Last Updated on November 13, 2019 by Chef Mireille
Everybody loves pita bread right and your kids will be so impressed with this simple homemade version. This is a super simple recipe that you can easily teach them to make and then any time they want some fresh homemade pita bread, you can sarcastically reply “Did you forget your way to the kitchen?”
This past summer I taught culinary classes at a culinary summer camp called Campus NYC. It was such an amazing experience. Students aged 12-17 came from all over the country and even internationally to attend this summer camp. Some just wanted to learn to cook, while others were really passionate about cooking and I learned as much from them as they learned from me. One of my students from Baton Rouge showed us the easy methodology her mom has for making jambalaya and it turned out better than the program recipe we were using. I will have to post her family jambalaya recipe soon. Having students from Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey and Korea was amazing as I learned first hand the culinary traditions of their respective countries. If your child is really passionate about cooking and may be one of our next generation of chefs, I suggest signing them up for next summer!
Imagine a huge kitchen with multiple cooking stations, 45 students and 3 chef instructors. It was challenging because none of us chefs had worked with each other before and there is a learning curve with communication etc. but by day 3 we had our groove and I was truly impressed by what these students created every day, with very little guidance. Although I have to stay the group that skewed younger did a lot better as they are more willing to listen to instructions – not yet at the age where they think they know everything – those 16 and 17 year olds who I teach every day now in my regular classes – parents talk about terrible two’s but I think late teens are worse!
Our vegetarian kids were so happy to learn how to make their own pita and hummus, a staple for many vegetarian kids. This is the simple pita bread recipe you can teach them to make. The most challenging part for them will be rolling out the dough into a circle by constantly rotating it while you roll. Once they get this technique down, the rest is easy peezy!
Pita Bread
Prep Time: 1 1/2 hours
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup warm water (110 – 115 F)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour (or all purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
In a shallow bowl, combine water and sugar. Stir to mix. Sprinkle yeast on top. Wait 5 minutes until it turns foamy.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add flour, salt and oil. With the dough hook attachment, mix to combine. Add proofed yeast and knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary if the dough gets too sticky. You should have a soft and elastic dough.
Leave it to rise in a lightly greased bowl until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 475 F. Prepare a pizza stone or place a piece of parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets.
Divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll out each piece into a circle 4-6″ in diameter. Wait until the oven is completely preheated.
Bake for 5-7 minutes, until breads puff.
I made mine kind of thick so I could have a nice pocket for my sandwich. This may seem like a unique combination to you, but it’s what was in my fridge and ended up coming together in a flavorful bite. Queso de frier (you can sub halloumi), pumpkin jam and corn pita sandwich was an awesome lunch!
Notes:
- You can also substitute half of the flour with whole wheat flour, which I have also made in the past.
- The thicker you roll the dough will determine if you have a pocketless pita or not. Thicker dough will result in a pocket. If you roll the dough thin, they will be pocketless, but the pocketless ones are great for frying into pita chips.
Pita Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine water and sugar. Stir to mix. Sprinkle yeast on top. Wait 5 minutes until it turns foamy.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add flour, salt and oil. With the dough hook attachment, mix to combine. Add proofed yeast and knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary if the dough gets too sticky. You should have a soft and elastic dough.
- Leave it to rise in a lightly greased bowl until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 475 F. Prepare a pizza stone or place a piece of parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets.
- Divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll out each piece into a circle 4-6" in diameter. Wait until the oven is completely preheated.
- Bake for 5-7 minutes, until breads puff.
Notes
The thicker you roll the dough will determine if you have a pocketless pita or not. Thicker dough will result in a pocket. If you roll the dough thin, they will be pocketless, but the pocketless ones are great for frying into pita chips.
Nutrition
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Oh wow so jealous I wish I could attend this camp! And you’ve inspired me to make pita bread..never have before 🙂 Looks 1000x better than storebought but then again what isn’t it?
So true. Once you make the homemade version, the store bought ones will pale in comparison.
Oh wow..the first click is tempting me to try the bread right away. It looks super stunning!
yes it is so easy and such a versatile bread it is!
That is so nice to read about your summer camp. Kids these days are so talented. This puffed up pita bread looks awesome..
They are – surprised me every day with their talent!
I have never made pita bread but I can’t wait!! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! Summer camp cooking class for kids. How interesting.
Tempting pita bread there. Got to try this one. Thanks for sharing.
Yes nowadays there are so many different types of niche camps – great for kids who have specific interests.
Home made pita! Super impressed that you made these, they look great.
they are actually super easy to make. You should give a try
We totally love pita bread and buy it all the time. I have never attempted to make it at home. After reading this….I might just have to give it a try.
you definitely should give it a try. its more cost efficient too than buying it…although I cant say more time efficient 🙂
The camp sounds wonderful. It is so fun to be with people of mixed nationalities and learn about their cuisine and culture. This pita bread is so simple! Your pita sandwich filling sounds yummy, too. Pinning this!
thx for the pin and yes it was such a rewarding experience!
Your pita breads look so perfect! Really beautifully shaped and perfect colour!
thanks – this is one of my faves and actually make it quite often
Summer camp sounds fabulous and kids rocks na. Pita bread looks excellent and looks prefect to make some sandwich.
yes – it was a lot of hard work but so worth it to see how the kids were transformed when they accomplished a technique they were battling with!
Summer camp for kids sounds very interesting Mir. I am sure adults can learn a fair bit from kids with their various backgrounds. The Pita bread is a favorite at home too and I am sure my older one will love to bake this sometime!
Absolutely. we all have something to learn from each other – kid or adult right!
Those classes must be a challenging and fun experience. Your pitas look nicely puffed up. Let me see if I can drag my teenager into trying them out.
they were truly challenging, but also rewarding. I am sure your teen can handle this recipe!
Lovely post Mir. I wish we had these cooking schools when I was a teenager 🙂
Your pita look just perfect and that hummus platter looks amazing.
yes pita and hummus are always an awesome combo!
I’ve recently started getting into baking bread and this looks like a great recipe to try! Thank you! 🙂
for a newbie into bread baking this is an easy one to start with