Best Way To Reheat Pita Bread

There truly is nothing better than some dips and sauces with a nice toasty Pita bread.

Well, maybe there is, when you fill a Pita pocket with all kind of delicious fillings and eat it like the most gorgeous sandwich your imagination can concoct.

However, a pita is not so nice if it is cold.

But, what if you made a bit too much pita bread? The best way to reheat it is over an open flame. Flames will make a pita warm, puffy, and perfectly charred.

There are other methods to reheating a Pita bread, these include; the oven, the microwave, a pan or skillet, a toaster oven, or even on the grill. 

I love homemade pita bread. I’ll share my favorite pita bread recipe shortly. But how to warm pita bread that is room temperature or worse, cold? I’ve found a cast iron skillet or pizza stone (baking stone works just as well) is the best way to get the perfect pita bread. Traditional pita bread is always served warm and there is just something awesome about warm pita triangles (or pita chips) dipped in hummus. Pita dough is a flat bread so keep that in mind when reheating.

Today, you will get a step-by-step guide on how to reheat pita bread on an open flame, as well as some other ways too. We will also give you some tips on reheating frozen pita bread, and information on how to keep your Pitas warm and soft. 

Is it okay to reheat Pita bread? 

Pita, a famous Middle Eastern bread, delicious, but at its best when warm. While you can eat this tasty bread when it is cold, it is not necessarily at its overall best, and warming your pita will make it softer, and curiously even more delicious. 

If you have a pita bread that is a few days old, and you just don’t feel like eating it, it is perfectly to find to reheat it. Reheating a pita bread revives it and makes it taste as though it has been freshly baked. Yummy! 

How should you store Pita bread to be reheated later? 

If you are a fan of Pita bread, but you are also carb conscious, then you may want to find a way of storing your leftover pita breads for use later on. If you do not store them properly then reheating them won’t make them any better, and you will just be wasting your time.

In the case you will be heating and eating the bread within a few days, the best place you can store your bread is in zip-top plastic bags. Pop your pitas in the bag, squeeze out any excess air and seal it tightly. 

However, if you are needing to store for more long-term, then a freezer is a more ideal place for you to store your pita breads. Wrap the bread in a food wrap, or sealable plastic bags, and push out the excess air.

Then wrap the bread with a layer of aluminum foil in order to protect it from potential freezer burn or any possibility of it drying out. Always ensure that any food you place in your freezer is well protected from any potential of freezer burn.

Freezer burn can ruin food and even if it doesn’t, it can take the moisture and the taste out of your food. Always make sure that there is no excess air whenever you pack food in the freezer, excess air can void part of the reason for freezing as it still allows for a small amount of oxidation. 

A pita bread that has been stored in the freezer will keep nicely for up to 3 months. 

Do keep in mind that you should not leave pita bread in a regular plastic bag. The plastic bags that this bread comes in have the potential to trap moisture, especially if exposed to temperature fluctuations, this can cause the bread to get soggy very quickly and build mold faster. 

What is the best way to reheat Pita bread? 

There are so many ways you can reheat pita bread, however the easiest and quickest most effective way of doing this, it to reheat the bread over an open flame.

Not only does an open flame cook your pita bread perfectly and give it that taste we all love, but it also crisps it up perfectly too. Let’s go through some step-by-step instructions on how to reheat your delicious pita bread over an open flame. 

  1. Turn on your gas stove, keeping the heat around low to medium level. 
  2. Put the pita bread on the open flame, use tongs to do so, you don’t want to burn yourself. 
  3. Leave the bread on the open flame for around 40 seconds, it will slowly start to puff out and create the typical pita pocket look. 
  4. Then, turn the pita bread to get the other side evenly warmed up. The open flame will also nicely char the bread to give it that distinctive look. 
  5. Then leave the bread on for another 40 seconds. 
  6. Remove your bread from the gas stove and put it into a plastic bag. The steam inside the bag will revive the bread and give it that fresh taste you seek. 
  7. After a few minutes take the bread out of the bag and serve it with whatever you desire, sauces, dips, or a plethora of fillings. 

While this is definitely the best way, do not worry if it is not for you. Not every home has a gas stove that they can use this for, and some people may just not want to have their hands so close to an open flame. Some may worry about catching fire, this is totally understandable. 

