Homemade Greek Style Pita Bread (Super Fluffy!)
This Greek Style Pita Bread is soft, fluffy, lightly blistered with a wonderfully chewy texture that's perfect for gyros, wrapping juicy souvlaki, scooping up creamy tzatziki, and serving alongside your favorite Greek dishes.
Ingredients
- 5 cups (600 g) bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 packet (7 g) dry yeast
- ½ cup (120 ml) warm milk
- 3½ TBSP (50 ml) olive oil
- ½ cup (120 g) Greek yogurt
- 1 cup (240 ml) warm water
- 1 TBSP sugar
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup flour, sugar, warm milk, warm water, and dry yeast until smooth. Let the mixture sit for 5–10 minutes, or until it becomes foamy and bubbles form on the surface.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the remaining 4 1/2 cups flour and salt. Add the olive oil, Greek yogurt, and the activated yeast mixture.
- Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead for 8–10 minutes, either by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, until the dough is smooth, soft, and elastic.
- Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside, turning it once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down, then transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let them rest for 20 minutes.
- Lightly flour the work surface, sprinkle a little flour over each dough ball, and shape it with your fingers or roll with a rolling pin into a roughly 7-inch (18 cm) circle.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Place one pita in the hot pan and cover with a lid for the first minute to help trap the steam and cook the inside. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until bubbles begin to form and the bottom develops golden-brown spots.
- Flip the pita and cook for another 1–2 minutes, until the second side is lightly browned and the pita is cooked through.
- As each pita finishes cooking, place it directly into a clean kitchen towel set on a plate. Wrap the towel completely around the pita so it's fully covered. This traps steam and keeps the pitas soft. Enjoy!