Around 14,500 years ago during the Stone Age, there is evidence suggesting that the Natufian people in what is now Jordan produced flatbread from untamed cereal grains.
By 4,000 years ago, bread held significant cultural significance in societies like the Babylonian culture of Mesopotamia. This is where the earliest recorded documents and recipes for bread-making surfaced. Bread resembling pita, cooked in a tinûru (also referred to as tannur or tandoor), played a fundamental role in the diet, closely resembling today's tandoor bread, taboon bread, and Iraqi "laffa" flatbread.
The term "pita," which essentially translates to "flatbread," was introduced by the Greeks. Its global diffusion was facilitated by the Bedouins, harking back to the origins and utility of pita bread. Bedouins engaged in exchanging pita for essential goods, contributing to its popularity as a trade item in markets.
In contemporary times, pita can be made using a conventional indoor oven at high temperatures. Modern recipes often incorporate active baker's yeast, salt, and sometimes a small quantity of sugar to feed the yeast.
Two distinct variations of pita exist: the pocket style, often filled with meats, vegetables, or falafels to form a sandwich, is crafted by placing thin dough over a convex surface above an open fire. The intense heat causes the dough to puff up as it cooks, resulting in two separate layers upon deflation. These can be seasoned and fried again to create crispy chips.
The thicker Greek-style pita, with a single layer, serves as a tool for scooping and relishing an array of classic Middle Eastern dishes, including hummus and baba ghanouj.
Pita Bread Origins
