Pitta and man’oushe recipe

We used this recipe for pitta at our Friday night dinner in January 2023 – with a marbled mix of regular dough and dough made with beetroot. Kevin Sefton has written this up based on a recipe included in Emmanuel Hadjiandreou’s “How to Make Bread”.

It can also be used to make man’oushe which has za’atar topping.

Notes

• The recipe has lots of steps because I’ve broken them down. It’s much easier than it looks. Have a go
• While pitta would often be made with plain flour (which has lower protein/gluten and less stretchiness and elasticity), I find this works well and gives a nice soft pitta when I use strong flour. Not a big deal so use whichever is more at hand
• The dough feels very dry to begin with. Don’t stress. You’ll be pleasantly surprised as it gets moister partly because the reactions that occur are in several stages – early on water is needed, while later on it is released
• Rolling the pitta more thinly makes it more like the Greek style
• The recipe scales up nicely; timings are approximate so if you get distracted for a few minutes here or there that’s fine
• The fridge is your friend and slows things down, so you can make the dough, refrigerate and come back later (depending on the temperature it may not have changed much or may have become a gas giant)
• Keep your dough covered – with a smaller bowl, shower cap, cling film etc – to stop it forming a dry layer on top

Variations

• Swapping beetroot juice for the water gives it colour, and makes it healthier and adds flavour. I then then gently combine the doughs to create a marble effect (no need for 1:1 ratio – I tend to make the beetroot with about 20% less than the plain dough – mainly down to the size of bottles!). You can also experiment with turmeric and charcoal (edible – I’ve got mine from Holland & Barrett I think)
• Before putting the pitta in the oven you could baste with some olive oil, and sprinkle with topping (I like za’atar) – cook the same way but don’t expect them to rise as much. This dish is called man’oushe. To see this being made with full theatre, visit Abouelafia in Jaffa