Easy Whole Wheat Einkorn Pita Bread
This whole wheat einkorn pita bread is a quick and easy start to working with einkorn. The excitement of seeing your pitas puff in the oven makes you feel like a rock star in the kitchen!
What is Pita Bread
It is a yeast-risen flatbread that puffs in a hot oven. Pita bread originated from the Middle East/Mediteran region of the world. Pita bread can be eaten in multiple ways. It can be split open and stuffed with a wide array of ingredients; see my recipe for Pita with Avocado, Sprouts, Portobello Mushroom, and Asian Dressing, and Einkorn Pita with Mango Chutney Spiced Beef. Pita bread can also be torn or cut into pieces to dip into your favorite dips, such as my homemade hummus.
What is Einkorn?
Einkorn is an ancient grain. Einkorn is a primitive wheat that has not been hybridized. The word Einkorn is German, and it means single grain. Einkorn flour has higher protein than traditional modern wheat. Einkorn has less starch (meaning it has fewer carbohydrates) than traditional modern wheat. People can tolerate Einkorn flour (wheat) better than modern wheat for multiple reasons. Just one reason is that Einkorn’s gluten is weak. Read more about the history of Einkorn and why it is better for you and easier to digest at Einkorn.com. Jovial Foods website is another great resource for the history and the benefits of Einkorn. This link takes you to the Jovial Foods website and tells you 10 quick facts about their Einkorn.
What is the difference between Pitas and Naan?
Two of the most common types of flatbread are naan and pita bread. The difference between the two flatbreads begins with the ingredients and goes on from there. Pita bread has fewer ingredients. Naan is an enriched dough with more ingredients.
This pita recipe is a simple dough of flour, water, yeast, salt, and honey. Naan, an enriched bread recipe can add ingredients such as flour, water, yeast salt, sugar or honey, dairy products (like yogurt milk or butter), eggs, and additional fats. Some naan recipes contain eggs and some do not, however, most do contain yogurt. With naan being an enriched dough, the naan is softer, sweeter, and more pillowy than pita bread. Think of the difference between a rustic sough dough (non-enriched dough) and brioche (enriched dough). Naan is usually a long oval, less uniformed dough. Naan has areas in the bread that are flat and some areas that are raised and puffed. Pita is crisper on the outside, dryer on the inside, and is one uniform circle, one big puffed circle. The puffed circle creates one large area to stuff an array of ingredients.
Naan is good for dipping, and sopping up curries or sauces. Pita bread is also good as a dipper but is better for a gyro, stuffed pita, or sandwich.
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour: This recipe is for Whole Wheat Einkorn (whole grain) NOT All-Purpose Einkorn Four. Whole Wheat Einkorn and All-Purpose Einkorn can not be swapped one for one. The liquid would need to be adjusted. At this time, the recipe does not include the correct conversion to All-Purpose Einkorn Flour.
Water-100°F, using too cold of water can greatly delay the rise/proofing time by hours. Using too hot of water (120°F and hotter) will kill the yeast.
Yeast– I always use SAF Instant Premium Yeast (High Power). It is cold year-round where I live, and baking is a lot of work. I want to be sure that I am using yeast that will produce the best rise. Also, I always store my yeast in a Kilner clip-top jar that has an airtight seal to ensure maximum freshness.
Salt– All of my recipes are made and tested with Diamond Kosher Salt.
Honey– you can use any sweetener of choice as a substitute for honey. I use honey as much as possible because I keep bees, and I like using natural unprocessed ingredients when possible.
How to Make the Easy Whole Wheat Einkorn Pita:
Notes for the Easy Whole Wheat Einkorn Pita recipe:
Use gram measurements for the whole wheat einkorn flour and water in this recipe. When baking there are too many discrepancies with cup measurements. Ingredients are expensive and time is the only thing we can’t get more of, so, invest in an accurate kitchen scale.
Ingredients:
- 350 grams Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour
- 175 grams Water- at 100°F
- ¾ tsp Instant Yeast (5 grams)- I used SAF Instant Premium Yeast (High Power)
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt (5 grams)- I used Diamond Kosher Salt
- 1 TBS Honey (21 grams)
Step by Step Instructions:
1. Combine whole wheat einkorn flour, salt, yeast, honey, and water in a large bowl. Stir ingredients with a dough-kneading tool or a sturdy metal spoon.
