High Altitude Homemade Pita Bread
An easy, 5-ingredient recipe for homemade pita bread, that puffs up in the oven to form a pocket inside the bread.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¾ cup warm water, between 110-115 F
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast. Add the olive oil and water, and stir into a shaggy dough.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean work surface, and knead by hand for 2 minutes.
- Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 60-90 minutes.
Shape the Dough
- Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide it into 6 equal portions.
- Shape each portion into a ball, cover the dough balls with a towel, and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out the dough balls, using more flour on top of the dough as needed, so they don't stick. Roll each ball out thinly, to about 6 inches in diameter.
- Set the circles of dough on separate squares of parchment paper. Cover with a towel, and let rest for 15 minutes.
Bake the Bread
- Position a rack in the center of the oven, and place a cast iron skillet on the rack. Preheat the oven and the skillet to 550 F.
- Bake one pita at a time, by setting the dough and paper onto the hot skillet. Bake for about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes, until puffed.
- Use tongs to remove the pita and paper from the skillet. Place the baked pita into a container lined with a clean kitchen towel. Wrap the towel over the bread, so the bread can steam a little and stay moist.
- Continue baking the rest of the pita bread.
- The pita bread will deflate as it cools, but when you split open one end with a knife, there will still be a pocket inside which you can fill with your desired fillings.
Notes
Store leftover pita bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
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