Pita Lab93 recipes

Pita Lab · Decision tree

Find your pita

Three questions sort all 93 recipes into 8 groups. Each question is about one of the ingredients recipes disagree on most, and splits the recipes in front of it at their own median, so each answer keeps about half of them. Every group ends with its median recipe in grams and the real recipes nearest it.

The questions

  1. Question 1

    More sugar than most, or less?

    A pinch of sugar or honey for the yeast.

    All 93 recipes: median 0.8% of the flour weight, 3 g per 400 g of flour; middle half 0% to 2.1%; 30% use none.

  2. Question 2

    More oil than most, or less?

    A little olive oil softens the bread.

    All 93 recipes: median 4.3% of the flour weight, 17 g per 400 g of flour; middle half 2.4% to 6.7%; 17% use none.

    Asked within each answer to question 1, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.

  3. Question 3

    More yeast than most, or less?

    Instant or active dry yeast.

    All 93 recipes: median 1.4% of the flour weight, 6 g per 400 g of flour; middle half 0.6% to 1.8%; 6% use none.

    Asked within each answer to question 2, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.

The key

Read left to right: pick an answer to question 1, then one of the answers beside it for question 2, and so on to a group. Each cell gives the answer, its bound in grams per 100 g of flour, and how many recipes give it.

Decision key: 3 questions, one per column, leading to 8 groups of recipes
1. Sugar2. Oil3. YeastGroup
Moreover 0.8%45More5.4% or more23Moreover 1.6%10A10
Less1.6% or less13B13
Lessunder 5.4%22Moreover 1.4%10C10
Less1.4% or less12D12
Little or none0.8% or less48Moreover 3.2%24Moreover 1.5%12E12
Less1.5% or less12F12
Less3.2% or less24More1.3% or more12G12
Lessunder 1.3%12H12

The 8 groups

Each median recipe is the median of every ingredient over the group's recipes, scaled to 400 g of flour, beside the typical batch of all 93. Bold rows are the ingredients the questions asked about.

Group A · 10 recipes · 10% of all

More sugar, more oil and more yeast

Sugar over 0.8%, oil 5.4% or more and yeast over 1.6% of the flour weight.

Median recipe of group A at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup AAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water255 gabout 1 cup255 g
Oil27 gabout 2 tbsp17 g
Sugar15 gabout 1 tbsp3 g
Salt7 g8 g
Yeast7 g6 g

Bake490°F (255°C) for about 20 minutes, the medians of the 6 recipes here that state a temperature and the 8 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group A

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. Golden Pita Bread · kingarthurbaking.comsugar 2.3% · oil 6.9% · yeast 1.7%
  2. Homemade Pita Bread · savorthebest.comsugar 1% · oil 6.7% · yeast 1.7%
  3. Moroccan Batbout (Stovetop Pita Bread) Recipe · jamiegeller.comsugar 5% · oil 5.4% · yeast 1.9%
  4. Pão sírio caseiro · receiteria.com.brsugar 6.7% · oil 9.1% · yeast 1.7%
  5. Pain pita · ptitchef.comsugar 1% · oil 5.4% · yeast 2.2%
Back to the key

Group B · 13 recipes · 13% of all

More sugar, more oil and less yeast

Sugar over 0.8%, oil 5.4% or more and yeast 1.6% or less of the flour weight. 4 of the 13 use no yeast.

Median recipe of group B at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup BAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water250 gabout 1 cup255 g
Oil29 gabout 2 tbsp17 g
Sugar13 gabout 1 tbsp3 g
Salt8 g8 g
Yeast5 g6 g

Bake475°F (245°C) for about 11 minutes, the medians of the 11 recipes here that state a temperature and the 12 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group B

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. Batbout Moroccan Pita Bread Recipe · iamafoodblog.comsugar 3.3% · oil 5.4% · yeast 1.2%
  2. Sourdough Pita Bread Recipe · baking-sense.comsugar 3.6% · oil 7.3% · yeast 0%
  3. Homemade Pita Bread · loveandlemons.comsugar 3.6% · oil 8.7% · yeast 1.5%
  4. Pita Bread Recipe · baking-sense.comsugar 3.3% · oil 6.7% · yeast 1.6%
  5. Pita fatta in casa, una tasca di pane morbido da farcire a piacere · dissapore.comsugar 1.4% · oil 5.5% · yeast 0.3%
Back to the key

Group C · 10 recipes · 10% of all

More sugar, less oil and more yeast

Sugar over 0.8%, oil under 5.4% and yeast over 1.4% of the flour weight. 3 of the 10 use no oil.

