This whole wheat pita bread recipe is super simple and easy to prepare. Make this soft, fluffy, and healthy pita bread at home whenever you want.
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Recipe Introduction / Background
I always prefer wheat-based flatbreads much more than rice dishes. But, most of the breads found in grocery stores are generally prepared using 100% all-purpose flour.
Moreover, these breads are loaded with way too many chemicals in order to increase their shelf life. The next time when you visit the bakery section of your local grocery store, take a good look at the labels on the bread packages. You’ll get an idea of what I am talking about here.
Hence, I figured it is better to prepare them at home. I make the pizza base, naan bread, dinner rolls, etc. at home using whole wheat flour. And now it is time to add this pita bread recipe to the list.
If you’ve got yourself an electronic dough maker/stand mixer, it’ll be even easier to make any kind of bread at home. I do not own one yet (I am trying to get Tushar on board with me on this :P), and I have found that making bread at home is not complicated at all. Give it a try, and you’ll love fresh homemade bread much more than the store-bought one.
Pita bread vs. Naan bread
Do you know and wonder what is the difference between a pita and naan bread. If you look at the ingredients that go in a naan bread recipe, you will find no difference at all from those of pita bread. Let me try to help you differentiate between the two: from what I have understood, naan bread is not allowed to puff, and it is usually baked at very high temperatures (e.g. broil mode in an oven).
Traditionally, in India, they use a tandoor oven which is like a furnace. Naan cooks so quickly in the tandoor that it does not get enough time to puff. However, pita bread is baked at a lower temperature over a longer period. As you can see, although they have the same raw ingredients, the difference in time and cooking temperature makes them so much different in taste and texture. This is what I understood as the difference between the two.
If you know a better answer, I would love to know from you through your comments below.
How to make whole wheat pita bread?
You will need very few ingredients for this recipe: wheat flour, yeast, a little sugar to activate the yeast, salt to taste, and of course, water. I used instant rapid rise yeast to reduce proofing time. Just combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead the dough using warm water. Once the dough has risen, roll them into small flat rounds and bake until golden brown in color.
Serving Suggestions!
- You can serve warm fresh pita bread with hummus and olive oil for starters or appetizers.
- Pair it with homemade hummus and simple avocado cucumber salad or lentil salad or Mediterranean salads for a filling, healthy meal.
- Follow this chickpea wrap recipe to prepare a wholesome meal using this pita bread.
- You can also prepare pita sandwiches or pita chips using them.
How is it healthy?
- This pita bread is prepared using whole wheat flour.
- Also, it is low in fat and contains olive oil, which consists of healthy fats.
- It does not contain preservatives and chemicals as opposed to store-bought ones.
More Whole Wheat Bread Recipes To Try
📖 Recipe
Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon rapid rise yeast
- 1 ½ cup warm water
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
- salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients including sugar or honey (if you decide to use) and mix well.
- Slowly add warm water and mix the flour using a wooden spatula. Mix until it forms a crumbly mixture with no dry flour anymore
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and using hand knead the dough. Add dry flour if necessary to avoid sticking the dough to the bowl. Continue kneading for about 6-7 min till it forms a homogeneous and soft dough
- Cover the bowl with a wet cloth and put it in a warm place for at least 1 hour
- Preheat the oven to 450F and lightly oil the baking tray
- Divide the dough into roughly 12 equal part and form them into small balls
- Dust some dry flour on the flat surface and roll each dough portion into 5-6″ round pitas. Cover the tray with a clean cloth and let it rest for 10 min
- Put the tray in preheated oven and bake for 8 min. To get light golden color on the surface, bake them in broil mode for 1-2 min.
Notes
- Keep a close watch on the pitas while broiling to avoid excess browning
- Store remaining pitas in an airtight container in a refrigerator for 2-3 days. Microwave them before using the next day
- Serve pita bread with roasted red pepper hummus or any kind of hummus that you love.
First time making pita bread every. This recipe worked out well. I added 1/4 c flaxseed meal to the recipe for more nutrition (on top of the other ingredients), and also 1 tsp. xanthan gum for texture. Came out fabulous! Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe. I made them today they came together nicely. For future reference I do have a couple of questions. I. The ingredient list it says 2tbsp oil but in the instructions it only talks about 1tbsp. What is the correct amount? Also you say salt to taste. What amount of salt do you feel is appropriate?
I tried the pita recipe. My pitas don’t puff up!!! What am I doing wtong??
Hi Sheila,
I am so sorry your pitas did not puff.
Few factors that are essential for proofing the dough and get the pitas puffed,
1. warm water and a little bit of sugar is necessary to activate the yeast and raise the pita dough.
2. in addition to the above, sufficient time to rest the dough is also needed. If you are using instant yeast it will take at least 1 hr to proof the dough and in case of regular active dry yeast, it might take a little longer.
