How To Make Gluten Free Pita Bread (Easy and Delicious)

Not only is this pita bread gluten free, it’s also more soft and delicious than any pita bread you’ve ever had before!

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I don’t know about you, but I was never really that into pita bread. Sure, it made great dunkers for hummus, but most supermarket pitas were always so dry. Almost to the point of needing a drink with every bite. By the time places like Cava came along with their soft-looking pitas, I was already gluten free and couldn’t try them anyway.

I tried many recipes and variations on what I found to be the basic pita dough recipes, all without luck. Sure, some of them puffed up with no problems and even made great pockets, but they were still just so dry, tasteless, and not worth posting (or eating).

Enter this Soft Gluten Free Pita Bread. They are like no other. They’re plush. They’re soft. They even have lots of flavor. And they’re NOT DRY! They puff up nicely and they tear apart beautifully. They’re everything I never knew pita bread could be.

ingredients you’ll need to make pita

• Kim’s Gluten Free Bread Flour Blend — as always, I created my own blend because none of the store bought ones would do the job. I strongly urge you to use my recipe for best results.
• Milk — this is not a typical ingredient in pita bread recipes, but substituting some of the water with milk creates a more tender pita.
• Olive oil — another ingredient not necessarily in other pita recipes, but the olive oil, combined with the added milk, helps to create a softer pita. You can substitute olive oil with either canola oil or vegetable oil.
• Instant yeast
• Sugar
• Salt
• Psyllium husks — see recipe card below for adjusting liquid measurements if not using psyllium husks.
• Butter for brushing onto the baked pita.

how to make homemade pita bread

1. Add wet ingredients to a large bowl, followed by the dry ingredients.  Mix the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed.  A stand mixer is the best choice, but the dough can be made using a handheld mixer or a Danish dough whisk (affiliate link).  You’ll need to whisk vigorously and for several minutes if making dough by hand.
2. Cover and place directly in the refrigerator to cold proof at least 24 hours, but up to 4 days.
3. When ready to make pita, set the oven rack to the lowest position with a baking steel (affiliate link), baking stone (affiliate link), or overturned baking sheet (affiliate link) on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces that are 95 grams each.
5. Shape each piece into a round, smooth dough ball.
6. Coat each ball of dough well with extra gf bread flour and, using your rolling pin, roll out to 6 inches in diameter, picking up and moving pita constantly to avoid sticking.  
7. Place two shaped pita onto a piece of parchment and slide the parchment into the oven onto the steel, stone, or overturned baking sheet. Bake for 2 minutes.
8. Flip over with a spatula and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the pita puffs and the bottom browns slightly.
9. Remove to a paper towel-lined baking sheet, brush with butter, and cover with another paper towel and a tea or dish towel.
10. Repeat with the remaining dough.

FAQs

tips for success

• Do not use warm water or milk when making the dough. You MUST use COLD water and COLD milk in the dough as this will inhibit premature fermentation, which helps give pitas their puff and pockets.
• Weighing each dough ball is the best way to achieve consistency.
• Roll each pita to an even thickness, which will also promote proper puffing.

make it a meal

Pita can be eaten alone, but most pita breads are made as the basis of many meals, sandwiches, and such. Here are a few ideas to turn your pita into a meal:

Stuff a pita pocket with my Classic Chicken Salad, Curry Chicken Salad, or Easy and Delicious Chicken Salad for the perfect lunch break.

Fill pitas with falafel and a light salad of greens, tomato, and cucumber for a light vegetarian meal.

Make my Out of This World Gluten Free Meatballs. Place hot meatballs on a whole uncut pita and top with marinara or pizza sauce and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Fold over for the most incredible gluten free meatball “sub.”

Grill chicken and stuff into cut pita halves with chopped romaine and shredded parmesan. Add Caesar dressing for a handheld grilled chicken Caesar salad.

how to store homemade pita

Your homemade gluten free pita will keep well in an airtight container or ziptop bag for up to 5 days at room temperature. Beyond that, you can store them in the freezer, individually wrapped with plastic wrap and stored in a freezer ziptop bag for up to 3 months.

To reheat pita, stack and wrap in a foil pouch and heat at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes. Another way, if you have a gas stovetop, is to hold one over an open flame (like you would heat a corn tortilla) using tongs and flipping over constantly to avoid burning. Yet another option is to place them in a cast iron skillet over medium heat with a well-fitting cover and turn a few times until heated throughout.

Give these fabulous Gluten Free Pita a try, even if you think you don’t like pita. This recipe is sure to change your mind.

Inspired by Helen Rennie’s Pita That Puff