We love Greek and Mediterranean food in our home. A common summertime meal? Grilled kebabs, beef, game or chicken, , seasoned with olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano and more, served with homemade hummus (my favorite recipe is Ina’s), Tzatziki sauce (recipe coming up soon) with homemade yogurt, dill from our garden and cucumber, served along with or inside pita.
I’ve never really made pita before. Sure, I made the hummus, sliced the (truly grassfed, all natural) meat from my freezer, grew the oregano for the marinade, made the yogurt and grew the dill for the sauce, but the pita was still from the store.
It just wasn’t something I made.
Sourdough bread? Sure. Artisinal french breads? Yes. But simple pita bread? Nope. Just bought the package at the store.
But the last time I bought the multigrain variety, I was highly disappointed. It was thick, almost like a fry bread, kind of dry, and didn’t have a pocket. What’s the point of pita without a pocket? Plus it cost a pretty penny and I didn’t like half of the ingredients. I was not impressed. So I decided to try my hand at making my own.
And now, I doubt I’d ever buy it again. It was so simple, made up quickly before our meal, and was perfect. I love it. And I can’t wait for you to try it too . . .
This recipe is made by weight, not by volume, with my trusty little scale that my husband bought for me for Christmas last year. I love it and it makes baking so much easier and efficient (no need to dirty cups, I just tare to zero and re-measure the next ingredient, in the bowl, one after another). . . . let me know how it goes for you!
Whole Wheat Sourdough Pita
makes about 9 to 10 10″ pitas
- 380 grams sourdough starter (I make mine using a 1:1 ratio of flour to water by weight – mine is a batter-like sourdough so if yours is thicker, adjust the water, below, accordingly)
- 190 grams whole wheat flour
- 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 55 grams of water
Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and stir until briefly mixed, then turn out onto a floured counter and knead for about 8-10 minutes until all ingredients are incorporated and the dough is soft and elastic, but not sticky.
Place dough back in it’s bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to ferment and rise for about four hours (minimum) at room temperature. If you prefer a longer fermentation (to help break down more anti-nutrients in whole wheat flour, or simply to be able to make the dough in advance and allow you to bake it at will,) punch down after two hours, refrigerate for up to 24 hours, covered, then bring back to room temperature and allow to rise for at least an hour or two before moving on to cooking.
When dough has about an hour left to ferment, preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with a baking stone in the lowest third of the oven.
Once thoroughly fermented, turn the dough out onto a floured counter (the dough may be quite sticky so flour is a must) and cut into about 8 to 10 pieces. One at a time, roll each portion out into a very thin circle and, with floured hands, transfer each pita onto the hot baking stone one a time (I rolled out and baked two at a time, then rolled out the next two while the previous ones baked) and bake for 2-3 minutes at a time until puffed and golden. Make sure not to overbake as they will quickly dry.
As they come out of the oven, place in a towel-lined basket and wait to serve hot.
Enjoy!
This post is written in conjunction with Two for Tuesday’s Blog Hop, Real Food Wednesday, Pennywise Platter, Fight Back Friday and Foodie Friday. Please go visit the other contributors!
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Can’t wait to make this recipe! Thanks for posting it.
I’ve found the same thing with this type of store bought pita bread…yours sounds a million times better! Delicious post as always…thanks so much for sharing it with Two for Tuesdays this week.
(p.s…I preserved my grape leaves following your directions and it worked beautifully! thanks so much…I posted them at my place today for Two for Tuesdays. )
This sounds like something I would really like to try. We are trying very hard to eat closer to the source and although I have made my own bread in the past, I have gotten away from it with all of the artisenal breads available. I still buy fresh bread from the Farmer’s market but making your own is satisfying. It is good to find others with like minds thru 2 for Tues.
This sounds pretty easy as well as good. Now I just have to convert the grams to ounces, since my scale does ounces and pounds (yeah its a pretty cheap one) and then I will be trying this one too.
I’ve been checking out some of the other recipes you have – this could become one of my top blog sources for good food. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds so much easier than I thought it would be to make a pita. Thanks! I like to use spelt flour (and others) in my sourdough. What kind of WW flour did you use?
