Pita Chips (The Crispy Crunchy Way)

Pita chips are a wonderful innovation created for dipping and crunching on.

Sold in supermarkets, but making your own beats anything store bought.

Simple to make, these homemade pita chips baked in the oven delicious and crispy down to the last one.

Whether you use white or wheat pita, these pita triangles are bound to be  hit.

How to Make Pita Chips

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit (200ºC).

You can either tear pita bread by hand into equal pieces, or you can cut pita using scissors. 

Place the pita pieces in a bowl and add olive oil and garlic powder, along with salt and pepper.

Mix well so that all the pita is covered with the oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the pita pieces as evenly as possible.

Place the tray in the oven and watch carefully until the chips turn golden brown.

You can add some extra olive oil, sea salt and any other flavoring spices in a small bowl.

Once removed from the oven, allow the pita chips to cool to room temperature.

Toss in the extra oil mixture if desired to add extra flavor and oil. 

History of Pita Bread

Pita bread is a round wheat flour bread with a hollow pocket. 

It has been a key element of middle eastern cuisine for about four thousand years. 

Pita bread originated from areas in the west of the Mediterranean Sea. 

It was carried as food, or baked by traders who usually traveled across the arabian desert. 

The first pita bread was made of a flour and water dough, which was left outside to absorb the natural yeasts found in the environment.

These natural yeasts in turn allowed the bread to rise, and then was cooked in an outdoor hot fire. 

Later on, brewer’s yeast was added to the dough in order for the bread to rise faster. 

Nowadays, pita bread can be cooked in an indoor oven at high temperatures (Around 800-900 Fahrenheit). 

In addition, modern recipes include active baker’s yeast, salt and sometimes sugar to feed the yeast. 

The combination of yeast and high oven temperature allows the dough to expand and cook in 1-2 minutes. 

The hot temperatures create steam that then forms the interior pocket. 

In the Middle East, pitas are often still cooked in a backyard wood fired or brick oven. 

Eating with Pita Bread: Scooping and Dipping 

In the Middle East, pita bread is often stuffed with cheese, labneh, falafel, or hummus, and eaten like a sandwich. 

It’s also used for scoop sauces and dips, such as hummus,  or spice mixes like za’atar and olive oil.

A pita pocket is also used as a wrap for kebab or shawarma, with pickles, and salad. 

Pita bread can be baked or fried until browned and crispy to create pita chips. 

Pita chips are eaten with any dip you can imagine, and occasionally eaten like chips. 

These chips are also used as croutons for salads such as fattoush, or for soups. 

Pita bread is a good source of fiber, protein; low in fat, and sugar. 

Usually, one pita usually contains fewer calories than two slices of bread. 

The possibilities of foods to dip, or wrap a pita with are almost endless. 

Many cultures also use the pita for soft tacos, where they either disregard the pocket or use a pocketless pita. 

Dipping Bread, Who Does It?

Other than the Middle East, you will find cultures that are into dipping bread.

From Portugal, Spain, India, the Philippines, to Italy many countries are familiar with bread dipping.

In Spain, Italy, and Southern France, they’ll usually dip bread in olive oil and vinegar. 

Bread in Portugal, is usually served with honey. 

There are different types of dipping bread in India, such as naan, roti, and chapati, depending on what you are eating. 

In the Philippines, the Pan de sal is a popular yeast-raised bread that is usually eaten for breakfast. 

It is most commonly served hot and may be eaten as is, or dipped in coffee, tsokolate (hot chocolate), or milk. 

Pita bread is popular in the US because of the pocket for making sandwiches. 

In Cyprus, pitas are usually rounder, fluffier, and baked on a cast iron skillet.pi

Flatbread (pita) is used to make gyros in Greece, which is similar to shawarma.