Pita Bread

A type of versatile flat bread that is soft and slightly chewy and often features a pocket inside, which is a result of baking the bread in a hot oven. Pita bread is often mistakenly considered to be unleavened, but it is most often leavened with yeast. The bread can be eaten plain or dipped in olive oil. It can be topped with spreads and meats, folded over, and eaten as a sandwich or the pocket can be stuffed with various fillings and served as a toasted or baked sandwich.

The popularity of pita bread has spread beyond Turkey, Greece, and the Middle East. Pita bread is also known as pide, which is the Turkish name, and pideh, which is the Armenian version, prepared with whole-wheat flour and is topped with sesame seeds. In the United States, pita bread is often called pocket pita or simply pocket bread.

Another type of baked pita bread is served as a snack food. Folded pita bread triangles are fried in oil, seasoned and dried to form a pita "chip." The pita chip can be served as an appetizer to be dipped in various spreads such as tahini, cheese, salsa, and hummus, or it can be cracked into small bits and sprinkled in salads similar to croutons.