Potato Stuffed Pita
This potato stuffed pita bread is a classic often found in Middle Eastern bakeries. A basic pita bread dough folded over a generous potato filling before baking in the oven. The perfect treat for breakfast, snack, school lunch, or when you want a warm sandwich.
Stuffed pita is my Aadi’s favorite school lunch. And by stuffed pita, I do not mean the one where you stuff things into an already-baked pita. So here the pita is cooked with the filling in it. Unless you peek in or have some identification on the pita, there is no telling what’s inside the pita.
Therefore, the topping usually indicates what’s inside the pita. In our home, the black sesame seed pitas have potato in them, while the cheese-stuffed pitas have white sesame seeds on top.
Why you’ll love this recipe?
- It’s the easiest recipe to make ever! Simple, easy, and fuss-free.
- The best part is that the dough is made with simple and easy-to-find ingredients that are mostly pastry staples.
- The filling is made with cheese; you can also substitute your favorite.
- Today, I am using a mashed potato filling, but you can also use a variety of cheeses
- These freeze beautifully, making them perfect to have on hand for kids’ midday snacks and lunch boxes.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Pita bread dough
- Flour – Bread flour makes the pita chewier with a softer texture. But, you can also use 50% bread with 50% all-purpose flour or just 100% all-purpose flour
- Instant dry yeast – I like to use instant dry, but you can also use fresh baker’s yeast.
- Water – The water’s temperature is critical at about 110°F.
- Honey – You can use honey or sugar to feed the yeast.
- Olive oil – Again, you can use olive, cooking, or coconut oil.
- For the Filling
- Potato – I love using leftover mashed potatoes for this recipe. It is already creamy and delicious, so it enhances the flavor of the filling. You can also make the mashed potatoes from scratch by just boiling chopped potatoes in salted water and then mashing them up.
- Garlic – A little goes a long way. And if you do not have fresh garlic, you can add 1/2 tsp garlic powder.
- Onions – you can use chopped onions, shallots, green onions, etc.
- Herbs – I usually use chopped parsley or cilantro. But any fresh herbs you like would be great.
How to make pita bread stuffed with potato filling (step-by-step)
Pita Dough
- Yeast – In a small bowl, combine lukewarm water, yeast, honey, and oil. Stir well and leave to rest/prove for 5 minutes until foamy.
Pro tip – Instant yeast does not need to be activated, but I like to ensure my yeast is good and working for me. You may choose to add all ingredients directly to the flour.
- Combine – In the large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and knead until all the flour is incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Pro tip – do not add flour unless necessary. First, scrape the sides of the bowl and let it all come together. You may need the additional flour for kneading, no more. - Knead – Continue to knead for 3 to 4 minutes on a stand mixer or 5 to 6 minutes by hand until you have a soft, elastic dough. When you press the dough with your fingers, the dough should spring back.
Pro tip – We want soft, light, and fluffy pita, and this is only possible when the dough is soft, elastic, yet slightly sticky
- Rise – Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in a warm place for about 60 to 90 minutes or until doubled in volume.
Pro tip – In winter, you may need 90 minutes or more, but in summer, the dough may double in 45 minutes. If you can’t attend to it at that moment. De-gas, reshape, and let double in volume again. - Divide – When doubled in volume, transfer to a well-dusted floured surface. De-gas, reshape into a ball. Then roll into a small log. Using a dough scraper, divide this log into 4 portions and then each of those portions into 3 again. This should give you 12 portions. Shape each portion into a smooth ball
Pro tip – I am making 12 pita breads, but you can make them bigger by dividing the dough into fewer portions.
Roll, fill, bake
- Potato filling – Peel, cube, and boil potatoes in salted water. Drain and mash with a potato masher. Add all filling ingredients to a bowl and set aside.
- Fill – Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a 6-inch disc. Place the pita on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place about 2 to 3 tbsp of the potato filling on one half of the pita. Lightly brush the edges with water and fold the other half over the potatoes. Press gently to hold the edges.
- Oven – Heat the oven to 425°F/220 °C/Gas mark 7 for at least 20 mins.
