Sourdough Pita Bread

Pita is one of the greatest breads ever created by man, it’s soft and slightly chewy. Sourdough Pita Bread, especially. And the best thing about pita is that it can be made with sourdough starter, and still be absolutely delicious.

Ingredients 

Sourdough Starter 

• 20g sourdough starter
• 40g water
• 35g all purpose flour or bread flour
• 5g rye flour

Main Dough 

• 250g lukewarm water (62.5%)
• 80g sourdough starter(20%)
• 350g bread flour (87.5%)
• 50g whole grain whole wheat flour (13.5%)
• 16g sugar (4%)
• 10g salt (2.5%)
• 30g olive oil (7.5%)

Directions 

Starter preparation step

Night before 

• 10 pm add starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, cover loosely, let sit at room temp 72-76F for about 8-10 hours until it reaches the peak, it should at least double (starter isn’t strong enough), or triple in size (strong starter). Instructions on how to make starter from scratch can be found here.

Pita dough preparation steps

• 8 am mix water, sugar and sourdough starter with flour, cover, let it rest 1 hour for autolyse (during the autolyse stage flour absorbs water, becoming fully hydrated. This activates gluten development).
• 9 am add salt, mix on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 min, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 2-3 minutes until well incorporated.
• At the end of mixing add olive oil.  Mix until well incorporated. Total mixing time shouldn’t take longer then 10 minutes.

Note: All mixing can be done by hand. Use the Rubaud method to incorporate the ingredients. Do a couple of stops in between mixing, it will help with gluten development, then continue mixing. Total mixing time will take about 10 minutes with stops. The dough should become smooth, and less sticky.

• Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes at 74-78F/23-26C.
• 9:30 am wet your hands and perform 1st stretch and fold.
• 10:15 am 2nd stretch and fold.
• 11 am 3rd stretch and fold.
• 12:45 pm 4th stretch and fold. Performing stretches and folds will help with gluten development.
• After the final stretch let the dough rest for 15 minutes. You should see some bubbles on the surface, the dough has to become lighter. We are looking for 40%-50% rise.

Note: if for some reason the dough didn’t rise enough, add one more stretch and fold.

If the dough seems too proofed, you can shorten the time in between stretches and folds.

Tip: At this point, you can transfer the dough inside the refrigerator until next day, then divide it, preshape and let it proof for 1 hour 30 minutes at 72-76F, then continue with shaping steps.

Preshaping pita dough

If you decide to make pitas the same day, then follow these steps:

Sprinkle work surface with flour, dump the dough on a work surface. 

Divide the dough into 80-90g pieces, shape them into round balls.

Let them rest covered for 30-40 minutes.

Shaping pita dough 

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the pizza stone (or iron pan or baking steel) for about 35-45 minutes.
• Remove 1 ball (keeping the others covered) and press into a flat disc with a rolling pin. Roll it into a 6-inch circle, then into an 8-inch, about 1/4 inch thick, dust it with flour if necessary during the process. Please note, the dough will shrink a bit while baking.

• Carefully lift the dough circle and place it quickly on a hot baking stone. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn it over with tongs or spatula and bake for 1 more minute. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles. Transfer warm pita on to a napkin-lined basket and cover it to maintain softness. Repeat these steps with the rest of the dough balls. Stack them up and cover.
• If you are using a pizza oven like Gozney, preheat it for about 30 minutes. When the temperature reaches 750F, lower the heat to medium, slide the dough circle inside the oven, let it bake for 20-30 seconds, then flip it on the other side, bake for 10-15 more seconds and take it out.

Tip: when pitas are still warm, put them into a plastic bag for about 30 minutes. Steam inside the bag will make them very soft. But if you want to store pitas for next day or longer, let them completely cool down, then use a new plastic bag. You can also freeze pitas for up to 2 weeks.

Sourdough Pita Bread

250kcal

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Prep 45 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Overnight Levain Rise 8 minutes mins

Total 16 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Soft, slightly chewy, and perfectly pocketed Middle Eastern flatbread leavened with sourdough starter. Uses a 4-fold bulk fermentation to develop gluten before ballooning into hollow pockets under intense 500°F oven heat.

Servings 8 Individual Pitas

Cuisine Mediterranean / Sourdough Flatbread

Ingredients

1x2x3x

Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)

• ▢ 20 g Active sourdough starter culture
• ▢ 40 g Water
• ▢ 35 g All-purpose flour or bread flour
• ▢ 5 g Rye flour

Main Pita Dough

• ▢ 350 g Bread flour 87.5%
• ▢ 50 g Whole grain whole wheat flour 12.5%
• ▢ 250 g Lukewarm water 62.5%
• ▢ 80 g Active sourdough starter 20% – from levain build above
• ▢ 16 g Sugar 4%
• ▢ 10 g Fine salt 2.5%
• ▢ 30 g Olive oil 7.5%

Equipment

• ▢
  Digital Kitchen Scale
• ▢
  Stand Mixer (or mixing bowl for hand mixing)
• ▢
  Baking Stone, Baking Steel, or Cast Iron Pan
• ▢
  Rolling Pin
• ▢
  Cloth-Lined Basket & Plastic Bag (for steam lock softening)

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Night Before: Prepare Levain

1. 10:00 PM: In a small jar, whisk 20 g starter into 40 g water. Add 35 g bread flour and 5 g rye flour. Mix well, cover loosely, and let ferment at 72–76°F (22–24°C) for 8–10 hours until peak volume (tripled in size).

Day 2: Autolyse & Mix Dough

1. 8:00 AM (Autolyse): In mixer bowl, combine 250 g lukewarm water, 16 g sugar, 80 g peak starter, 350 g bread flour, and 50 g whole wheat flour. Mix until dry patches disappear. Cover and autolyse for 1 hour.
2. 9:00 AM (Mix & Oil Addition): Add 10 g salt. Mix on low speed for 2–3 minutes (KitchenAid speed 3). Add 30 g olive oil slowly and mix until fully incorporated and smooth (total mixing under 10 minutes).
Use the Rubaud method with short pauses; total hand mix takes ~10 minutes.

Bulk Fermentation & 4 Stretch-and-Folds

1. Let dough rest at 74–78°F (23–26°C).
2. Perform 4 sets of stretch-and-folds at the following timeline:
3. 9:30 AM: 1st Stretch & Fold
4. 10:15 AM: 2nd Stretch & Fold
5. 11:00 AM: 3rd Stretch & Fold
6. 12:45 PM: 4th Stretch & Fold
7. Rest dough for 15 minutes after the final fold. Dough should look lighter with bubbles on top (~40–50% rise).

Divide, Preshape & Rest

1. Lightly dust counter with flour. Turn dough out and divide into 8 equal pieces (80–90 g each).
2. Shape each piece into a tight, smooth round ball.
3. Cover balls with a towel and let rest for 30–40 minutes to relax gluten.

High-Heat Bake & Steam Softening

1. Preheat oven with a baking stone or heavy pan to 500°F (260°C) for 35–45 minutes.
2. Working one dough ball at a time (keeping others covered), roll flat into a 6-inch circle, then expand to an 8-inch circle (~1/4-inch thick).
3. Carefully transfer disc directly onto the scorching hot baking stone.
4. Bake for 2 minutes until dramatically puffed into a balloon. Flip with tongs and bake for 1 more minute (pita should remain pale with small brown speckles).
5. Immediately transfer warm pita into a napkin-lined basket and cover tightly.
Place warm pitas in a sealed plastic bag for 30 minutes to trap residual moisture and guarantee soft, bendable pockets.

Nutrition

Calories250kcalCarbohydrates44gProtein7gFat5gSaturated Fat1gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat3gSodium488mgPotassium74mgFiber2gSugar2gVitamin A1IUCalcium11mgIron1mg

Notes

• The Physics Behind the Pocket Balloon Effect: Pita bread relies entirely on a thermodynamic process to separate into a hollow pocket. When the cold, hydrated dough disc hits a cooking surface preheated to a blistering 500°F (260°C), the moisture trapped within the core layers instantly flashes into pressurized steam. Because your 6-minute structural knead built a tight, resilient gluten network, the expanding steam cannot escape, forcing the top and bottom dough skins apart into a hollow sphere.
• Why Uniform Rolling Thickness is Absolutely Critical: When executing step 7, moving your rolling pin with smooth, even pressure is the single most important factor for success. If you press too hard on one specific edge, you will thin out that section excessively and tear the internal gluten fibers. The weak spot will rupture in the oven, allowing steam to escape into the air vents before it can build enough pressure to push open the rest of the pita pocket.
• The Towel Swaddle Storage Secret: Do not leave your freshly baked, ballooned pitas sitting open on a wire cooling rack. Because they are baked at extreme temperatures, open air will rapidly dry out the exterior crust, turning your soft flatbreads into rigid, brittle crackers that crack apart when split. Swaddling them immediately in a clean kitchen towel forces the bread to absorb its own residual steam, yielding an incredibly soft, bendable texture.

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