Homemade Pita With Tzatziki Sauce
There is nothing better than homemade warm pita bread fresh from the oven… except maybe warm pita bread with fresh, creamy, tangy Tzatziki sauce. I know the thought of making pita from scratch sounds daunting, but I promise you it is so simple and so worth it. The mixer does most of the work and it only takes about three minutes to bake. In keeping with the theme of simplicity, this creamy Tzatziki sauce requires just minutes of your time and gets better as it sits in the refrigerator, so it can be made ahead of time.
Ingredients For Pita:
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 tsp active dry or instant yeast
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
Mix the water and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit for about five minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour, salt, and olive oil. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer on medium speed and mix for 8 minutes… adding the other 1/2 cup of flour until you have a smooth dough.
Turn the dough out on a clean floured surface and kneed it about 10 times, forming it into a ball. Place the dough in a bowl lightly coated with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 425F and place a pizza stone or an inverted sheet pan on the middle rack.
Turn the dough out on a floured surface and cut into 8 equal pieces and flatten them into discs. Using a floured rolling pin, roll each disc into an 8 inch circle.
Carefully place as many of the pita discs that will fit on the stone or sheet pan and bake until they puff up and just begin to form light brown bubbles.
Place the warm pita in a towel to keep warm while baking the rest. Enjoy your warm homemade pita bread slathered in creamy tzatziki or dipped in hummus.
For the Creamy Tzatziki Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 Persian cucumber, grated
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, minced
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Stir yogurt and minced garlic together in a bowl and set aside.
Grate cucumber and squeeze excess liquid out with your hands or through a mesh sieve.
Stir remaining ingredients into the yogurt and garlic mixture and refrigerate for at least two hours for flavors to meld together. Enjoy with warm homemade pita.
