I MEANT to do that.

Maybe the biggest thing that prevents home bakers from striking out and making their own pita bread is the fear that getting the “pocket” to form is somehow difficult. Actually, pita “pocket bread” is a great example of a fault being turned into a feature. If any of you remember my focaccia and ciabatta escapades, you know that defeating a dough’s tendency to puff up into a pillow is a big part flatbread shaping technique. Otherwise, the top crust simply wants to lift right off the rest of the bread. To prevent that, the baker pokes the dough in several spots in an attempt to stick the top crust down. Alternately, he pokes holes in (or “docks”) the dough to create vents through which some of the steam can escape. With pita, “pillowing” isn’t a flaw, it’s the whole point. So don’t call it faulty. Call it traditional.