Simple pita bread

Weigh or measure out all of your ingredients and add them to a large bowl. If you are using a stand mixer, mix for 5 to 8 minutes to form a smooth dough. If mixing/kneading dough by hand, you might need closer to 10 or 12 minutes of kneading for everything to come together as a smooth dough.

Add dough to a lightly oiled bowl and allow it to rest for 1 hour until the dough has doubled. 

After the dough has risen, divide it into 6 equal pieces. I use a scale for this, but you can eyeball it if you want. 

Roll each dough portion into a ball and keep all of your dough balls covered by a clean towel. Allow your dough balls to rest on the counter for 15 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F (260 C). Move an oven rack to the very bottom of the oven and a second rack near the top.

After fifteen minutes, take each dough ball one at a time and press flat on your clean counter or surface. With your hands or a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a rough 6-inch circle. If the dough doesn't have a lot of stretch and won't roll into a full 6 inches, you can let it rest for 5 minutes while you work on another dough ball. This resting period will allow the dough to relax a little and it will stretch further after relaxing. 

Place each 6-inch rolled dough piece on a lightly greased baking sheet and allow them to rest for 10 to 15 minutes uncovered while you work on the rest of the dough balls. 

Once all of your balls are turned into 6-inch dough rounds, add one baking sheet at a time to the lowest rack in the oven and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. These first 4 minutes are where each pita should puff up like a balloon and the pocket is formed. If you look into your oven and see all of your pita are fully ballooned and puffed before 4 to 5 minutes have elapsed, move to the next step.  

Then move to the middle-top rack for the last 1 to 2 minutes to fully cook each pita. They will not end up being very browned.

Wrap all of your pitas in a clean dishtowel to stay soft. This will steam the warm pita bread to keep them warm and supple. 

Store any leftovers in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 or 6 days.