
Protein: 5.44 g · 11% DV
Sodium: 191.7 mg · 10% DV
Fibre: 3.45 g · 12% DV

% Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Nutritional information is provided as an estimate and may vary depending on the exact ingredients, brands and serving size used.

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