How to make a soft Greek pita

Here is the recipe for Greek pita, the soft round bread that is easy to prepare and ideal to serve with Greek salad, gyros or tzatziki.

Known throughout the world, soft Greek pita is – in reality – a typical product of the entire Middle East . Its origins are often attributed to the Arab gastronomic repertoire, but it is characteristic of various countries. Commonly, it is referred to as Greek bread which can be stuffed in a variety of ways. Prepared with just a few ingredients, its recipe is very easy to make even at home. If you are curious about preparing it with your own hands, find out how to make pita bread.

Preparing the recipe for Greek pita

1. To begin, sift and pour the flour into a large bowl.
2. Crumble the yeast into the water and begin pouring it slowly into the flour, kneading with a wooden spoon or in a planetary mixer with a wire hook.
3. Add the oil and continue kneading. When the dough is almost ready, add the salt .
4. Once you have a firm, non-sticky dough, place it in a bowl and cover with cling film. Let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled.
5. Next, divide the dough into 4 parts and roll them out one by one on the floured work surface until you obtain a 1 cm thick disk .
6. Let rise covered with a cloth for 30 minutes.
7. At this point all that remains is to cook the pita in the oven or in a pan. In the first case it will cook at 250°C for 6-8 minutes . To cook the pita in a pan , use a non-stick pan and cook it over medium-low heat for 2 minutes per side .
8. As they are ready, stack them on a plate so that they remain soft.

We also leave you a short video where you can see all the steps to make it.

Greek pita, unlike Arabic bread, is leavened. It is usually used to wrap the filling as in the case ofpita gyros or Greek salad , or cut into triangles and seasoned with oil and oregano together with tzatziki sauce or melitzanosalata , the Greek aubergine sauce. It is therefore not the classic pocket bread used for kebabs.

Conservation

Greek pita will keep for a couple of days in a paper bag. We recommend heating it for a few minutes before serving to restore its softness. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. If necessary, let it defrost at room temperature, reheat it and serve.

Origin and history of the Greek pita

Simple bread made from water and flour, Greek pita has its origins in Mesopotamia 4000 years ago. In fact, the first traces of a flat bread obtained by simply mixing water and flour date back to that very remote era.

However, regarding the origin of the name, linguists have simply not been able to agree. By some of them it is traced back to the modern Greek pēktos (i.e. dense), in turn an evolution of ancient Greek, by others traced back to the Hebrew and Aramaic languages. In all cases the reference is always to bread. Even the word piadina seems to be a legacy of the Byzantine era.

In Greece, the term pita also refers to savory pies such as spanakopita , a phyllo pastry wrapper filled with spinach and feta.