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Lebanese pita bread

A flat and round rolled out yeast dough in the oven suddenly starts to… breathe?!?
How can that be?! Why does this flatbread in the oven separate exactly in the middle? Why does it puff up and turn into a mini balloon?!
“Crazy world!” I used to think as a child – and my mother would laugh at my amazement.

“This is magic dough!” she whispered in my ear. “As soon as I point at it with my magic cooking spoon (actually she used a fork – I realised years later…), I blow air into it and the bread becomes a balloon *whoooosh*!” she told me and took the next loaf out of the oven. “See?”.

Now, decades later, I bake this bread myself and still don’t know how it comes about that the bread puffs up like a balloon. Even the all-knowing oracle “Google” has not yet been able to give me a concrete and credible answer. If you know: please please please share your secret with me!

Well, let’s accept it for now… The flatbread is delicious in any case!

At that time, there was no flatbread to buy in our area. So she had no choice but to bake it herself. My mother used to bake a few kilos of dough into pita bread. It didn’t survive very long, though, considering that you could make so many delicious wrapped brides (that’s what they call wraps in Lebanon) with it. We just wrapped everything in the pita bread. One of my favourite wraps was with homemade chips and ketchup ^^

But also dipped in delicious olive oil and zaatar – or with labneh and cucumber… I could go on forever. But now you’re coming! Bake your own pita bread and watch the magic happen in the oven.

A little hint:

Preparation in the oven alone has always been a bit tricky. Temperature and timing have to be right! My mother is very inventive when it comes to achieving desired results. For example, she used to put a rack on the cooker, turn the hob on full and give the flatbread proper heat from below directly on this rack before putting the flatbread in the oven again for a short time. It’s a lot of work, but it always paid off.

Update: I revised and improved the recipe in July 2021.

I have actually managed to make the perfect flatbread even more perfect! I experimented a lot with different types of flour, resting times, temperatures and baking times. My aim was to make the flatbread as good in a normal oven as if you had bought it (and even better!!). It should definitely always rise like a balloon, be perfect for dipping and it should be really nice and elastic so that you can also roll it into wraps. I’ve now succeeded and of course I’m passing the new recipe straight on to you.

There is one important step you should not forget when preparing the bread: After you have baked the bread, it should be placed in a plastic bag after cooling. This is the only way to ensure that it remains elastic and perfectly rollable even a day later.

Pita bread also works from the pan

I have now also tried the flatbread in the pan and it works wonderfully here too. You just have to bear in mind that the bread doesn’t rise like a balloon and remains more compact. The heat in the pan creates a few toasted aromas, giving the bread a slightly different taste and texture.


Recipe for Lebanese Flatbread

Libanesisches Fladenbrot
Print Recipe Rezept speichern
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Ruhezeit 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 8 Flatbreads
Calories 301

Ingredients

  • 500 g Wheat flour type 00 or type 550 Recommendation: Type 00 (becomes more elastic)
  • 7 g Dry yeast
  • 1 TSP Sugar
  • 1,5 TSP Salt
  • 300 ml lukewarm water
  • 70 ml Olive oil

Zubereitung

  • Sieve the flour into a bowl and mix with the salt, sugar and yeast.
  • Add water and olive oil and then knead vigorously for approx. 5 – 10 minutes.
  • Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for about 70 minutes.
  • Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide into 8 equal parts, shape into balls and leave to rise for a further 15 minutes, covered with a slightly damp cloth.
  • Preheat the oven to 250 °C top and bottom heat.
  • Roll out balls approx. 2mm flat and into round patties.

Preparation with pizza stone

  • Place the pizza stone on the lowest shelf and let it heat up in the oven for at least 30 minutes.
  • Bake the patties for approx. 2 – 2:15 minutes on the hot pizza stone.
  • After cooling, place in a plastic bag so that the moisture and elasticity are not lost.

Preparation without pizza stone

  • Preheat the baking tray in the oven. Bake the patties for approx. 2:45 minutes on a baking tray.
  • After cooling, place in a plastic bag so that the moisture and elasticity are not lost.

Preparation in the pan

  • You don't have to use the balloon in the pan. The bread will not rise there, but it tastes very good too.
  • Heat the pan without fat on the cooker over medium-high heat and bake the patties one by one for about 2 minutes. Turn halfway through.
  • After cooling, place in a plastic bag so that the moisture and elasticity are not lost.

Notes

Recipe contains affiliate links. 

Nährwerte

Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 3mg

Want to learn more about the cuisine of the Levant? Then take a look at my guide.

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