Pro tip – Baking these on a hot pizza stone will give them lovely crisp edges.
- Bake – Brush the proofed pitas with an egg wash. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds (white will also work). Place the baking tray on the center rack. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until puffed up and golden.
- Cool them on a wire rack for 10 mins. Then keep them wrapped in a kitchen cloth/towel or cheesecloth to keep them soft.
Tips for stuffing pita bread
- Kneading the pita dough – Knead the dough until it’s soft and elastic but not dry. You do not want the firm dough. Keeping the dough soft, as I did in the video, will give you a super-soft pita that melts in the mouth. I promise!
- Tough pita bread – Usually, this would mean that you did not knead the dough enough. Since kneading activates gluten, it makes the pita soft, elastic, and supple.
- The thickness and thinness of the rolled pita bread – Pita needs to be rolled to just the right thickness. So the heat reached the center, you flip, and the heat reaches the center again. This is what gives the pita that pocket. If you roll it too thin, you will make flatbread. Still delicious, but a little practice is all it takes.
- Filling the pita – Do not overstuff the pita. It must be just enough so you have a good amount of bread and filling, like a sandwich in the shape of a pocket.
- Don’t overbake; otherwise, the baked pockets will be dry!
Frequently asked questions
What do you eat stuffed pita bread with?
The classic pita bread is the basic everyday bread in the Middle East, so it’s a staple for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as in-between snacks. Which is where these stuffed pitas are often served. If you ever go to eat Middle Eastern food, they will usually serve Hummus or Tahini with pita bread, Falafel, or kebabs for pita pockets. These stuffed varieties, however, need nothing on the side.
How do you warm up stuffed pita bread?
Fresh pita – wrap in a damp paper towel and heat for 30 secs up to a minute.
Frozen pita – microwave from frozen for up to 1 minute, then lightly torch on an open flame for 30 secs on all sides.
(This method is my most preferred as it gives soft pita just like freshly made pita).
Can I cook this stuffed pita bread on the stovetop?
Unfortunately no. These will need to be made in the oven due to the mashed potato stuffing
Can I use cooked potatoes instead of mashed potatoes?
Absolutely, if you don’t want to mash the potato, just cut it into cubes and boil it. Just make sure the potato is cooked completely before you stuff it inside the pita, as the time in the oven is not enough to cook the potatoes.
Video
Ingredients
Pita dough (12 pitas)
- 320 g (1⅓ cups) Warm water
- 9 g (2¼ tsp) Instant dry yeast 1 envelope
- 30 g (2 tbsp) Honey
- 30 g (4 tbsp) Olive oil
- 9 g (2 tsp) Salt
- 600 g (4¾ cups) All-purpose flour
Pita filling
- 3 cups (3 cups) Mashed potato (about 2 large) boiled and mashed or leftover mashed potato
- ¼ cup Onions Sautéed but raw works too
- 1/2 tsp Garlic minced
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese optional
- ½ cup Parsley finely chopped
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- ½ tsp Salt
Method
Dough
- Yeast – In a small bowl combine lukewarm water, yeast, honey, and oil. Stir well and set aside320 g Warm water , 9 g Instant dry yeast, 30 g Honey, 30 g Olive oil
- Combine – In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and combine on medium-high speed until all the flour is incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl.600 g All-purpose flour, 9 g Salt
- Knead – Continue to knead on medium speed for 15 to 18 minutes until you have a soft, elastic dough. Pro tip – You can also knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for about 20 to 25 minutes. When you press the dough with your fingers – the dough should spring back.
- Rise – Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in a warm place for about 60 to 90 minutes or until double in volume.Pro-tip – in winter you may need 90 minutes or more but in summer the dough may double in 45 minutes. If you can't attend to it at that moment. De-gas, reshape, and let double in volume again.
- Divide – When double in volume transfer to a well-dusted floured surface. De-gas, reshape into a ball. Then roll into a small log. Using a dough scraper divide this log into 4 portions and then each of those portions into 3 again. This should give you 12 portions. Shape each portion into a smooth ballPro-tip – I am making 12 pita bread but you can make these bigger by dividing the dough into fewer portions.
