Do you ever have one of those meals that just sticks in your mind days and days after you’ve eaten it because it was juuuuusst soooooooo gooooood?
Of course you do. Because you love food, like me. You are my people.
Welp, that happened to me most recently with a chicken and gyro shawarma pita sandwich. THIS pita sandwich, to be exact.
Right? Right?? Even looking at it makes me weak in the knees.
So obviously my natural reaction was to recreate this beauty in my own kitchen as soon as humanly possible. Unfortunately that was a whole week later and it was torturous, BUT — the end result was fantastic. And I’m so jazzed to share it with you.
This is actually just a recipe for the heavenly soft pita flatbread that envelops the Greek/Mediterranean fillings like a warm pillow of carby deliciousness — I’m leaving the fillings up to you, because I’m sure you have your favorites. But in case you need assistance, we went the veg route with lots o’ crispy lettuce, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, salty Kalamata olives and crumbly Feta cheese and a ranch drizzle (because yours truly was too lazy (read: too eager to eat already) to make tzatziki sauce… but next time these recipes are so happening). Alllll on a homemade soft flatbread. Mmmhmm.
But now I’m also dreaming of other fillings, like grilled chicken, or steak with ooey-gooey melty cheese, or garlicky hummus, or even PB and berries for breakfast… really, anything and everything so I can eat as many soft flatbreads in a 24-hour period as possible. It’s a new life goal.
Like English muffins, you make these flatbreads on a griddle, which I kind of love because it’s quick and easy and results in fresh, warm flatbreads you can eat IMMEDIATELY. Applause. The dough comes together in lickety-split, you let it rise, then you roll it out into flatbread form and cook it and that’s it and that’s all, friends. Commence the eating.
A few notes: I added a bit of whole wheat flour to my recipe for the health, but you can use all bread flour if that’s all you have/all you want. I really love using my griddle for this recipe because a) I can control the temperature better and b) I can cook two flatbreads at a time, as opposed to one at a time in a skillet. When you cook the flatbreads, make sure the temperature is hot enough so that they cook on each side for not much longer than 3 minutes; otherwise, they might dry out and therefore not be so soft.
And finally, it’s best to eat these flatbreads the day they’re made (not that that will be a problem), but you can also store them covered at room temperature for up to a couple days before they start to dry out. Just be sure to nuke them for a few seconds to soften them up again.
Warm Greek sandwich made with homemade flatbread = I’d contest there is nothing better.
Homemade Soft Flatbread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 packet
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup water, about 110 degrees F
- 2 cups bread flour, divided
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup milk, about 110 degrees F
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit 5 minutes until foamy.
- Add 1 cup bread flour, whole wheat flour, salt, milk and olive oil. Stir until just combined.
- On a floured surface, knead dough 10 minutes by hand, adding just enough of the remaining 1 cup bread flour needed to make a soft, smooth and only slightly sticky dough. OR, using dough hook attachment, knead dough in stand mixer 5 minutes, adding just enough of the remaining 1 cup bread flour needed to make a soft, smooth and only slightly sticky dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Shape dough into a ball and place in a large, lightly greased bowl; turn once to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place 1 hour until doubled.
- Meanwhile, heat a griddle or large skillet to 350 degrees F, or medium heat. Punch down risen dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Cover with a thin towel or plastic wrap and let rest 10-15 minutes so the gluten has time to relax.
- Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll out dough to an 1/8-inch thick circle, about 7 to 8 inches long. Place the flatbread (1-2 at a time, depending on how many fit on your griddle/skillet) on the griddle or skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes until top begins to get bubbly and puffy. Use tongs to flip over and cook on the other side, another 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown spots appear on the bottom and the flatbread is cooked through.
- Stack cooked flatbreads on a plate covered with a towel while you cook the remaining flatbreads.
- Serve the flatbreads immediately, or reheat them as needed to make them soft again. Store flatbreads, covered with plastic wrap or a thin towel, at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’ve made this recipe so many times. Gyros, Indian food, or just breakfast eggs in the morning–these pillowy flatbreads go with everything. Tonight it’s chicken gyros with homemade tzatziki. I should have reviewed this recipe a long time ago, because I’ve been enjoying it for years. But better late than never! I just love it–especially the whole wheat flour. I use regular all-purpose instead of bread flour for the rest, and it turns out great.
Maybe worth amending the recipe so that the total time it requires reflects the entire recipe!!!
Takes more than 40 mins total, given that you need 1 hour for rising and another 15 mins to knock back alone!!!
Taylor, Thanks for the comment! This recipe was written before I implemented my new recipe plugin, so the numbers for the timing were a bit off. Fixed!
Could you consider adjusting the total time? I started the recipe without reading the rest thinking it would only take 40 minutes total and it turns out closer to two hours with the rising and cooking.