Turkish Pita (Ramadan pita)

I was very intrigued seeing the process of making Turkish pita online. The process proved to be exciting, and the bread itself exceeded all of my expectations because of its softness and light texture. It is a great addition to any meal. Thank you Maya for the recipe and inspiration!

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter

• 10g sourdough starter
• 60g water
• 50g all purpose flour or bread flour
• 10g rye flour

I always feed starter with 90% all purpose flour and 10% rye. Which makes it nice and strong.

Please note, summertime ratio for overnight feeding is higher (1:10:10) compared to wintertime( 1:6:6), because of the temperature difference. Depending on the strength of the starter, you can change the ratio.

Learn how to make starter from scratch here.

Main Dough

• 60g sourdough starter
• 320g bread flour
• 230g water
• 30g melted butter
• 9g salt
• 1g dry yeast
• 1 tbs honey

Topping 

• 1 tbs of plain yogurt 
• 2 yolks 
• sesame seeds fir dusting 

Directions 

Night before

• 10 pm add starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, cover loosely, let sit at room temp 70-75F till next morning until it reaches the peak (10-12 hours), it should at least double (starter isn’t strong enough), or triple in size(strong starter).

Next morning

• 8 am mix water, honey, salt,with yeast and sourdough starter until dissolved add flour, and melted butter, mix all together, until no dry flour remained, cover, let rest 30 min for autolyse (during the autolyse stage the flour absorbs the water, becoming fully hydrated. This will activate gluten development). Dough will look sticky, but don’t worry it will come up together with following folds.

• 8.30 am.  Perform nice stretch and fold, round the dough(it should become less sticky)and let rest covered at 74-76F/23-24C for 30 min.
• 9 am perform 2st coil fold. Round the dough, cover and let rest for 30 min.
• 9.30 am 3rd coil fold. Round the dough, cover and let rest for 1 hour.
• 10.30 am 4th coil fold. Round the dough, cover and let rest for 30 min.

Note: by the time when 4th coil folding will be done, dough has to look nice and smooth with visible signs of fermentation. If not, perform another folding in a 30 min.

• Sprinkle work surface with semolina flour.
• Dump the dough on a work surface, divide in 2 pieces, round each piece and make sure they are generously covered with semolina flour(this will help to prevent sticking.
• Place each dough on a separate piece of parchment paper.
• Cover, let proof for 1-2 hours. 
• Dough has to get bigger and puffier.

• Preheat oven to 475F
• Prepare the topping by mixing yogurt with egg yolks.
• Pour yolk mixture on top of the dough. Spread it around with your hand.
• Poke the dough with your fingers, by creating a circle around the edges, and then by making parallel lines all over the surface of your pita.
• Turn on its 90 degrees and made another set of parallel lines, creating squares.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of each pita.

Note: make sure to press the dough with your fingers deep enough (don’t afraid to make some holes). Because if dough won’t be pressed enough, pita will get puffy as balloon, and no pattern will remain visible.

• As soon as you will transfer pitas to the oven, lower the temperature to 350F. 
• And bake pitas until golden brown for 20-25 min.

Enjoy!

Turkish Pita (Ramazan Pidesi)

935kcal

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Prep 30 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Rise & Rest Time 15 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total 16 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

This authentic Turkish pita is soft, light, and incredibly airy. Made with a professional hybrid method that combines a mature sourdough starter with a tiny touch of dry yeast, it features the iconic braided-finger pattern on top and comes heavily dusted with sesame seeds and semolina flour.

Servings 2 Pitas

Cuisine Turkish

Ingredients

1x2x3x

The Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)

• ▢ 10 g Sourdough starter culture
• ▢ 60 g Water
• ▢ 50 g All-purpose flour (or bread flour)
• ▢ 10 g Rye flour

The Main Hybrid Dough Base

• ▢ 60 g Prepared mature sourdough starter (From the stage above)
• ▢ 320 g Bread flour
• ▢ 230 g Water
• ▢ 30 g Melted butter
• ▢ 9 g Salt
• ▢ 1 g Dry yeast
• ▢ 1 tbsp Honey
• ▢ Semolina flour Designated strictly for dusting the workspace and dough bases

The Authentic Topping & Glaze

• ▢ 1 tbsp Plain yogurt
• ▢ 2 Egg yolks
• ▢ Sesame seeds For a heavy decorative dusting

Equipment

• ▢
  Mixing Bowl
• ▢
  Baking Sheets
• ▢
  Parchment Paper
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale
• ▢
  Pastry Brush

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Overnight Starter Activation & Main Mixing

