Pita bread has been on my mental To-Do List for years, however, it took the request of a good friend for me to finally attempt making it. Hi, Heather!

I think that, “Wow!” says it all. Home-made pita bread is far superior to supermarket pita, even the high-end brands. I was amazed at the depth of flavour that the pita had–especially as the dough only received a short rising time–and the texture was just wonderful. Eating some brands of pita bread is rather like chewing on an old tyre that a dog has discarded. In marked contrast, the pita I made, with minimal effort, was soft and simply wonderful. My recipe uses a couple of pinches of cumin, for no other reason than I thought it would be nice. It adds a very subtle edge to the flavour, but is not intrusive and can be omitted.

Until I made pita, I had assumed that there was some arcane magic involved in creating the pocket. My mind created thoughts of special folding techniques, making cuts half-way through baking and so forth. I’m happy to report, that you need do nothing but make sure your baking sheet is piping hot at all times.

The dough begins cooking immediately that you place it on the hot baking sheet, and the rapid rising in the oven–oven spring–tears the gluten, thus creating the pocket. When I say rapid, I really mean it. The dough blew up like a puffer-fish in the oven and the finished pita wobbled happily on their bases when I drew the sheet out after three minutes.

If you intend to squash the pita flat for easy storage then I suggest that you do it quickly, otherwise the cooling crust will prevent some of the air from being expelled. However, if you plan to stuff the pita with kebab, salad, or even peperonata and chicken, then it is not necessary to squash the breads.

Pita Bread

Makes 12.

300ml tepid water
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
approx 500g bread flour
7g sachet easy-bake/instant yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt
pinch or two of ground cumin

Place the water and olive oil in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and the yeast.

Add one handful of the flour mixture to the oil-water. Beat well. Continue to add flour by handful, adding the salt after four handfuls, until you have a soft but not sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Cover with the bowl and leave to rest for ten minutes. This allows the flour to complete hydration and makes the dough easier to knead.

Uncover, sprinkle with a few pinches of cumin (less than 1/2 teaspoon in total), and knead vigorously until smooth.

Return to the bowl, cover with clingfilm/wrap and leave to rise until doubled. About one hour.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and punch down. Cover with the bowl, and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Divide into 12 equal portions and recover. Place a heavy baking sheet in the oven and preheat to the highest temperature possible. Lay two tea/kitchen towels out and flour them thoroughly.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, knead a couple of times, then roll out into a thin oval, or round if you prefer. Place on the prepared towel and continue to shape the other pieces. Leave the shaped dough to rise for 30 minutes.

The pita will be baked in batches. Carefully remove the sheet from the oven and place the pita on it–I managed five pieces per sheet–and spray or splash them lightly with water.

Bake for 2 minutes. Check that the breads are not browning too much–they should remain pale–and continue to cook for another minute or so until they are firm.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for five minutes, then wrap in a clean tea towel. This keeps the pita from forming a hard crust.

Eat as soon as possible, either warm from the oven or reheated in the toaster or under the grill. Can be frozen on the same day as baking and will remain good for one month.