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My Lebanese bread recipe is so easy and quick to make and yields the softest, fluffiest, and chewiest bread. It’s perfect as a side dish or used as sandwiches.
When we need a quick and easy flatbread recipe that doesn’t skimp on flavor, I make my Middle Eastern-inspired Lebanese pitas.
It has the same soft and chewy texture as my 2-ingredient bread, but the added yeast gives it even more bounce. The high-heat baking method creates big, pillowy pockets for all your favorite toppings and fillings.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Perfect texture and flavor. It’s plump, pliable, and airy in the middle, with a mild savory flavor.
- Easy to make. All you need is 5 ingredients and about 20 minutes, though most of that time is spent resting the dough.
- Versatile. I prefer to slice it into triangles and serve it with garlic yogurt sauce, but you could also use it as a wrap or slice it and stuff it like pita bread.
- Healthy. With very little fat and some added fiber (hello, whole grains!), These are fabulous, slow-releasing carbs.
If you love making your bread from scratch, you have GOT to try my 2-ingredient pizza dough, cottage cheese flatbread, and gluten-free flatbread next!
Key ingredients
- Active dry yeast. This allows the bread to rise. Make sure the yeast is fresh and hasn’t expired.
- Warm water. To activate the yeast.
- Sugar. Just a dash is needed to feed the yeast.
- Bread flour. While all-purpose or whole wheat flour works, I find bread flour gives this homemade pita bread a lighter texture and a more refined dough. If you can’t find bread flour, regular all-purpose flour works fine.
- Olive oil. A light drizzle enhances the texture.
- Kosher salt. To balance the flavor.
How to make Lebanese bread
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1- Activate the yeast. Combine the water, yeast, sugar, and ½ cup of flour in a large bowl. Let it sit until it becomes foamy.
Step 2- Make the dough. Stir in the oil, salt, and remaining flour into the yeast mixture.
Step 3- Knead to form a dough, then cover with plastic wrap and let it rest.
Step 4- Shape. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough mixture into dough balls, then slice them into thick circles.
Step 5- Assemble. Place the dough discs in the hot pan.
Step 6- Cook until they puff up and turn golden.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Only mix the dough until it’s smooth. Any more, and the dough will become overmixed, becoming tough and dense.
- Don’t open the oven door. I know it’s tempting, but if you open the door, the bread will deflate and become less pillowy.
- Use a pizza stone. If I have one handy, I’ll use it, and I find the bread gets a bit crispier and fluffier in the center. You can also use a cast iron skillet for a similar effect.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftover bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
To freeze: Store the cooled leftover bread in a freezer-safe bag (with sheets of parchment paper between each to keep them from sticking) and freeze for up to 6 months.
Frequently asked questions
While yeast is preferred, baking powder can be used instead of yeast.
Traditional Lebanese bread is usually thin and doesn’t have pockets, whereas pita bread is thicker and has a pocket inside. For this recipe, I made a more Lebanese-style pita bread.
What to serve with this
If you tried this Lebanese Bread recipe or any other recipe on The Big Man’s World, please rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below. It really helps others thinking of making the recipe.
Lebanese Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups bread flour divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
Instructions
- Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Add ½ cup flour and let it sit for 15 minutes until foamy.
- Mix in oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Knead until smooth, adding reserved flour if needed. Rest dough for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C) and place a large skillet inside.
- Roll dough into 8 balls, then into ¼-inch-thick 8-inch circles, adding flour as needed.
- Moving quickly, add enough dough balls to fit on the skillet and bake until puffed and golden, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Middle Eastern food is just so amazingly tasty! Love the flatbread with za’atar.. Just to mention that many of the commercial za’atar blends have toasted wheat in them and are not Gluten free- I found it out the hard way!
The spices on that flatbread look amazing! My sister and I are opposites when it comes to food, but it works: she tends to like crunchy things while I like softer textures. E.g. french fries. Give me all the soggy ones! TMI?
I LOVE SOGGY FRENCH FRIES. More oil. I swear…
Wait, say what?? You went to Persian school? Weekend language schools are the worst. I would definitely relish in some good pizza after hours of it!
Not only did I go to Persian school, I went to CHINESE school too.
Oh yes!! I nearly forgot you went to Chinese school, too! Many, your parents were tough!
So I had a friend in college who was allergic to cheese, and his pizzas were always cheeseless. I remember thinking…well that is the strangest thing ever. But apparently it isn’t that strange since they had cheeseless pizzas in Australia, too! So did the Persians invent this cheeseless pizza? Because that would be kinda epic. These look incredibly awesome, by the way…three thumbs up! Uh, I mean two thumbs and a finger up…or something like that. Haha!
Mate, the Persians invented everything. They even invented gelato.
Actually, they invented everything except KK.
Congratulations, you are now the reason I have to track down za’aatar and purchase it. It is a new spice to me and once I come across a few recipes with that ingredient, I feel compelled to purchase it.
YESSS. Off topic, but since I pinned your carne asada, I can’t stop thinking about it!
Then make it already! And put it on your flatbread.
Oh my goodness! So simple but so good! I’ve always been told that there’s nothing better than simple food. I didn’t believe:) Today I’m totally agree!
Thanks heaps, Ben 🙂
My family is polish so we had things like perogies, challah and “lazy perogie” (basically deconstructed perogies..,because we aren’t cheap enough…) Our family tradition however was ice cream sundaes on Sunday night while watching the Disney Channel movie. My dad was a master at making us believe strawberry jam was an ice cream topping.
I LOVE perogies!
“Make this delicious Paleo Lebanese Flatbread but do NOT wear a scowl on your face. Only when it’s finished.” ➔ don’t tell me what to do!!
Jk I would absolutely make these. I feel for ya with the Sunday school misery. Chinese school or church Sunday school were never where I wanted to be on a weekend.
One time I ordered a roasted vegetable pizza, which had crust, sauce, and five strips of vegetables on the whole pizza pie. WTF.
I will tell you what to do and you’ll do it with a smile on your face.
I still remember my first experience with za’aatar… knocked me on my ass with how good it was. And I feel like my entire life has been one weird food tradition after another. Did I ever tell you about the year or two that I drank a frappuccino basically every.single.day? Or the late night McDonald’s runs where I’d be sitting in a drive through lineup for like 30 minutes at 1 AM? Good times.
Now I really want a frappuccino, even though I know it makes me feel sickly sweet!
One of my favorite things to eat! The BF took me to a place in Calgary called Little Lebanon for these a while ago. Oh, and we also had them made fresh at an Arabic christian church (don’t ask) – I need one of those spinny flatbread mking devices to go with our future tandoori oven.
Little Lebanon? What a racist named restaurant.
Oh man, our dream house is amazing. Tandoori oven, spinny flatbread making devices…and. A human sized mortar and pestle to make za’aatar!
Wow! This looks amazing and super easy! I will have to add this to my pizza rotation.
Please do, Jessica!
za’atar is my favorite! i have a friend (who has a friend who had an aunt), who would cook these bread type things (similar to yours), and spread za’atar all over it. I would steal some everytime i went to her house. I need to find some here so i can make this immediately
Please do- This is really delicious!