Homemade Pita Bread

makes 8 pitas

250g (2 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
200g (1½ cups) whole-wheat flour
9g (1½ tsp.) salt
25g (1 Tbsp.) maple syrup or honey
20g (2 Tbsp.) olive oil
5g (2 tsp.) instant yeast
300g (1¼ cups) warm (80°F) water

Place the flours and salt into a bowl and mix to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, olive oil, yeast, and water. Add liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir into a shaggy mass.

By hand or using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, work the dough into a ball and then knead until smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise until it has roughly doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Place a rimmed baking sheet upside-down on an oven rack and preheat oven to 500°F.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and portion it into 8 pieces. Flatten one portion with your palm, then roll it into a circle roughly 6–8 inches across and 1⁄4 inch thick. Place the circles on a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel to rest for 5 minutes.

Transfer 3 or 4 rounds to the preheated baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes on one side until they have puffed up, and then carefully flip over and bake for 1 or 2 minutes more.

Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean kitchen towel. Continue with the remaining pitas until all are baked. Serve warm.

Store leftover pitas in an airtight container and make the day-old pita into pita chips for fattoush or simply as crackers to serve with dips such as babaganoush, muhammara, or hummus.

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Many pita recipes do not include whole-wheat flour. However, it’s a great way to incorporate whole grains and give the bread a deeper flavor profile. While you can purchase flour from any location, it’s a great item to introduce local grains (either pre-milled flour or milled at home) into your repertoire.