Whole Wheat

Whole Wheat Pita

by:
June  9, 2016
3.5
4 Ratings
Whole Wheat Pita
Photo by Linda Xiao
  • Prep time 24 hours
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Makes 10 pitas
Author Notes

I love this pita recipe. Sometimes I even make a few batches and freeze the dough before shaping. Then when I know I want pita for dinner, I take the balls of dough out of the fridge and let it thaw and rise in the fridge while I work—then it's BOOM! Fresh pita for dinner! —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 Poolish:
  • 2 cups (9.55 ounces) bread flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1 g) active dry yeast
  • 1 cup (8.00 fl. ounces) room-temperature water
  • 1 Pita Dough:
  • 6 cups (25.50 ounces) bread flour
  • 2 3/4 cups (12.00 ounces) whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons (8 g) kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon (12 g) active dry yeast
  • 3 1/4 cups (26.00 ounces) warm water
  • 1/3 cup (3.00 ounces) olive oil
Directions
  1. The day before you want to make the pita, make the poolish: In a medium bowl, stir the flour and yeast to combine. Make a well in the center, add the water, and mix with a wooden spoon until it's homogenous. It will look shaggy, but should be fully combined. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to ferment at room temperature for 12 hours.
  2. The next day, make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the bread flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and yeast to combine. Add the water, olive oil, and poolish and mix on low speed for 4 minutes. Raise speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes more.
  3. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until nearly doubled in size, 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes.
  4. Divide the dough into 10 even pieces. Roll each piece into a circle (on a lightly floured surface) about 1/2-inch thick. Cover with greased plastic wrap on your work surface while you preheat the oven.
  5. Preheat the oven to 500° F, preferably with a pizza stone. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer the pita dough to the prepared baking sheets and bake each sheet one at a time directly on the stone. Bake until the pita is golden and puffy, 12 to 15 minutes.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
  • Erin Jeanne McDowell
    Erin Jeanne McDowell
  • failika
    failika
  • audreyvel
    audreyvel
Erin Jeanne McDowell
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

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9 Reviews

failika
failika January 9, 2023
Unfortunately I found the pita made with this recipe dense, not pita like at all. I got rounds of solid, thick bread rather than a pocket. I would suggest tweaking this recipe and using metric measurements as well. Don’t know exactly why this recipe doesn’t work but it didn’t for me. I wanted pita pocket bread, not dense solid loaf bread in pita form.
 
audreyvel
audreyvel March 25, 2020
since the yeast is active dry (not instant), I would recommend adding it to the water instead of the flour, letting it sit for a minute, and then adding that mixture to the flour.
 
Lissa J.
Lissa J. August 1, 2019
Hi, I’m your recipe today and may I make a suggestion ? When baking grams are a more concise measurement. You used grams for a couple ingredients but not the primary. Thanks, Lissa Mattson
 
emcsull
emcsull June 24, 2016
how long does one need to knead (!) if not using a kitchen machine ?
 
Michael B.
Michael B. June 15, 2016
What's the conversion for yeast if using Saf Instant instead of Active Dry?
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames June 17, 2016
1:1 unless you're using a bread machine, which creates a warmer-than-otherwise proofing environment (in which case, use 25% less instant). ;o)
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames June 13, 2016
Were these tested by the Food52 test kitchen using cup (volume) measures for the water? A cup of water is not 8 ounces - it's 8 fluid ounces = 8.32 ounces. Just wondering what the correct amount of water is. (I'd use 236 grams if I didn't see the "8 ounces" there.) Thank you. ;o)
 
Erin J.
Erin J. June 14, 2016
Sorry for the delayed reply, AJ - I'm away in Wisconsin and while the quiet is lovely, the internet is spotty! It is a silly typo on my part, I meant 8 fl oz - it's fixed now, thanks for the catch!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames June 14, 2016
Thanks, Erin. Enjoy Wisconsin!! (I'm a Badger Mom and love, love, love that state.) ;o)