Pita bread is one of those breads that I was quite indifferent to. Until I had to make it.

I’m exposed to a lot of flatbreads living in Singapore. There is an abundance of eating places that serve flatbreads as diverse as the nationalities found in this island state. These breads are crispy and snappy, soft and chewy, buttered, garlicky, with herbs, without herbs, and so on. Against this backdrop of flatbread smorgasbord, pita was just meh.

The supermarket offerings are no good. These are tasteless, gummy, with pockets so small that only two slices of tomatoes could fit! I kid you not. So when I wandered into Middle Eastern fares, I chanced upon a salad recipe requiring pita morsels. The salad looked so delicious; there was no way I was going to screw it up by adding commercial pita bread.

This recipe for pita bread results in puffy, deep-pocketed pitas that are thin-ish, and crispy out of the oven. To achieve this, you’ll need a pizza stone, preferably rectangular or square. If you don’t have a pizza stone, use the back of a rectangular baking pan. Some ovens come with a baking pan, like mine. These are usually very dark so I hardly use mine except for recipes that call for a pizza stone. Simply invert and insert the pan through the oven rungs. There is no need to reduce the temperature to accommodate the darkness of the pan.

Whichever pan you choose to use, position it on the bottom rung of your oven. The heat from the bottom of the oven will be stronger and will help crisp up the dough. Finally, make sure that the stone or pan is in the oven while it’s preheating.

That’s that for the pan in the oven. Now for the parchment paper and a second baking pan or rimless sheet. Use the back of the pan if it has sides.

Cut the parchment paper to be the same size as the stone or the bottom of the pan you have chosen. Why? Because the parchment paper with the pita doughs on it will be slid into the oven, onto the stone/pan, and anything can happen with that step. I highly encourage this small but significant action to avert any mishaps when sliding the parchment paper onto the stone or pan.

The second baking pan will be used to slide the pitas on the parchment paper to and from the oven. Simply level the second baking pan with the pizza stone and slide the parchment paper into and out of the oven (with the pitas on it!). I normally grab a small piece of the parchment with my fingertips to help move it along. It’s actually easier to slide the baked pitas out from the oven rather than into the oven. Either way, be careful…it’s a very hot oven.

Oh, by the way, I did use the homemade pita bread morsels for the salad. I had to fry them until they were crispy and they tasted great! I’m thinking of replacing my croutons from now on with these. Now I’m no longer indifferent.

Deep Pocket Pita Bread

Recipe by Two Queens BakeDifficulty: Easy

Prep and Proofing time

hours

Baking Time

minutes

Makes 3 pitas

Ingredients

140g water, room temp
140g bread flour
40g wholemeal flour
1 ½ tsp instant yeast
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Combine the water, yeast and half of the flours in a mixing bowl. Mix until the flours are wet but lumpy. Cover with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes or until it has bubbles and looks like a sponge.
Add the remaining flours and salt. Mix on medium-low speed with dough hook attachment until there are no visible bits of flour. Add the olive oil.
Knead on medium-low for 5 minutes, then on medium to medium-high until the dough clears the base of the bowl. The dough will be wet and sticky.
Place the dough on a floured surface and portion into 3 pieces. Round each portion tightly, sprinkle the tops with a little flour and cover with a tea towel. Let rise in a warm area until double in size, about 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare the parchment paper by cutting it the same size as your pizza stone, preferably a rectangular stone. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can use an inverted rectangular baking pan (or the pan that comes with the oven).
Put the pre-cut parchment paper onto a second baking sheet/pan. I use a rimless sheet; if you don’t have this, use the bottom of a baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 220C/430F. Place the pizza stone or baking pan at the lowest rung in the oven.
On a floured surface, roll each dough portion into a thickness of about ½ cm. Place on the pre-cut parchment paper. Cover with a dry tea towel and let rest for 15 minutes while preheating the oven.
Slide the parchment paper that is on the second baking sheet – with the pita portions on it – onto the hot stone or pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bread is puffy and brown on the bottom. Slide the baked pitas with the parchment paper back onto the second baking sheet.
Let the pitas cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.