Traditional Pita Breads

This is a great pita bread recipe I got from a friend who works at a great Greek restaurant here in my town. Slice pita in half and fill pockets with your favorite filling, or for dipping, cut into wedges and pan fry in a little olive oil.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Calories: 172 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ¼ cup vegetable shortening
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 ¼ cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F/40 to 45 degrees C)
• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, or as needed - divided

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

Step 2

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a mixing bowl and allow to stand until the yeast forms a creamy foam, about 5 minutes. Mix in 2 cups of flour, salt, and shortening; beat for 2 minutes with a fork. Stir in as much of the remaining 1 1/2 cup flour as needed.

Step 3

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, kneading in more flour if dough is sticky. Form into a ball, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest in a warm area for 15 minutes.

Step 4

Divide dough into 12 equal portions; flour your hands and roll each piece into a ball. Cover dough balls with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Flatten the balls into rounds on a floured surface, cover with kitchen towel, and let rest 10 more minutes. Gently roll each dough ball into a circle about 6 inches in diameter on a floured surface. Place pita breads in a single layer on ungreased baking sheets.

Step 5

Bake in preheated oven until the pita breads puff up, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip breads over with a spatula, return to oven, and bake 2 more minutes. Let cool on wire racks before cutting pita breads in half and gently separating tops and bottoms to form pockets for filling.