So, even though this is the best and the recommended way to do this, there are plenty of other ways you can reheat your pita bread if dealing with an open flame just is not your kind of thing. 

What are some other methods for reheating Pita bread? 

There are more methods than just one for reheating your pita bread. If you do not feel confident about putting it over an open flame.

Let’s have a look at some of these methods and take in some information on how you can do these. 

Pop it in the oven

There are two different ways in which you can reheat your pita bread using your oven. 

The first method is to wrap your pita bread up in aluminum foil and leave it inside the oven for 10 minutes. The aluminum foil wrap will ensure that the bread heats evenly. 

Another way that you can reheat pita bread in the oven is by putting it on the oven rack. You should make sure that you put the rack higher in order to get the bread adequately charred.

In this method the bread will also puff up nicely too, which you will definitely want, especially if you are going to use it for a pita picket. 

Either way having the pita in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit is a perfect amount to get your pitas thoroughly heated and perfect. 

When you reheat your pita in the oven without using aluminum foil, brush it over with a dash of olive oil from both sides first, also feel free to give it some seasoning too. This will make it taste even better, try it, you will love it, we promise. 

Chuck it in the microwave

The next methods that we suggest for you, if you are in a rush, and you don’t fancy hovering over an open flame, is using your microwave.

Using a microwave is always the quickest reheating method for anything, although it does not always work for everything, and you often need to be careful with how you do it. 

You can reheat a pita bread using a microwave without any hassle at all, simply by putting it on a microwave safe plate and reheating it for around 15 seconds should be plenty.

Although it does depend on the strength and power of your microwave, as microwaves do not always have the same amount of power. 

If you do not require your pitas to be whole, and you have a few extra minutes to spare, you can take your time and do the following things. 

You can cut your pitas into triangles, and put the piece on a plate lined with a damp paper towel. Then you put the bread, paper, and plate into the microwave.

Microwave your bread for around 30 seconds. After you have done this you can continue to heat up the pita bread in fifteen second intervals until heated to your liking. 

That is all there is too it, and you do not need to worry about any of the usual things that you normally would when working with a microwave. 

Huck it in the pan

If you are actively cooking a dish, no matter what the dish is, and you also need to reheat some pita bread, then the most convenient and easy way to do this with a well-heated pan or skillet. 

Brush your pita bread with olive oil and put it into your heated skillet or pan, make sure that it is hot first. You want to cook with for a few minutes on each side, this will ensure that the bread is nice and warm, and puffy too. 

In the case that you may be reheating multiple pitas, then ensure that you keep the warm ones covered until you are finished reheating all of them.

You can get plastic food covers that keep the heat held in on dishes you want to keep hot, keep the ones you have done under a cover like this while you do the rest to prevent them from getting cold. 

Yummy on the grill

If you are a fan of using the grill, then you can always reheat your pita breads using a grill, this is not difficult at all, and you could even do this if you decided to cook up some meats during the hot summer for a new outdoor garden party. 

Same as is with most of these techniques you want to start off by brushing some olive oil over the bread on both sides. Then, put the pitas onto the grill and leave them on there for around 40 seconds. Do this again on the opposite side for equal tastiness and puffiness. 

And don’t forget how delicious and wonderful pita bread is grilled with those toasted stripes on it. It also makes it look extra appetizing, who could resist?

Tasty in the toaster oven

If you are fortunate enough to have a toaster oven, you can use this too. A toaster oven is a fantastic little tool that is absolutely fantastic for many different things.

It is a brilliant tool when it comes to reheating foods, because not only do you not need to mess around with it as much as you do an oven, it also gets things done fast and perfectly. 

So if you are lucky enough for one of these, then you can use it to reheat pita bread, and we recommend this. Heat up your toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then carefully wrap up your pita bread in aluminum foil and leave it in your toaster oven for around ten minutes. This will cook it nicely, and evenly while you can get on with other things. 

To conclude

However, you like your pita bread, and with whatever meal you enjoy having it, we can all agree it is a delicious and versatile bread that we can all enjoy.

It is very easy to reheat and there are so many different ways that you can do this. Why not give each of them a try, see which best yields the results that you are after in your pita. 

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Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
Cassie Marshall
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