Sourdough Pita Bread
from https://www.baking-sense.com/

If you’ve never baked Pita Bread at home, you’ll probably be surprised how easy it is. The addition of sourdough starter extends the time, but it's mostly hands off. The flavor upgrade from the starter makes it totally worth the time.

FMM: This recipe turned out quite well. Only 6 of the 8 puffed (problems with rolling out evenly, or too thick?). The dough was easy to work with, even though it is a fairly wet dough, and rose quite well. It was still nice and puffed when I took it out of the frig the next day. In order to roll the pitas out, I did have to use a bit of flour because the dough is quite tacky. Rolling them out was a pain, but if I did it often enough I’m sure it would get easier. I heated a baking sheet in the oven instead of my baking stone so I could make two at a time. I also used my pizza peal with some flour on it to transfer the pitas to the oven.

Also see The 7 Rules of Perfect Pita Bread

1 cup (8 oz, 224g) active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
1 cup (8 oz, 240 ml) warm water
2 3/4 cups (13.75 oz, 385g) bread flour
2 tablespoons (1 oz, 25g) olive oil
1 tablespoon (1/2 oz, 14g) granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, or in a large mixing bowl, combine the starter, water, and 1 ½ cups (7.5 oz or 210g) of the flour. Mix until it forms a thick batter. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30-60 minutes.

If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook. Add the olive oil, sugar and salt then mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the remaining flour. Mix until the dough begins to clean the bottom of the bowl and form a ball around the hook. If mixing by hand add flour until you can no longer stir, then turn the dough out onto a floured surface to finish by hand. Knead 5 minutes. Form the dough into a smooth ball.

Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover the bowl and set it aside at room temperature.

After 30 minutes uncover the bowl, lift one side of the dough and fold it into the middle of the dough. Repeat with the other three sides of the dough then flip the dough over. You're basically turning the dough inside-out to redistribute the yeast.

Cover the bowl and after 30 minutes repeat the procedure. Cover the bowl and after 60 minutes repeat the procedure again. Cover the bowl and after 60 minutes the dough should be ready. By now the dough should be lively, elastic and airy. If the dough is still sluggish give it another hour or two at room temperature.

Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate overnight (see note). Remove the bowl from the refrigerator in the morning and allow the dough to come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. If you have a baking stone place it in the oven. If you don’t have a baking stone, place a baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven to preheat. If you have a dark colored baking sheet use that. A dark pan will absorb heat better than a light-colored pan, so the bread will bake faster and puff better.

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use a rolling pin to roll two pitas to ¼” thick and 6"-7” around. If the dough springs back too much let it rest for 5 minutes and continue rolling. [Puffing works best if you roll out the dough evenly. Always roll from the middle to the edges and turn the dough a few times, so it will be rolled out evenly and round. They also need to be no thicker than ¼”. If the dough is too thick, it'll get overly firm before the heat of the oven can swell the center.]

Immediately place the rounds on the preheated baking stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake until they are puffed and the bottom is nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes. You don’t need to flip the bread. [I flipped mine so the other side would get brown. Remove the baked breads and wrap in a clean kitchen towel while you continue rolling and baking the pitas.

The pitas are best the day they are made, but they also freeze very well.

Yield: 8 rounds

Notes

To make whole wheat pita bread, use 1 cup of whole wheat flour in place of the bread flour.

The dough benefits from a long, cool rise overnight. But you can skip the night in the refrigerator to mix and bake the pitas in one day.