Once combined let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Einkorn needs time to absorb the liquid.
2. After resting for 5 minutes, start kneading the dough. I knead the dough in the bowl until the dough is shaggy dough that holds together well. Then, I turn the dough out onto a smooth surface countertop and knead the dough for 1 minute, until the dough becomes smooth. The dough is still a little sticky (einkorn is sticker dough).
3. Next, form the dough into a ball, a bowl scraper is a good tool to help achieve this.
4. Once the smooth dough ball is achieved, place the dough ball back into the bowl.
5. Then, cover the bowl, and let the bowl proof in a warm place for 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. (In a proofing drawer for 1 hour, on my kitchen counter for 2 hours–I live in a year-round cold climate.)
once the dough proofs:
6. Divide the dough into 6 to 8 equal pieces onto a lightly floured working surface. (6 if you want larger pitas and 8 if you want smaller pitas.) I use the claw method for forming round dough balls. Place your hand over the dough ball and move your hand in a circle multiple times with your hand cupped like a loose claw around the dough.
7. Next, flatten the dough ball into a uniform circle with your hand. This makes rolling dough out with the rolling pin easier.
8. Roll each piece of pita into a circle, a six-inch round. This is easiest done if you first dust with a small of flour. The best way to ensure it’s a small amount of flour is with a small mesh strainer (sifter).
9. Optional: You can use a bowl scraper to make the edges uniform.
10. Once the pitas have been rolled out, use a bowl scraper to transfer the pitas to a lightly dusted baking sheet or a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
11. Cover these rounds and let proof. They will proof for 45 mins. (I use a proofing drawer when my kitchen is cold).
12. Preheat oven and baking sheets to 450°F. (Put the baking sheets in the oven when you turn the oven on to preheat it.)
once the oven and baking sheet pans are at 450°F place Pitas directly onto the hot sheet pan
13. If you made 6 larger pitas, I recommend putting only three pitas per half-sheet baking pan (17.9″x12.9″x1″) to give room for the pitas to puff.
14. Bake pits for 4-5 mins at 450°F until they are puffed up. You are looking for puffing NOT browning in this recipe. Not all pitas puff up, but mine usually do. This is a short bake time so keep a close watch.
15. To eat the pitas, cut open the pita part way, exposing the center. Fill with your favorite ingredients or dip into your favorite dips.
16. You can let these cool on a cooling rack or wrap them in a tea towel and serve warm. You can store the pitas in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 days or freezer for a month.
Items I used in this Easy Whole Wheat Einkorn Pita Bread recipe:
Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour, Yeast, Kilner clip-top jar, Salt, Honey, dough-kneading tool, bowl scraper, small mesh strainer, half-sheet baking pan, cooling rack
Easy Whole Wheat Einkorn Pita Bread
Equipment
- Items I used in this recipe: Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour, Yeast, Kilner clip-top jar, Salt, Honey, dough-kneading tool, bowl scraper, small mesh strainer, half-sheet baking pan, cooling rack
Ingredients
- 350 grams Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour
- 175 grams Water 100°F
- ¾ tsp Instant Yeast (5 grams) (I used SAF Instant Premium Yeast -High Power)
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt (5 grams) (I used Diamond Kosher Salt)
- 1 tbsp honey (21 grams)
Instructions
- Combine whole wheat einkorn flour, salt, yeast, honey, and water in a large bowl. Stir ingredients with a dough-kneading tool or a sturdy metal spoon. Once combined let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Einkorn needs time to absorb the liquid.
- After resting for 5 minutes, start kneading the dough. I knead the dough in the bowl until the dough is shaggy dough that holds together well. Then, I turn the dough out onto a smooth surface countertop and knead the dough for 1 minute, until the dough becomes smooth. The dough is still a little sticky (einkorn is sticker dough).
- Next, form the dough into a ball, a bowl scraper is a good tool to help achieve this.
- Once the smooth dough ball is achieved, place the dough ball back into the bowl.
- Then, cover the bowl, and let the bowl proof in a warm place for 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. (In a proofing drawer for 1 hour, on my kitchen counter for 2 hours–I live in a year-round cold climate.)