Roll, fill, bake
- Potato filling – Peel, cube, and boil potatoes in salted water. Drain and mash with a potato masher. Add all filling ingredients to a bowl and set aside.3 cups Mashed potato, 1/4 cup Onions, 1/2 tsp Garlic , 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup Parsley, 1/4 tsp Pepper, 1/2 tsp Salt
- Fill – Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a 6-inch disc. Place the pita on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place about 2 to 3 tbsp of the potato filling on one half of the pita. Lightly brush the edges with water and fold the other half over the potatoes. Press gently to hold the edges.
- Oven – Heat the oven to 425°F/ 220°C / Gas mark 7 for at least 20 mins. Pro tip – baking these on a hot pizza stone will make lovely crisp edges.
- Bake – Brush the proofed pitas with an egg wash. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds (white will also work). Place the baking tray on the center rack. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until puffed up and golden.
- Cool them on a wire rack for 10 mins. Then keep them wrapped in a kitchen cloth/towel or cheesecloth to keep them soft.
Notes
- Kneading the pita dough – Knead the dough until its’ soft, and elastic but not dry. You do not want the firm dough. Keeping the dough soft as I have in the video will give you a super soft pita that will melt in the mouth. I promise!
- Tough pita bread – Usually, this would mean that you did not knead the dough enough. Since kneading activates gluten it makes the pita soft, elastic, and supple.
- The thickness and thinness of the rolled pita bread – Pita needs to be rolled to just the right thickness. So the heat reached the center, you flip and the heat reaches the center again. This is what gives the pita that pocket. If you roll it too thin, you will make flatbread. Still delicious but a little practice is all it takes.
- Filling the pita – Do not overstuff the pita. It must be just enough so you have a good amount of bread and filling similar to eating a sandwich in the shape of a pocket.
- Don’t overbake otherwise, the baked pockets will be dry!
Storage
- Pita bread can dry out easily so always keep them wrapped. Since these have a filling in them they need to be stored in the fridge or freezer.
- If you going to consume them in a day the fridge will work any longer than that the bread will dry out.
- I prefer not to keep them in the fridge to prevent the dough from drying out.
- You can place them in ziplock bags and freeze them for a week.
- If wrapped well in aluminum foil they will stay for up to a month in the freezer.
Tips for Reheating fresh or frozen pita
- Fresh pita – wrap in a damp paper towel and heat for 30 secs up to a minute.
- Frozen pita – microwave from frozen for up to a minute – then lightly torch on an open flame for 30 secs on all sides.
(this method is my most preferred as it gives soft pita just like freshly made pita).
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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I made these last weekend for my husband and he was in heaven! He raved about them to everyone he talked saying it was 5 star restaurant fare. I did it EXACTLY as the recipe said. It is definitely our new favorite recipe!
Aww, thank you so much, Neli. You made my day. So happy to hear you had success with this recipe and your husband enjoyed it so much. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it very much.
We love Pita bread and hummus. Stuffed Pita bread looks totally an edge over. I really have to try making them.
Thank you, Sandhya. So happy you think so.
These look so delicious!
Thank you, Kat
I love how you colour code the fillings with seeds on top!! So clever and I absolutely love a stuffed pita, these look delicious!
Thank you, Annie. Yes, the seeds on top tell you what’s inside.
Veena, I love so many of your recipes and this is no exception! So thorough with great tips and the videos make everything look easy. My family will love these and I cannot wait to try them.
Thank you so much, Sally. I hope you will try this one out.
I love stuffing pita breads and this version looks so yummy! Definitely giving it a go using potato, thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Thank you, Chris. Yes, you must try potato.
These stuffed pita bread pockets look delicious!
Thanks, Julia.
Veena, these look amazing! I LOVE potatoes! And stuffed inside a pita bread…yes, please! Love this! 🙂
Thanks, Sherri.
LOVE the idea of having something delicious to defrost for snacks and lunch boxes! These are a must try for me as I love any kind of stuffed bread. Video is super helpful too.
Thanks Ann.
Potato and bread together? Sign me up for some of that! I love homemade bread.
Thanks Danni.