Whole Wheat Pita Bread | Jim Lahey

It has been a while since I last wrote about pita bread. Meanwhile, many of my favorite Middle Eastern dishes are best eaten handheld, like a sabich. I’ve been making pita bread often, lately, stuffed with all kinds of goodies. At the same time, my breadmaking has shifted toward experimenting with the whole wheat flour I bought from a farm in Vermont. So, it’s logical to be making some whole wheat pita breads.

Using all whole wheat flour will generally result in a dense loaf with cell structure that’s less open. On the other hand, since we are not looking for open crumb in a pita, using only whole wheat flour has many benefits. By and large, the nutritional quality and rich nutty flavor of whole wheat pita bread are a cut above.

The recipe comes from The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook by Jim Lahey. The use of an overnight biga is optional. Using instant yeast will make it possible to have pita breads on the table in a matter of hours. Furthermore, it is a fairly sticky dough with 80% hydration (325 grams of water to 400 grams of whole wheat flour).

You can mix the dough in the early afternoon in a stand mixer. First, mix together sugar, yeast, flour and water at low speed. Next, add the salt after the ingredients are moistened. Knead in the stand mixer for a few minutes more. Then transfer the dough to a oiled bowl and let it ferment for 2 to 3 hours, or until doubled in volume.

Divide the dough in eight equal pieces of about 60 grams each. Then let them proof for about an hour. Most of the time, I’m not too precise in the resulting size of each ball of dough. In this case, it’s more important because you want each pita to puff up fully and evenly. So do stick to the 60 gram guideline.

Another critical component in making pita breads is a pizza stone. Preheat it in a 500°F oven. When you’re ready to bake, roll the ball into a very thin 6-inch circle. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Then bake for 1 1/2 minute on each side on the pizza stone, or until it puffs up. I’d bake one to two pita breads at a time, nothing more!

Finally, place the pitas in a fabric-lined basket when the pita breads come out of the oven. This’d allow them to cool and stay moist.

It’s dinner time, a few hours after the initial dough is mixed. It’s moment like this, having a basket of warm freshly-baked pita breads — oven to table, makes me proud and happy to be a bread baker.

Print Recipe

Whole Wheat Pita Bread | Jim Lahey

Serves: 8 6-inch pitas

Ingredients

• Olive oil for the bowl
• 325 grams ( 1 1/2 cups) room-temperature water
• 10 grams biga (optional)
• 5 grams (1 teaspoon) sugar
• 400 grams (2 3/4 cups) whole wheat flour, plus flour for dusting
• 1 gram (1/3 teaspoon) fast acting/instant yeast
• 6 grams (1 teaspoon) salt

Instructions

1

Mixing: Oil a medium bowl and set it aside. Put water and biga (if using) into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar, flour and yeast and mix on low until the ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes. Add salt and mix for 2 minutes. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl.

2

Fermenting: Cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough ferment at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.

3

Proofing: Divide the dough into eight equal pieces (about 60 grams each). Shape the pieces of dough into balls. Place the balls 2 inches apart on a flour surface. Cover the dough with a damp tea towel. Allow the dough to proof at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough balls have started to show some growth. This also gives the dough a chance to relax and become easier to roll very thin.

4

Heating pizza stone and oven: While the dough is proofing, place a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven. Remove any racks above the stone. Heat the oven to 500°F. The pizza stone needs to be very hot for the pitas to puff up. Line a large basket with a tea towel and set aside until the pitas are coming out of the oven.

5

Rolling the pita: When ready to bake, using a rolling pin to roll the dough into very thin 6-inch circles that are about 1/8 inch thick. Let the circles rest for 5 minutes.

6

Baking: Place one or two pitas on the pizza stone at a time, bottom side up. Bake for 1 1/2 minutes or until the pita puffs up. The gingerly flip the pita over and bake for 1 minute, or until it puffs up again. Add the baked pitas to the towel-lined basket. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Notes

Adapted from Jim Lahey's The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook