Garlic Pita Bread Recipe

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Garlic Pita Bread Recipe

Homemade pita is heavenly! The addition of garlic butter to top gives this Garlic Pita bread a flavor that is sure to satisfy all the garlic lovers in your life.

Prep Time45

Cook Time5

Proofing time1

Total Time1 50

Course: Baking, Bread, Dinner

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean

Keyword: garlic pita, pita, pita bread

Servings:

Calories: 289kcal

Author: Kimberlee Ho

Equipment

Ingredients

Pita Dough

1 cup water 90º-95ºF
2 teaspoons instant yeast
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
2 ½ - 3 cups all-purpose flour divided
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder* optional
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for the bowl

Garlic Butter

½ cup unsalted butter
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon dried parsley
shredded parmesan cheese optional, for topping

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1 cup water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Add ½ cup flour and stir together with a wooden spoon just until combined. Place the bowl in a warm place, uncovered, for 5 minutes. You should see some bubbles forming on the dough
Add the salt, garlic (if using), olive oil and 2 cups of the remaining flour (reserve ½ cup of the flour). With the dough hook attached, knead on low until the mixture forms a shaggy dough. If the dough is sticking to the sides and bottom of the bowl, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting for it to fully incorporate before adding more. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes until it’s smooth and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl
Cover with a clean towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Knead again for 2-3 more minutes.
Carefully lift the dough out of the bowl and place on a clean counter. This is a soft dough. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the bowl and with clean hands or a silicone brush, spread the oil around the inside of the bowl. Form the dough into a smooth ball and place back in the oil-coated bowl, turning the dough over to coat all sides with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap then lay a kitchen towel over top. Place the bowl in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size. I like to place the bowl in a cold oven with just the oven light on
Preheat the oven to 475ºF and place a large cast iron skillet on the middle rack to preheat. Next to the stove, spread out a clean kitchen towel and, on the lower half of the towel, place a piece of aluminum foil. This will be where you place the baked pita once they come out of the oven. The towel and foil will keep them covered and warm until you’re finished baking all the pita
After the dough has risen, remove the towel and plastic wrap and punch down the dough. Remove it from the bowl and place it on a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equally-sized pieces. They do not need to be exactly the same size. Shape each piece into a smooth ball, covering the balls with a clean towel as you form them. Allow them to rest for 10 minutes under the towel
Lay two large pieces of parchment paper on your work surface. Spray or brush both pieces of parchment paper lightly with olive oil on one side only. Place one dough ball in the center of one of the pieces of parchment paper. Place the second piece of parchment paper on top, oiled side down so it's touching the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll into a circle until roughly 8 inches wide and about ¼- inch thick. Do not flip the dough over to roll on both sides
After you’ve rolled out the first piece of dough, peel off the top piece of parchment paper then flip the rolled out pita dough onto your hand, peeling off the other piece of parchment paper so the pita is now resting in your hand. Carefully place the pita in the center of the preheated cast iron pan. Let cook for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, flip over the pita with a pair of tongs and allow to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Don't worry if the pita does not puff up. Remove the cooked pita with tongs and place on the foil and cover with the other half of the towel
Keep the cast iron pan in the oven to reheat while you roll out the next piece of pita. Continue this process until all pita have been baked
Make the Garlic Butter: In a small saucepan melt butter then add garlic and salt. Once melted brush liberally on warm pitas and sprinkle with parsley and top with parmesan, if desired

Notes

*Note about adding garlic powder to the pita dough: I found that when adding the garlic powder, the pita may not puff up as much while baking
To cook pita on the stovetop: Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and wipe off any excess with a clean paper towel. Working with one pita at a time, lay a rolled-out pita on the skillet and bake for 30 seconds, until bubbles start to form. Using a spatula, flip the pita over and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side, until large toasted spots appear on the underside. Flip again and cook another 1-2 minutes to toast the other side. The pita is ready when it puffs up forming a pocket (sometimes, with this method, the pita may not puff or may only form a small pocket)
To cook on a pizza stone on the grill: Preheat the pizza stone on high heat and cook 2 minutes per side
To make ahead: Follow instructions through step 5. Instead of allowing the dough to rise in a warm place, place the dough in the fridge to rise overnight. It’ll rise more slowly and develop a really good flavor. Remove the dough the next morning and continue with the recipe as instructed. Or, if you don't want to bake all 8 pitas, remove a portion of the dough to bake a few at a time and store the remaining dough covered in the fridge for up to 1 week
For whole wheat pita: Replace all the all-purpose flour with 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour plus 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
For gluten free pita: Replace the flour here with the same amount of an all-purpose gluten free flour
To store: Place cooled pita in an airtight bag or airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 4 days. To reheat, place in the microwave on 50% for 30-45 seconds or toast
To freeze: Place in a freezer-safe ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature then toast or warm in a preheated 350ºF oven for 5-7 minutes, or until desired temperature

Nutrition