Overnight Pita Bread
Puffy fluffy homemade pita bread! This is a slow rise dough which gives the pitas a lovely, non-yeasty flavor and is made with a handful of ingredients and in a few simple steps.
I make big batches of pita bread at home at least twice a month. Imo, there is truly nothing better than a freshly baked, super hot puffy pita. I shared a sourdough discard pita recipe last year and since then have wanted to do a non-sourdough recipe that still had an excellent flavor so I came up with this overnight pita bread recipe.
This recipe takes inspiration from my Discard Pita Bread Recipe which was in turn inspired by Reem Kasis’ pita recipe from The Palestinian Table. For this non-sourdough version, I went for a slow-rise (overnight) and swapped around some of the flour quantities and types. I think bread flour does a little magic here, making the pitas even fluffier and softer while still being delightfully chewy.
Recipe Ingredients
Water: cool tap water.
Milk: whole milk, cold and straight from the fridge.
Yeast: active dry yeast. You may use instant yeast too.
Sugar: fine granulated sugar. Brown sugar works too.
Bread Flour: high protein flour will give a chewier, fluffier bread.
00 Flour: this is also a high protein flour but it is very finely ground so it absorbs water more easily and produces a cloud-like interior. It is mostly used in italian style pizzas and pastas.
Salt: fine sea salt or fine kosher salt. If using table salt, halve the amount.
Olive Oil: the flavor won’t come through so any kind. The oil helps tenderize the bread crumb.
How to Make Overnight Puffy Pita Bread
** These instructions are for a kitchen that’s kept between 68-72F. If your kitchen is warmer the dough will rise quicker!
Make the Dough (the night before for a morning bake, or in the morning for an evening bake)
Eg. Make the dough at 9pm to bake around 8am OR make the dough around 8am to bake around 6pm.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer add the cool water and cold milk.
Sprinkle the yeast on top and the sugar on top of the yeast then give it a quick mix. Leave it for five minutes to dissolve.
Add the flour (both the 00 flour and the bread flour) and salt to the bowl and affix the dough hook.
Begin kneading on low speed and as the dough comes together around the dough hook, pour in the oil (with the mixer on).
Knead the dough until it clears the bowl and forms around the dough hook, this can take around five minutes.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and roll it around to coat the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter, at room temperature for about 10 hours until doubled in size.
About 10 hours later: Shape the dough
Sprinkle flour on your countertop (a thin layer) and set the dough on it. Divide the dough into about 18 pieces, each will weigh around 75-85g.
Stretch each piece of dough around itself to form a ball then roll the ball between your palms, then on the counter until you have a tight, firm ball.
Set on a floured surface and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover the dough balls with a flour sack or tea towel and spritz the towel to dampen it (this helps keep the dough from drying out).
Leave the dough balls to rise again, until puffy.
1-2 hours later: Preheat the Oven, Roll Out the Dough & Bake
Set the oven to preheat to 450 F (if you are comfortable with it you can go up to 475 F).
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (a little oil on the pan before placing the parchment helps hold it in place).
The dough will be sticky, flour the rolling pin and very gently roll out the dough into a 4 inch circle. This will only take a few strokes – don’t press too hard on the dough and don’t worry about any air bubbles that form on the edges.
Place the dough on the cookie sheet and repeat with 4-5 more pieces of dough (however many you can comfortably fit on your cookie sheet).
Set the pan in the oven as close to the heat source as possible (for me this is the bottom rack).
Bake the pitas until they have puffed up and browned a little on the edges, about 7 minutes (less if you have the oven at 475 F).
Out of the oven transfer the pitas to a bowl lined with a flour sack.
Repeat the rolling & baking steps with all the pitas. Wait until the cookie sheet is cool before adding the rolled out dough onto it.
Once all the pitas are baked, fold the towel over the pitas to keep them warm. The towel will also absorb any steam so the pitas don’t turn damp.
Serve while warm (this is when they are best!).
How Best to Store Homemade Pita
Once the breads are cool, I like to place any leftover pita in a gallon ziplock bag and freeze it. Whenever we decide we want a pocket, I pop it in the microwave for a minute and it’s just as soft as it was when it was first baked!
Overnight Puffy Pita Bread Recipe
Overnight Pita Bread
Ingredients
- 280 g cold tap water
- 280 g whole milk
- ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons fine granulated sugar
- 500 g 00 flour
- 300 g bread flour
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Method
The night before, to bake the bread in the am (or early in the morning, for an evening bake)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the water and milk. Sprinkle the yeast over the liquid and add the sugar. Whisk gently to combine then leave it for 5 minutes to dissolve and bloom.
- Add the 00 and bread flour to the bowl along with the salt. Affix the dough hook and knead, adding the olive oil with the machine on, until the dough starts to clear the bowl and to come together around the hook. This is a big mound of dough so you will want to scrape the top down and knead again until it’s even.
- Oil a large bowl and set the dough in it, turning the dough a few times to coat it in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to seal and leave on the counter overnight (~10 hours).
10 hours later
- The dough should be nicely doubled by now, though still a bit sticky. Turn it onto a well floured countertop and divide it into pieces that are about 80g each. Roll each piece of dough into a firm ball, first between your palms then on the counter to tighten the ball. Set the dough balls on a floured section of the countertop and sprinkle the tops with flour. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for 1-1.5 hours, until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Once the oven is ready, start rolling out the dough into 4 inch circles. You’ll be able to place six pitas on one cookie sheet. Immediately after rolling*, set them in the oven. Bake until they puff up and have slight golden edges, about seven minutes. Repeat with all the remaining pitas.
- **Many many times making pita I have learned that less time the breads spend between when they are rolled out and when they go into the oven is best for getting that pita poof in the oven.
- As the pitas come out of the oven, transfer them to a plate or pasta bowl lined with a flour sack or tea towel and fold the towel over the warm pitas. The towel will absorb the steam so they don’t get damp.
- If you aren’t eating the pitas the same day, once they cool, transfer them to a freezer gallon bag. When ready to eat, warm in the microwave.
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Thank you! I made the dough before bed, popped it in the fridge the next morning, and then continued the process about 4 hours before dinner, and they came out great!
Hi! The ingredients mention bread flour, but the steps mention AP. Which is correct? Also, do you think I could refrigerate it after the first rise if I wanted to do the overnight version but have it with dinner (to avoid waking up early!)?
Hi Lauren! You can use either but I think bread flour gives a fluffier chewier texture. You don’t really need to wake up too early for it, it can sit for about 10 hours. The fridge I think would slow it down quite a bit that you might need to do a longer am rise anyway (which would be akin to making it the morning of). Alternatively you could have it rise for awhile at room temp then set it in the fridge to halt it until about 4 hours before you’re ready to bake (the extra time given for the dough to come to room temperature).