Description
These fluffy pittas are soft, lightly blistered flatbreads perfect for stuffing with your favorite fillings or serving alongside dips. Made with simple ingredients including strong white flour, yeast, and fresh thyme, they are cooked quickly on a barbecue or stovetop for a delicious, homemade bread experience.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (optional)
- 2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 200ml milk
- 100ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra for proving and brushing
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, caster sugar, thyme leaves if using, and salt using your fingertips. Pour in the milk, olive oil, and lukewarm water, and combine everything with your fingers to form a dough.
- Knead the dough: Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic, or blitz in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes if using.
- First rise: Lightly oil a clean bowl, place the dough inside, and cover with a tea towel. Leave it to rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour or until nearly doubled in size. For a longer rise, refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Divide and shape: Once risen, divide the dough into eight equal pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece into circles about 20cm in diameter and brush them lightly with olive oil.
- Cook the pittas: Heat a barbecue grill or a frying pan/griddle over medium-high heat. Cook each pitta for 2-3 minutes on each side on the barbecue until puffed up and blistered. If using a pan or griddle, cook each side for 1-2 minutes until bubbles form, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Keep warm: As you finish cooking each pitta, wrap them in foil to keep warm until all are ready to serve.
Notes
- You can add fresh thyme for a subtle herbal flavor, or omit it for a classic taste.
- If you prefer, the dough can be left to rise slowly in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours for better flavor development.
- Cook the pittas on a very hot surface to get the characteristic puff and blistered spots that create pockets for stuffing.
- Wrap cooked pittas in foil to keep them soft and warm before serving.
- This recipe can be easily doubled or halved depending on how many pittas you want.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keywords: pitta bread, flatbread, homemade bread, Mediterranean bread, barbecue bread, quick bread
