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Overnight Pita Bread

These pitas are made from an overnight dough which gives the pitas a lovely, non-yeasty flavor. Bread flour makes them puffy and chewy.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Rest Time 12 hours
Servings 18 thick, small pitas

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

Instructions

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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