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pink vegan pita bread with pockets

Pink Pita Bread-Vegan

Estee
Vegan Pink Pita Bread dyed naturally with beet juice, and flavoured with thyme and rye flour. Instructions for the perfect puff up every time!
Prep Time 1 hr
Cook Time 2 mins
Cuisine Bread

Equipment

  • cast iron pan or baking steel

Ingredients
  

Beetroot Juice

  • 1 large beet
  • 2 cup cooking water
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Pita

  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 3 1/2 cups plus 4 TBSP white flour
  • 1/2 cup rye flour
  • 1 TBSP instant yeast
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp thyme, fresh or dried
  • 2 cups beetroot juice

Instructions
 

Beetroot Juice

  • Peel the beet and cut it into cubes. Steam the beet cubes for 15 minutes to soften them. (I use a bamboo steamer fitted with a piece of parchment paper, with 1.5 cups of water in the pot/pan underneath.
  • Carefully add the steamed beets to a blender along with 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 cups of the cooking liquid- which should be lightly colored from the beets steaming above it. If you do not have enough cooking liquid, use water.
  • Blend the beets until pureed, about a minute and a half. Strain the pulp over a measuring cup. Use a cheesecloth or small strainer for this. Discard or compost the pulp- reserve the beet juice.

Make the Pita dough

  • In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add 2 TBSP of the olive oil. Add the flours, yeast, sugar, salt, thyme, and 2 cups of beetroot juice.
  • If mixing by hand, mix with a spatula for 5 minutes, folding the dough over itself and scooping it up again from the bottom of the bowl, until the mixture is slightly less sticky and all the olive oil and flour is combined in.
    If using the stand mixer, mix o medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky! DO NOT ADD FLOUR!
  • Oil a seperate bowl and oil your hands as well. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.

Heat Oven

  • Place a cast iron pan or baking steel/pizza stone, in the oven.
    Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F/ 240 degrees Celsius.

Shape

  • Sprinkle your work surface with flour. Set a non stick mat on the side. Divide the dough into about 25 pieces, each 40 grams. You can use a scale or just eyeball it- they dont have to be perfect!
  • Using your fingers, press each piece of dough out into a small circle and sprinkle with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece out into a circle the size of the pita you want- i go for a circle a bit larger than the palm of my hand.

Bake

  • Make sure the oven has been preheated for at least 15 minutes.
  • Place as many pitas as will fit in the cast iron(mine fit two at a time), or on the baking steel.
  • Shut the oven and leave the pita to cook for 2 minutes and 40 seconds, about. After a minute- 2 minutes the pitas will start bubbling and puff up, giving us the pocket of air we love! After they puff, let them finish baking, and remove carefully with tongs to cool.
  • Enjoy warm or at room temp. To store keep the pita in an airtight container or bag in a cool place in the kitchen(on the counter or in the pantry) for up to 3 days after baking.
  • To freeze let the pitas cool and place in an airtight bag, with a paper towel inside to collect any condensation. Place in the freezer for up to a couple weeks.