Pocket Pita Bread with Teff Flour

The clever little pocket in pita bread has always seemed magical to me, and I always had a suspicion that some kind of arcane sorcery would be required to make a successful pita. It was that suspicion, I think, that prevented me from attempting to make it until recently.

And I’ll admit that on my first try, only about half of the breads puffed up to form the pocket. The un-puffed ones were still tasty flatbreads that paired well with hummus or baba ganoush, though, so the experiment was a success.

And ever since I figured out how to adjust my technique, I’ve been an unstoppable pocket pita-baking machine. This is one of the easiest types of bread to make at home, so don’t be like me — don’t wait to make your own pita.

About this pita recipe

When I decided to attempt my own pita magic, I set about looking for a simple recipe with clear explanations. I found the most encouraging one — and the one that became the foundation of this recipe — from The Kitchn.

While that recipe was pretty much foolproof, I wanted to incorporate a whole grain flour to give the soft, tender pita a little bit more oomph. To develop my own version, I slightly modified the recipe to accommodate the addition of teff flour.

Teff flour has a mild, nutty flavor, and it’s one of my favorite grains to work with. I haven’t yet met the bread that it doesn’t improve.

In this recipe, teff adds color and depth of flavor to the pita. But while it is a whole grain flour, it doesn’t detract from the softness of the finished product.

The other major change I made was in reducing the amount of salt. I found that when I added the teff, the pita bread didn’t need as much seasoning to enhance its flavor. Slashing the sodium by half lets the bread’s natural tastiness shine.