Traditional Pita Bread

Place yeast, water, and sugar into bowl of electric mixer or large mixing bowl and stir gently. Add olive oil, flour, and salt. Mix to combine.

With the dough hook, knead 5–7 minutes on low speed. Alternatively, knead by hand until dough is smooth.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place a towel over the top. Let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour). Once dough has doubled, divide into 8-10 pieces. Form each piece into a ball and allow to rest 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, roll each ball into a flat circle approximately 6 inches in diameter. Rest flattened dough for 15 minutes.

While dough is resting, place an empty baking pan in oven and preheat oven to 500ºF.

Place 2-4 dough circles onto preheated baking pan and bake 2–3 minutes. Flip the pita and bake for another 1–2 minutes, or until lightly golden. Repeat with remaining dough.

Transfer hot pita breads onto a plate and cover immediately with a dry kitchen towel to keep them soft.