Soft, thick, pliable, bendable pita bread that’s absolutely perfect for a gyro sandwich! This is not your pocket-style pita bread … this pita bread is the thicker cousin to that, those lovely thicker, soft tender flatbreads that good Greek restaurants use to wrap their flavorful gyro meat in, with a good schmear of tzatziki sauce, crunchy onions, cucumbers, and juicy sweet tomatoes.
Good Greek restaurants serve the same soft warm thick flatbread cut into wedges for scooping up hummus or olive tepanade, or on the side with just about any meal on the menu.
The Flatbread that Dreams are Made of
Have you dreamed of making your own thick soft warm pita bread at home, but struggled to find the right recipe? I TOTALLY did! Oh I longed for the hot homemade fresh taste of this flatbread, but we only have one Greek restaurant in my town, and you know what kind of pita bread they serve their gyros on? They use pre-packaged pitas, the kind you can (sometimes) find in the grocery store in a plastic bag in the prepackaged bread section … the kind that will last months on your countertop. Since I try to watch my carbs and don’t often eat bread, pre-packaged flatbread like that is hardly worth eating in my book. If I’m going to splurge and eat bread, I want it to be drool worthy. Preferably hot, fresh, homemade.
I searched and searched and searched for a good pita bread recipe, but all I could find were the pocket pitas … and then, finally, I stumbled across this recipe from Bake. Eat. Repeat.
It was a revelation. A moment of pure joy. I had finally found the key to my homemade gyro dreams! It’s funny, reading the text of her post because she apparently suffered from the same longing as I did! I’m renaming this recipe with gyro and pita in the name so that others like me who dream of making homemade gyros can hopefully find it easier. It’s such a treasure of a recipe.
How do you make gyro-style pita bread?
It’s super easy, especially if you have a stand mixer. Put all the ingredients in the bowl, use your bread hook for a quick knead, let it rise, and then divide the dough and roll it out into circles, brush with olive oil and pan-fry the little flatbreads. They bubble up SO nicely!
You can even save the dough for later by wrapping it loosely in plastic wrap, then pull out just what you need to make fresh pita bread on the spot. The dough will last in the fridge for 2 – 3 days.
How to serve this soft fluffy flatbread?
This thick, soft, fluffy, bendy pita bread is so versatile!
Wrap up just about any of your favorite sandwich fillings, like perhaps one of these?
- Venison (or beef) Shawarma or Crockpot Chicken Shawarma
- Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches
- Maple Dijon Cranberry Chicken Sandwiches
- Crockpot BBQ Beef Sandwiches
- Hawaiian Shrimp Street Tacos with pineapple coleslaw
- Eggplant Gyros (Vegetarian!)
Use it for scooping up your favorite dips … dips are my happy place
- Creamy Classic Hummus – Two Ways (vegan)
- Pesto Spinach Shrimp Dip
- Muhammara (Mediterranean roasted red pepper & walnut dip – vegan)
- Skinny Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip
- Creamy Green Avocado Cilantro Bean Dip
- Buffalo Chicken “DEVIL” Dip (Lightened Up)
- Balsamic Avocado Cheese Dip
Serve alongside flavorful curries, stews or soups
- Nepalese Cauliflower Curry (vegan)
- Easy Creamy Veggie Korma (vegetarian, lactose free, gluten free)
- Award Winning Chicken Curry
- Brazilian Thai Fusion Fish Stew
- Moroccan Lamb & Chickpea Stew
- Slow Cooker Drunken Irish Stew
Easy pizza crust — just add your favorite sauce and toppings and bake!
Serve it with fried eggs for breakfast, for sopping up that lovely yolk
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Soft Sourdough Gyro Pita Bread
Description
Soft, thick, bendable pita bread that’s absolutely perfect for a gyro sandwich! This is not your pocket-style pita bread … this pita bread is the thicker cousin to that, a fluffy soft flatbread that works well for SO many things.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 – 3 oz. sourdough starter
- 1/4 teaspoon yeast
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- About 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil (+ more for brushing)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In the bowl for a stand mixer, stir together the water, sourdough starter, yeast, 2 cups of the flour, olive oil and salt.
- Using the bread hook, knead the dough in the stand mixer for about 3 minutes, adding flour as you go. The resulting dough will be soft and just slightly sticky. If it’s sticking to the bowl (or your fingers), add more flour.
- Lightly oil the dough with olive oil, cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour. Cut the dough into 6 – 8 pieces, shaping each one into a disc. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Preheat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Roll each disc to a circle of dough that’s about 1/4 inch thick and 6 – 8 inches across. Brush the top with olive oil.
- Flip the circle of dough so the olive oil is on bottom and cook until it’s lightly browned in spots on the bottom. While cooking the flatbread, brush the top gently with olive oil. The top will bubble lightly as it cooks.
- Flip now to cook the other side and cook for a few minutes until it’s golden brown in spots on both sides. Repeat with the rest of the dough rounds. Best served warm and fresh, but once cooled, store in a sealed plastic bag.
Notes
© Copyright 2021, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
After our mushroom hunt last summer, I used this flatbread to wrap up a vegetarian gyro using Greek-spiced sauteed chanterelle mushrooms as the “meat” with lots of crunchy cucumbers, red onions, tzatziki and fresh garden tomatoes:
16 comments
I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Yay! I’m so excited too, Julie … I hope you love it as much as we do. 🙂
Ann
Going to give this a whirl. Exactly what I’ve been looking for. Will let you know after I give it a go. I’m new to sourdough though. Do I feed my starter and use that or just use it prior to feeding? Thanks for your help in advance.
Hello Charlene,
No need to feed your starter, use your discard or unfed starter from the fridge! I hope it turns out well for you, Charlene. We love these soft thick pita breads.
~ Ann
How many breads can I expect to get if made per recipe? (1/4″ thick 6 – 8″ around)
Hi JJ,
You’ll end up with 6 to 8 pita breads.
Thanks for asking!
Ann
Why does this need yeast if I’m using sourdough starter? Can I use baking powder and/or baking soda instead?
Great question, Patricia. You don’t technically need the yeast if you’re using sourdough starter and you have a lot of time and patience. A little bit of yeast lessens the sour taste and makes the dough rise faster. I haven’t tried using baking powder or soda, but they might be a viable option. Let me know if you try it!
Thanks Ann! My sourdough starter is not very sour, so I will try without yeast. One batch only sourdough and another with baking powder/soda. I also knead by hand as I don’t own a machine for that. Luckily I enjoy kneading. I’ll let you know how the experiments go. Today I made lavash using sourdough so I won’t be baking for a while.
Cheers!
Could you advise how much yeast to use if I don’t have a sourdough starter?
Hello MelB,
Yes, I would increase the yeast to 1 teaspoon if you don’t have sourdough starter. Let me know how they turn out for you!
Ann
If making for a party, can I make them ahead of time and reheat in the oven prior to serving? Do they freeze well? Thanks.
Hi Charlene,
You certainly could make them ahead and toast them at serving time.
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I bet that would work beautifully, Charlene!
Ann
Could you use just all purpose flour?
Hello Laura,
Yes, you can use all purpose flour. I think bread flour works better, but I’ve definitely used all purpose flour in a pinch and it works too!
Ann
Making these for dinner this week. Adding to the meal plan.