3. after rolling the pitas they need to rest for at least 10-15 min before cooking or baking them. This step is also crucial (in addition to the perfectly raised dough) for getting pitas puffed.
I hope this helps.
Please let us know if you find what went wrong. It will help us to improve the recipe.
Thank you for your feedback.
These are good! All I had in the house was whole wheat pastry flour and some all-purpose flour. I also had wheat gluten (like a flour, but just the gluten portion of flour which is used to strengthen flour and give it more structure or to improve the rise) that i added, about 2 TBSP to offset the low protein pastry flour, I also added about a 1/4 cup of finely ground almond meal, to make them a little more tender. Turned out great – the family loved them. I’ve also made the recipe a couple of times exactly as written and the were very good, just a little bit more whole wheat-y. Thank you for the great recipe with clear instructions
I made these with 100% whole wheat flour, which is how I do all my baking: cookies, cakes, breads, muffins, pancakes. They turned out wonderful. I recommend the 100% whole wheat version!
Can you knead the dough in a stand mixer?
Thanks!
Hello Andrea,
Yes, you can knead the in a stand mixer. Make sure to mix all the dry ingredients before adding water. Hope this helps.
If you are on the fence about trying these, do it!! Theg came out so lovely and I appreciate this recipe so much, I usually dont comment on the recipes I use, but this is an absolute life saver. Thank you all so much for this blessing
You can baking powder and ground flax seed, 3 cups to 3 T flax seed. Add 3 T extra water. Binds like eggs.
Make bread using a sourdough starter (no yeast, no dairy and no eggs required) Breads turn out great and you can make your own starter and feed as needed or freeze a small portion so you have starter ready to grow (takes about 3 days to grow enough) when you are ready. Good info about starters here – breadtopia (search google)
I’ve been looking for a good pita bread recipe. I Liked the tips that you give about how to care the the bread. Thanks, I’m looking forward the making the pita bread.
You can make delicious bread without yeast or eggs using the starter method. It is a bit more involved but results in delicious bread whole wheat bread nearly identical to yeast bread but without yeast. I have made it for a number of years and people who are gluten sensitive find that they can eat this bread because the wheat is pre-digested during the fermentation process, thus eliminating the problems caused by gluten.
Wow, that’s amazing. I have never heard about the ‘starter method’. I would love to know more about it.
Hi, I am interested in the starter method, as well. Would you be able to email me a link for the recipe or send the recipe itself?
Thanks
I recently started making pita bread from scratch, and it is so much better than store bought!
I have tried putting them in a airtight container and they stayed soft. There was no need to reheat in the microwave. They do however stay puffed up so you need quite a large container. I will keep this as a go to recipe for pitas. Thanks so much for sharing it.
How long do they keep for in an airtight container – or would I be better to freeze some?
Thank you, Sheila, for trying out the recipe. It will be good for 1-2 days in an airtight container. I will suggest putting them in the refrigerator to use the next day.
I am really really sorry that the recipe did not work out well for you. Thank you for your feedback. I see why it is so. I completely forgot to add yeast in the ingredients lists. Yeast causes the dough to puff. Also, this recipe is perfectly fine without salt. Per your comment, I see the absence of yeast is the reason for the recipe failing at your end.
I apologize again for not being clear while writing the instructions for sugar/honey and completely omitting yeast. I have updated the recipe now. I have made this pita bread several times with the exact recipe and it turned out perfectly soft and fluffy every time. Thank you again for writing to us or else we would not have known the flaws in the write-up.
I will try again next week and let you know how they turn out.
I made them again this past weekend. They did puff up this time but they stay puffed up. If you store them you definitely have to microwave them because they are not soft unless you do it. I was looking more for a soft pita that I could use with heating them up each time I want to use it similar to the ones I can get in the store. I guess that may not be achievable.
Sorry, that’s ‘I could use without heating’.
In order for the pita to stay soft as you like it to be, you’d have to replace whole wheat flour with All Purpose Flour completely. In general, whole wheat flour based pita/flatbreads are not as soft compared to All Purpose flour ones. Hope this helps!
Wow, they look perfect, with those pockets too. I usually make them on tava and they never come out having pockets. Next time I am going to try your measurements and broil in oven.
hi..my brother is allergic to dairy, yeast and eggs..and he really misses bread…do you have any ideas or recipes to make bread withot any of these? using baking powder or soda perhaps?
Hello Arunima,
Making bread without dairy and eggs might be possible. I do not use butter or eggs for making it, though. However, I never tried baking powder or soda instead of yeast. Therefore, I can’t say anything with certainty.
Make bread using a sourdough starter (no yeast, no dairy and no eggs required) Breads turn out great and you can make your own starter and feed as needed or freeze a small portion so you have starter ready to grow (takes about 3 days to grow enough) when you are ready. Good info about starters here – https://breadtopia.com/make-your-own-sourdough-starter/