Homemade Pita Bread & Pita Chips

Alright guys. We’re a week away from the Super Bowl.

And I’ll be honest: I’m no football fan. I’ll watch it purely for, um, aesthetic reasons, but most of the time I’d much rather cozy up with a Seinfeld rerun.

I am, however, a huge snack lover. So if you invite me over for a football game and you promise me beer and some snacks, then I will become a fan of whatever the hell you want. And I will definitely make you some of these bad boys.

These chips are made completely from scratch, but you can also use the chip recipe below with store-bought pita bread. This homemade pita recipe, though, is my new favorite thing. There is nothing like fresh, warm, soft bread to get your salivary glands pumpin’, and I’ve devoured several dozen pitas this week alone. Whether you’re making it to make chips or you’re just eating the pita bread with hummus, this is a recipe you’ll be wanting to make again and again. (Also check out some of my homemade bread tips if you’re wary of making it yourself – because you totally can.)

They’re also lots of fun to make. Watching bread quickly puff up like a balloon is probably the most exciting thing you’ll ever see happen in your oven. Not all pitas will puff up, but that’s perfectly fine. It’ll all end up in someone’s mouth anyway.

I have a pizza stone, which gave me perfect pitas after warming up in a 450F oven for half an hour. A cast iron skillet would be a good alternative, either in the oven or on the stove. Failing that, your next best bet would be a regular sheet pan that’s been in the oven while it preheats.

The recipe below yields roughly four sheet trays worth of pita chips. In true Yin and Yolk fashion, I offer a recipe for making half of these sweet and the other half savory. Make these for the Super Bowl and they’ll steal all the attention.

Pita Bread
By L., adapted from The Kitchn
Makes 6-8 pitas (3-4 trays of chips)

1 cup water, at room temperature
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons olive oil

Combine the yeast, water, and honey and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a separate bowl combine the flour and salt, then add this to the yeast mixture and knead on medium for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky, and stretches when pulled apart instead of breaking.

Let the dough rest in a cool place overnight. If you don’t have time, let it rest covered at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven and either a pizza stone or cast iron skillet to 450F.

Punch it down, allow it to rest for another hour, then divide it into 8 roughly equal pieces. On a generously floured surface, roll each piece into 8” circles, turning the dough after every roll to prevent it from sticking. Don’t roll it too thin or you’re more likely to get crispy pitas instead of soft ones; the ideal thickness is about 1/4” thick.

Transfer the dough to the pizza stone – I baked two pitas at a time. Bake for 2-3 minutes, they’ll be done when puffed and not yet starting to brown. Let them cool slightly before making them into chips, and lower your oven temperature to 375F.

Pita Chips
By L.

Do your best to separate each pita’s top and bottom layer, then cut them into triangles. Arrange the triangles on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Savory Olive Oil and Thyme (enough for 3-4 pitas worth of chips)
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons dried thyme
cracked black pepper to taste

Combine the olive oil, salt, thyme, and pepper in a small bowl, and brush this mixture over each pita triangle. Bake for 8-10 minutes. They may not look completely browned, but they will still be crunchy.

Buttery Cinnamon Sugar (enough for 3-4 pitas worth of chips)
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Brush each chip with melted butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over them. Bake for 8-10 minutes.