Whole Wheat Sourdough Pita

Last year, I co-taught a baking class at Chimacum Valley Grainery in Washington.

On the menu: a whole-grain sourdough pita that I haven't stopped thinking about since.

This week's recipe is my take on that pita—100% whole-wheat, same-day, naturally leavened, with a soft texture and a puff that delivers every time.

It's an incredibly simple dough to make, and the flavor is a great reminder of why we bake.

I think you're going to love it. Read on!

In this week's newsletter:

• Recipes: New whole wheat sourdough pita, tortillas, sourdough waffles, discard crackers
• Baking Help: Why won't my pita puff?
• What I'm Reading & Watching: The baguette faces an uncertain future; Italy's tomato-drenched focaccia (focaccia Barese)

🍞 New whole wheat sourdough pita

Soft, light, air—these 100% whole wheat pitas are the real deal. Start with your starter in the morning and have a stack of these on your counter by late evening.

I designed this recipe as one of those back-pocket breads you can whip together anytime you have guests or need something nutritious to go with dinner (every night?).

Be sure to watch the full walkthrough in the recipe post (or on YouTube).

GET PITA RECIPE

🍞 Sourdough tortillas

Along the same lines as pita, but with a totally different texture and intended purpose, these sourdough tortillas are delicious in a different way.

GET TORTILLA RECIPE

🧇 Effortless deliciousness: Sourdough Waffles

Recently revamped the recipe and I'll take any excuse for a slow breakfast, and these qualify: five minutes of batter for something that doesn't taste like five minutes. If you've got crème fraîche in the fridge and fruit on the counter, that's perfect.

GET WAFFLE RECIPE

🍞 Discard crackers

Crisp, salty, and absurdly easy—roll out the dough thin, dock it, and bake until it shatters. A pile of these next to a wedge of cheese is the laziest entertaining move in the rotation, and it works every time.

GET CRACKER RECIPE

🍞 50% off... But probably not for long

This sale from last week is still going (but I don't know for how long)!

(Only in the USA for now; I'll keep an eye out for other locations!)

GET COOKBOOK SALE

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💬 Member Discussion of the Week

Your grandmother had it right — pita is one of the oldest naturally leavened breads there is. I've been working on a sourdough pita recipe for a while now, and the whole grain version I'm sharing this week is the one I keep coming back to.

One thing that makes a big difference with pita: get your oven as hot as it will go and make sure your baking stone or steel is fully saturated with heat before the dough hits it. That blast of intense bottom heat is what drives the steam pocket that puffs the pita open. If your stone isn't hot enough, you'll get a dense flatbread instead of a pillow.

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🛟 2 Ways I Can Help You Today

• Here's how I scale down and keep a super small starter (but still be able to bake).
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• Want to only bake bread on the weekends?

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📺 What I'm Reading and Watching

• ​The baguette faces an uncertain future. How France is rethinking its iconic loaves (CNN). While I love baguettes as much as the next person, there's a case to be made that large, thick loaves really make more sense (that said, the indulgence of a freshly baked baguette is hard to beat!).

• ​Italy’s Tomato-Drenched Focaccia: How to Make Focaccia Barese Without a Traditional Stone Oven (YouTube). I was in Bari the year before last with The Perfect Loaf readers, and I can vouch for just how good the focaccia is there. This takes me back.

Happy baking!