Say hello to a “whole” lot of delicious carby goodness with this Whole Wheat Za’atar Pita!
You wanna pita me? Sorry. I pita the fool that doesn’t love pita! And pita puns. Sorry again. Anyway, I love pita and especially making it! Store-bought has nothing on homemade, and once you realize how easy it is to make, you’ll always want to make it. I had a surplus of whole wheat flour for some reason, so I decided to make whole wheat pita! And because I love it, I added za’atar to make Whole Wheat Za’atar pita! Yessss.
I give you options in the recipe to make puffier pitas or ones with pockets. I love them both depending on the purpose! Puffy for dipping and pockets for sandiwiches. We actually used these in place of hamburger buns and oh my that was a good call if I do say so myself. I was going to say a neat fact is that pita is vegan, but definitely not if you put a hamburger on it. Also a neat fact. It was the one year anniversary of Andrew proposing to me (awww yes we are I am that cheesy) so burgers are the perfect celebration food!The yeast is ALIVE!
Don’t be intimidated by yeast. It should be bubbly and foamy (it’s ALIVE) when activated, or else toss it. 
You want a smooth dough that is slightly sticky – not dry!
Dough.
Divide your dough after the first rise into 6 soon to be pitas! 
After the second rise, roll them out. Don’t roll more than you need! Rise for 10 more minutes.
Fresh out of the oven- definitely eat one warm. So good.
The fun part- adding za’atar! You could try different spices. Or even cinnamon sugar?! But don’t try that with a hamburger. Pita ready to rock (things white people love to say.)
Whole Wheat Za’atar Pita stacks.
If you look close, you can see steam! (jk)
If you make the puffier Whole Wheat Za’atar pitas (aka don’t roll them out) they will look like this. I think these are perfect for dipping, and the pocket ones are perfect for sandwiches!
Whole Wheat Za'atar Pita
Ingredients
- For Pita:
- 1 package active dry yeast 1/4 ounces or 2¼ teaspoons
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1¼ cups warm water 110 degrees F
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more to coat the bowl
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 - 1 1/2 cups bread or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- For Za'atar Topping:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons za'atar
Instructions
- Let's make pita! Place the yeast, sugar and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer with hook attachment. Or you can do this by hand in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy (if it doesn't form, your yeast is dead or the water was the wrong temperature and you killed it. Sad.)
- Add the oil and gradually add 2 cups whole wheat flour with the mixer on low speed. Then add the salt and turn the speed up to medium-high and mix for 6-8 minutes. Keep adding bread flour until dough is smooth and elastic and slightly sticky. Do not add too much flour. You can also knead by hand. I did!
- Clean out the bowl and place dough in the clean bowl coated with oil, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot for 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- When the dough is ready, divide the dough into 6 equal-sized balls (or more or less depending on how big you want your pitas) and fatten into ½ inch thick discs. Place pitas on parchment paper, cover lightly, and let rise 30 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place a baking sheet in the oven to pre-heat as well.
- At this point you can bake the pita for puffier pitas, or roll out for pitas with a pocket.
- Roll each pita out to 1/4 inch thick. Don't roll more than you need as this will affect the pocket making process! Cover and let rest for 10 more minutes.
- Carefully flip the pitas over, spritz with a little water to help with steaming (optional) and carefully place on the hot baking sheet at least 1-inch apart. You will need to bake in batches. Bake for 5-6 minutes, until puffy and slightly brown. Do not overcook. Remove from the oven, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with za'atar. Eat! Keeps in an airtight container for up to three days; reheat before serving.
Notes
Without having made this yet, that seems an awful lot of flour for so little water. Are those the correct amounts? OR do you include them to “make sure you have enough?”
I see I had one of the flours listed twice so I fixed it!
Any way to make these gluten free?
I haven’t tried it but you can try a 1-for-1 flour.
Hey Amy, can I bake these directly on parchment paper?
Hey Amy! Can I bake them directly on the parchment paper?
Yes, I did! Or you can bake on the baking sheet directly. The parchment does brown because the oven temp is high so I used a new piece each time.
When you pre-heat the baking sheet, don’t do it with parchment paper on it.
Or a pizza stone works great!