Spelt Pita Bread

A stack of pitas on a small wooden cutting board.

100% spelt flour pita bread is just as fluffy and perfect for filling, but made with ancient grains! Homemade pita is easier than you think.

Course Bread, Pantry Recipes, Side Dish, Sides

Cuisine Mediterranean

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Rising Time 1

Total Time 1 40

Servings pitas

Calories 284kcal

Author Alexandra Daum

Ingredients

300 ml warm water*
2 ¼ teaspoon dry yeast or ½ cube fresh (21 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil
500 grams light spelt flour**
2 teaspoons sea salt

Instructions

Add the water to a large mixing bowl and whisk in the yeast. Set aside to bloom for about 15 minutes. After resting, the yeast should be bubbly and active.
300 ml warm water*, 2 ¼ teaspoon dry yeast
Whisk in the olive oil, then add the flour and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula to form a shaggy dough.
2 tablespoons olive oil, 500 grams light spelt flour**, 2 teaspoons sea salt
Use a hand mixer fitted with the dough hooks to knead the dough for about four minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface (don't add extra flour) until soft and smooth. If kneading by hand, it should take about eight minutes.
Form a ball with the dough and let it rise in the mixing bowl, covered with a tea towel and a large plate, until doubled in size. This will take about an hour but may need more or less time depending on the temperature of your home.
Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F). If your oven doesn't get that hot, set it to the highest temperature. Place a baking sheet in the oven while preheating.
Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and form into balls. Roll two of the balls out on a lightly floured surface to rough ovals 5mm (⅕ in.) thick and place onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Carefully take the hot baking sheet out of the oven and slide the parchment paper onto it, working quickly. Bake the pita breads for 4-5 minutes, or until very puffy and just lightly golden.
While the first two are baking, you can roll out the next two and place them onto another sheet of parchment paper. Once the first two are baked, take the baking sheet out of the oven, carefully slide the paper off the baking sheet, and replace with the second batch. Repeat with the remaining dough (I keep using the same two sheets of parchment paper).
Keep the baked pitas loosely wrapped in a tea towel while the rest bake.
These are best they day they're made but will keep for a couple of days in a sealed container. After the first day they're more prone to tearing but can be toasted and used for dipping, in salads, and so on.

Notes

* Warm water should be just warm to the touch, not hot. Slightly too cold is better than too hot. If you have a kitchen thermometer, around 40°C (105°F) is perfect. Otherwise, it should be just a bit warmer than your fingertip and that's an easy way to check it.

** Use up to 50% whole grain spelt flour if preferred. You can make these fully whole grain but they are much more prone to tearing (so are better suited to dipping than filling).

Nutrition