- Once the dough proofs:Divide the dough into 6 to 8 equal pieces onto a lightly floured working surface. (6 if you want larger pitas and 8 if you want smaller pitas.) I use the claw method for forming round dough balls. Place your hand over the dough ball and move your hand in a cicle multiple times with your hand cupped like a loose claw around the dough.
- Next, flatten the dough ball into a uniform circle with your hand. This makes rolling dough out with the rolling pin easier.
- Roll each piece of pita into a circle, a six-inch round. This is easiest done if you first dust with a small of flour. The best way to ensure it's a small amount of flour is with a small mesh strainer (sifter).
- Optional: You can use a bowl scraper to make the edges a uniform shape and thickness. Do this by gently pushing the bowl scraper into the dough. Do this all the way around the sides of the rolled-out pita dough. See the above pictures for example and clarity.
- Once the pitas have been rolled out, use a bowl scraper to transfer the pitas to a lightly dusted baking sheet or a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Cover these rounds and let proof. They will proof for 45 mins. (I use a proofing drawer when my kitchen is cold).
- Preheat oven and baking sheets to 450°F. (Put the baking sheets in the oven when you turn the oven on to preheat it.)
- Once the oven and baking sheet pans are at 450°F place pitas as directly onto the hot sheet pan. If you made 6 larger pitas, I recommend putting only three pitas per half-sheet baking pan (17.9"x12.9"x1") to give room for the pitas to puff.
- Bake pits for 4-5 mins at 450°F until they are puffed up. You are looking for puffing NOT browning in this recipe. Not all pitas puff up, but mine usually do. This is a short bake time so keep a close watch.
- To eat the pitas, cut open the pita part way, exposing the center. Fill with your favorite ingredients or dip into your favorite dips.
- You can let these cool on a cooling rack or wrap them in a tea towel and serve warm. The pitas can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 days or freezer for a month.
Items I used in this Easy Whole Wheat Einkorn Pita Bread recipe:
Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour, Yeast, Kilner clip-top jar, Salt, Honey, dough-kneading tool, bowl scraper, small mesh strainer, half-sheet baking pan, cooling rack
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Hi – these look great! Can I use einkorn starter instead of yeast though? And how much? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Dawn, you could use an einkorn starter instead of yeast however it will be a bit more work and a lot more time. First, you’ll need to make a preferment (levain) with the starter it will need a 6 to 10 hour ferment time. How much you want to preferment is up to you. I would recommend 10% to 20% preferment, depending on how sour you would like the pita to be. (Use baker’s math to keep the percentages the same to ensure the recipe will work.) This recipe: 350 grams of WWEF (whole wheat einkorn flour) is 100%, 175 grams water is 50%, 5 grams (¾ tsp) Instant Yeast is 1.4%, 5 grams (2 tsp) diamond kosher salt 1.4%, 21 grams (1 tablespoon) of honey is 6%. So, if you want a 10% preferment subtract 10% of the WWEF for the per-ferment 35 grams. Next, add 5 grams of active healthy einkorn starter and 35 grams of water (I like my preferment to be equal flour and water ratio). Let that ferment for 6 to 10 hours. After the preferment ferments for at least 6 hours, add the rest of the flour for the recipe (350 grams less the 35 used in the preferment) 315 grams. Then, add the rest of the water for the recipe (175 grams less the 35 grams used in the preferment) 140 grams. Next, add 5 grams of kosher salt, and 21 grams of honey. Then follow the above recipe instructions except double to triple the two proofing times. When using a einkorn soughdough starter the proofing time takes longer. If you wanted a stronger sour flavor in the pita use a 20% preferment and adjust all the measurements to fit the baker’s math for this recipe. Baker’s math is great to learn so you can easily adjust all your recipes to using a starter. Also, always using a preferment (levain) will help with less discrepancy in the hydration percentages when converting recipes to use your starter. For example, I keep two starters: my regular all-purpose standard wheat flour and an einkorn starter. My APF starter is 98% hydration (pretty wet), and my einkorn starter is 80% hydration. Most einkorn starters people keep are around 50% hydration but I don’t like such a dry starter it is difficult for me to work with. When you make a preferment it helps to better unify all of our starters that may have different hydrations. Hope this makes sense and you enjoy the recipe.