I have a friend, let’s call her Meliss–Meliss, who always rolls her eyes when I say that I made something that can be easily bought, from scratch. Well, today I had an excuse.  I did not have any pita bread on hand and I needed one. I wanted to respect social distancing and decided not to make an unnecessary trip to a supermarket. So….homemade pita bread to go with my Greek chicken. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to Greece tonight!

Pita Bread

Yield: 8 pitas

Ingredients

350 grams (12 ounces) all-purpose flour (more for dusting)

½ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 packet of active dry yeast (rapid rise)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup lukewarm water

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.

Add the olive oil and water. With a wooden spoon, stir until mixture resembles a thick mass. Dust with a little flour and knead in bowl for about 2 minutes until all dry bits of dough are incorporated.

Turn the dough onto a work surface, then knead for about 4 minutes dusting with flour as needed. Do not add too much flour. The dough should soft but moist.  

Place the dough in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, for about 1-1.5 hours.

Preheat oven to 260-degree Celsius (500-degree Fahrenheit). On bottom shelf place pizza stone, cast-iron pan or heavy-duty baking sheet.

Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a small round ball. Cover dough balls with a wet tea towel. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.

 Working with one ball at a time, roll to a circle that is about 2 millimeters (1/8-inch) thick. Place pita bread into a hot baking vessel of your choice.  Lower the temperature of the oven to 246-degree Celsius (475-degree Fahrenheit).

Bake until bread begins to puff up and the bottom has brown spots, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional minute.

Transfer warm pita to a napkin-lined basket and cover so bread stays soft.