Hi Mindy!
I just used a basic, stone ground whole wheat from a local miller that I can find at my nearest grocery store. I’ve used white whole wheat before, but not this time (I wanted a slightly coarser flour and white whole wheat tends to be finer . . . ) – can’t recall if it was organic or not. I’ve not made much with spelt flour, if you do with this recipe, let me know how it goes!
Best,
Sarah
I grind my own wheat and make a lot of bread. I’ve never made pita. I have to try this. I looks fabulous.
This looks great! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for posting this.
People who make things like pita and bagels and things like that just humble me. Would love if you shared this at my little carival today. Hope to see you!
Sarah! No measurements by volume for those of us archaic folks still relying on meas cups? Can you give us an estimation? I’m dying to try these! Gorgeous photo, too, I’m hungry now.
Katie
Katie! You need a scale! But seriously, I’m doing some more baking today and will see if I can add some more details for measurement by volume in the next few days!
Best,
Sarah
[...] Eat Organic: It’s Good For You! (The Nourished Life)5. Primal Toad: Intermittent Fasting6. Whole Wheat Sourdough Pita – from heartland Renaissance 7. Jason@JLHealthTulsa (GF 5* Recipes)8. Tiffany@Coconut Mama (sprouted quinoa tortillas- gluten [...]
Sarah, I have been searching for a good baking stone to purchase and I noticed the one in your picture looks really nice. I love the size of it! Would you mind sharing what kind it is and if you would recommend it or not? I would really appreciate it! Thanks, Macy
Hi Macy!
The one I have was a gift from two or three years ago, I’m almost certain it is from Williams Sonoma. I use it all the time and keep it in my oven about 99% of the time (I removed it to make the Thanksgiving turkey, but returned it the next day!
What I love about it is that it is square, not round (like one made specifically for pizzas) as I can bake two 1 lb loaves or boules of bread at the same time, or a large pizza or a few pitas! It is probably a little over 1/2″ thick; I’d beware of those much thinner since they’re exposed to such high heat. I use mine all the time and really love it.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Good luck!
Best,
Sarah
Thanks Sarah! I ended up purchasing the stone from Williams Sonoma and I have been loving it! I’ve baked bread and pitas on it, and we just enjoyed our first pizza from it tonight…it is so much better than my old thin round one that I had used and abused for many years. Thanks for the recommendation!
Macy
P.S. I LOVE these sourdough pitas – they are so yummy!
I’m so glad! Isn’t it wonderful?!? Let me know if you have any other questions!
Best,
Sarah
I am so looking foward to trying this! But I have some questions….
So the pocket just makes itself? you don´t have to do anything to it? I would have thought you had to make 2 circles and then stick them together!
You have a slab of stone to put in the oven? I usually bake my bread loaves on stainless steel pizza trays (2 loaves on each). Is thre something about the latent heat in the stone that is essencial for the pita or will I be fine with my usual method?
thanks!
sandra
Hi Sandra!
Yes, the pocket just makes itself – it puffs up during baking when it hits the hot stone. I’m always rather shocked when it works too!
Since I have the baking stone and use it often, I haven’t tried making it on stainless steel trays. To bake these hot enough for the pockets to form requires a very hot oven and a very hot baking surface (the stone) so you could experiment with heating the trays for a half hour or so in the oven while the oven is heating, or if you have a cast-iron skillet or griddle heating those up in the oven (might work on the stove top too but I think the ambient heat in the oven helps) I’d recommend using those in place of stainless steel as the heat conductivity will be more similar to the stone. Hope this helps and if you try it, let me know!
Best,
Sarah
PS – I have had my baking stone for at least three or four years and LOVE it for baking pizza, pita, hearth breads, etc. I think we got ours originally from Williams Sonoma but almost any kitchen store has them (I prefer the square variety versus the round “pizza” variety for more uses) and you can also make your own by simply “tiling” a tray or rack in your oven with un-glazed clay quarry tiles from a hardware store. Here’s a link that might help explain it better:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/diy-pizza-stone.html
Please forgive my ignorance. How do you make and keep the sourdough starter going?
Thanks,
Gordon