There is something magical about baking Pita bread.
First, there is nothing.
But after a minute or two, you can see how the outer edge begins to rise slightly.
Then it all comes at the same time.
And it goes quickly.
It almost looks like someone is inflating a balloon.

I have to admit that I have been hesitant to bake sourdough Pita bread.
For some reason, I thought it would be harder to get the same inflated result with a starter than with baker’s yeast.

I was wrong.

It takes a longer time, of course, but that is not a big issue if you are used to baking sourdough bread.
And the result is just as great.
You will get a big air pocket that you can fill with all kinds of goodies.

ABOUT FLOUR AND OTHER INGREDIENTS FOR SOURDOUGH PITA BREAD

FLOUR	PROTEIN CONT. %	WEIGHT GRAM	BAKER’S%
Wheat flour (bread flour)	13	370	100

Olive oil		12	12
Sourdough Starter		80	22
Salt		7	1,9

Water		220	60

The sourdough starter / Levain has a hydration of 100%

The hydration of the final dough is 63%.

MIXING THE DOUGH

We start by mixing flour with olive oil and water. Make sure that all flour is hydrated. You do not need to think about distributing the oil evenly in the dough at this stage.

The next step is to let the dough rest for an hour. I say rest because it’s not entirely correct to call it to autolyse. For a traditional autolyse, you only mix flour and water. But I find it easier to get the oil incorporated if added at this early stage.

After the rest, it’s time to add salt and sourdough starter. I usually fold the dough over the salt and starter and knead it until it feels like the starter has been incorporated into the dough. Then it’s time for the dough to rest again.

1st RISE

Gluten development is important when it comes to this dough. It will help us get that big nice air pocket in the Pita bread when it’s time for baking.
Dough strength, on the other hand, is not that important.
Too much dough strength will make it harder to roll out the dough in the coming steps.
We want lots of extensibility, but not so much elasticity. That’s why I usually settle for one set of stretch and fold.
If you want to learn more about dough strength, I have written an article that you can find here.

Temperature is important when it comes to fermentation, and yeast microbes thrive best at 79-81°F/26-27°C.
So try to find a warm place for your dough. At that temperature, the dough has fermented enough after 4-4.5 hours.
The dough should have expanded at least 50%.
That depends on the status of your sourdough starter, of course, but I assume that it is active and lively.

SHAPING

You should be able to get six to eight loaves of bread from this dough.
It is a good thing to weigh every piece of dough to ensure that every Pita bread becomes equal in size.
I usually dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it with a bench knife.
After that, I shape each piece into a round with my hand and bench knife.
Finally, we need to let the dough relax for 15-20 minutes before it’s time to roll it out.

ROLL OUT THE DOUGH

Flatten the dough ball a little with your hand before you start rolling it out.
Try to keep the shape as round as possible. The size should be about
4 inch/10 cm in diameter.

FINAL RISE

I usually let the dough double its height. That takes about 1 – 2 hours at room temperature, 72°F/22°C.
Spread a kitchen towel over the dough to prevent it from drying out on the surface.

BAKING

Now comes the fun part. Preheat the oven to 480°F/250°C.
You will get the best result with a baking stone, but an oven plate works as well.
Take a round of dough and place it on the hot baking stone.
Wait for a minute or two. The outer edge will start to rise first, almost creating a cavity in the center.
But after a while, the center will start to rise as well.
In less than 30 seconds, you will have a fully inflated Pita bread.
Let the bread stay in the oven for some extra time, perhaps 3-4 minutes.
That will give the bread some nice color, and prevent it from collapsing when you take it out from the oven.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

It’s fun baking sourdough Pita bread. And easy.
You don’t have to be skilled to get a great result.
The gas pocket can be considered a so-called flying crust. That is a failure when baking ordinary sourdough bread.
But for Pita bread, it’s exactly what we want.
All that remains now is to fill it with all kinds of delicacies and enjoy.