1. 10:00 PM (Night Before): In a small clean glass jar, whisk your 10g of starter culture into 60g of water. Add 50g of all-purpose flour and 10g of rye flour. Mix well, cover loosely, and let it ferment at a room temperature of 70–75°F (21–24°C) for 10 to 12 hours until it triples in size.
2. 8:00 AM (Next Morning): In a large bowl, whisk the 230g of water, 1 tablespoon of honey, 9g of salt, 1g of dry yeast, and 60g of your active sourdough starter until fully dissolved. Add the 320g of bread flour and 30g of melted butter.
3. Mix everything together with a sturdy spoon just until the dry flour pockets vanish and a sticky, wet mass forms. Cover and let it autolyse undisturbed for 30 minutes to initialize gluten hydration.

Timed Coil Folding & Structural Shaping

1. 8:30 AM: Wet your hands lightly. Perform a thorough round of stretch-and-folds, pulling the edges up and folding them over the center. Round the dough into a loose ball, cover, and let rest at 74–76°F (23–24°C) for 30 minutes.
2. 9:00 AM: Execute your 1st coil fold: lift the dough from the center, allowing the loose ends to curl underneath itself. Round it, cover, and rest for 30 minutes.
3. 9:30 AM: Execute your 2nd coil fold, round the dough, cover, and let it rest for 1 hour.
4. 10:30 AM: Execute your 3rd coil fold, round the dough, cover, and let it rest for 30 minutes. Note: The dough should now look remarkably smooth, soft, and show early webbed pockets of trapped fermentation gas.
5. Sprinkle your clean work surface generously with semolina flour. Tip the dough out and divide it cleanly into 2 equal pieces. Shape each into a smooth ball, rolling it through the semolina to guarantee it won’t stick.
6. Transfer each dough ball onto its own separate sheet of parchment paper. Cover loosely and let them proof on the counter for 1 to 2 hours until they expand and look beautifully puffy.

Glazing, Pattern Poking, and High-Heat Baking

1. Preheat your oven completely to a high 475°F (245°C).
2. Prepare the Glaze: In a small cup, thoroughly whisk together the 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt and 2 egg yolks.
3. Pour half of the yolk mixture directly over the top of each puffed dough ball and spread it evenly across the surface using the flat palm of your hand.
4. The Finger-Poke Pattern: Dip your fingers into the glaze. Press down firmly straight through the dough to create a deep decorative border circle about 1 inch from the outer edge. Next, poke parallel lines across the inner circle, turn the parchment 90 degrees, and poke a cross-intersecting set of parallel lines to form a grid of squares. Press deep enough to nearly touch the parchment!
5. Scatter a heavy layer of sesame seeds across the glazed surface of both pitas.
6. Slide the pitas directly into the oven on their parchment sheets and immediately drop the oven temperature down to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the crust turns an even, deep golden brown. Serve fresh.

Nutrition

Calories935kcalCarbohydrates155gProtein30gFat20gSaturated Fat10gPolyunsaturated Fat3gMonounsaturated Fat6gTrans Fat0.5gCholesterol234mgSodium436mgPotassium315mgFiber5gSugar10gVitamin A644IUVitamin C0.2mgCalcium76mgIron3mg

Notes

• The Logic Behind Deep Pattern Poking: Beginners are often too gentle when creating the iconic grid pattern on a Turkish pita. If you do not push your fingers deeply through the dough matrix (even making small micro-holes is perfectly fine), the explosive oven spring will instantly push the surface flat, causing the bread to inflate like a giant round balloon and completely erasing your beautiful design.
• Why the Staged Baking Heat Shift Matters: Launching the bake at a high 475°F (245°C) creates an immediate thermal shock, forcing the pockets of moisture inside the dough to expand rapidly into a light crust. Dropping the oven setting down to 350°F (175°C) right away preserves that lift, allowing the moist, yogurt-and-egg-glazed top to bake through completely to a rich golden brown without burning the delicate dairy sugars.
• The Hybrid Sourdough and Yeast Competitive Advantage: This method combines a mature sourdough culture with a tiny 1-gram pinch of commercial dry yeast to create a highly reliable leavening balance. The sourdough starter provides exceptional elastic structure, gluten breakdown, and a subtle depth of flavor, while the commercial yeast guarantees a speedy, predictable rise that finishes on a tight schedule.
• The Importance of Semolina Flour Layering: Always use a coarse grain like semolina flour when dusting your workspace and shaping your dough rounds. Unlike fine white flour, which absorbs into wet dough and creates a sticky skin, semolina acts like a layer of tiny ball bearings, keeping your highly hydrated flatbreads gliding smoothly over your hands and parchment paper without deflating.

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