Median recipe of group C at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup CAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water290 gabout 1 1/4 cups255 g
Oil10 gabout 2 1/4 tsp17 g
Sugar5 gabout 1 1/4 tsp3 g
Salt7 g8 g
Yeast8 g6 g

Bake490°F (255°C) for about 12 minutes, the medians of the 6 recipes here that state a temperature and the 9 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group C

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. Pains pita au four · chefsimon.comsugar 2.3% · oil 1.3% · yeast 2.2%
  2. Homemade Pita Bread · feelgoodfoodie.netsugar 2.2% · oil 3.6% · yeast 1.9%
  3. Pão pita com presunto (robot de cozinha) · teleculinaria.ptsugar 1% · oil 3% · yeast 1.7%
  4. Pita Bread · tastesbetterfromscratch.comsugar 1.5% · oil 4.8% · yeast 2.5%
  5. Bakery-Style Pita Bread (Khebz Aarabi) · tarasmulticulturaltable.comsugar 1.2% · oil 0% · yeast 2%
Back to the key

Group D · 12 recipes · 12% of all

More sugar, less oil and less yeast

Sugar over 0.8%, oil under 5.4% and yeast 1.4% or less of the flour weight. 2 of the 12 use no oil.

Median recipe of group D at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup DAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water250 gabout 1 cup255 g
Oil11 gabout 2 1/3 tsp17 g
Sugar8 gabout 2 tsp3 g
Salt8 g8 g
Yeast2.5 g6 g

Bake500°F (260°C) for about 6 minutes, the medians of the 7 recipes here that state a temperature and the 11 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group D

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. Pane pita · chiarapassion.comsugar 1.3% · oil 4.2% · yeast 0.5%
  2. Pan de pita · annarecetasfaciles.comsugar 2% · oil 2.7% · yeast 0.3%
  3. Pan de pita a la sartén · annarecetasfaciles.comsugar 2% · oil 2.7% · yeast 0.3%
  4. Recette du pain pita au four, pain libanais au cumin & coriandre · mesinspirationsculinaires.comsugar 2.5% · oil 1.4% · yeast 1%
  5. Pita · ichkoche.atsugar 1.1% · oil 1.2% · yeast 0.7%
Back to the key

Group E · 12 recipes · 12% of all

Little or no sugar, more oil and more yeast

Sugar 0.8% or less, oil over 3.2% and yeast over 1.5% of the flour weight. 4 of the 12 use no sugar.

Median recipe of group E at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup EAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water250 gabout 1 cup255 g
Oil30 gabout 2 tbsp17 g
Sugar2.5 gabout 2/3 tsp3 g
Salt7 g8 g
Yeast8 g6 g

Bake475°F (245°C) for about 15 minutes, the medians of the 9 recipes here that state a temperature and the 11 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group E

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. Pita Bread · preppykitchen.comsugar 0.6% · oil 7.6% · yeast 2%
  2. Fresh Pita Bread · 12tomatoes.comsugar 0.6% · oil 7.3% · yeast 1.7%
  3. Pita-Brot · oetker.desugar 0.5% · oil 6.3% · yeast 1.6%
  4. Syrian Pita Bread · internationalcuisine.comsugar 0.6% · oil 7.9% · yeast 1.8%
  5. Pain pita maison moelleux à la poêle · amourdecuisine.frsugar 0% · oil 7.6% · yeast 2.6%
Back to the key

Group F · 12 recipes · 12% of all

Little or no sugar, more oil and less yeast

Sugar 0.8% or less, oil over 3.2% and yeast 1.5% or less of the flour weight. 9 of the 12 use no sugar.

Median recipe of group F at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup FAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water240 gabout 1 cup255 g
Oil22 gabout 1 1/2 tbsp17 g
Sugarnone3 g
Salt8 g8 g
Yeast4 g6 g

Bake475°F (245°C) for about 14 minutes, the medians of the 8 recipes here that state a temperature and the 10 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group F

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. Pão sírio · receiteria.com.brsugar 0% · oil 5.4% · yeast 1%
  2. Puffy Pita Bread · siftandsimmer.comsugar 0% · oil 4.6% · yeast 1%
  3. Pan de pita casero. Receta fácil · cocina-casera.comsugar 0% · oil 5.1% · yeast 0.5%
  4. Pan Árabe · cocina-casera.comsugar 0% · oil 5% · yeast 0.6%
  5. Pita · cucchiaio.itsugar 0% · oil 6% · yeast 0.6%
Back to the key

Group G · 12 recipes · 12% of all

Little or no sugar, less oil and more yeast

Sugar 0.8% or less, oil 3.2% or less and yeast 1.3% or more of the flour weight. 5 of the 12 use no sugar. 7 of the 12 use no oil.

Median recipe of group G at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup GAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water260 gabout 1 cup255 g
Oilnone17 g
Sugar1.5 gabout 1/3 tsp3 g
Salt7 g8 g
Yeast6 g6 g

Bake475°F (245°C) for about 18 minutes, the medians of the 10 recipes here that state a temperature and the 10 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group G

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. Homemade Pita Bread Recipe · themediterraneandish.comsugar 0.6% · oil 0% · yeast 1.7%
  2. Gekruide pita broodjes bakken · rutgerbakt.nlsugar 0% · oil 0% · yeast 1.4%
  3. Zelfgemaakte pitabroodjes · uitpaulineskeuken.nlsugar 0.8% · oil 0% · yeast 1.4%
  4. Pita Brot · backenmachtgluecklich.desugar 0.4% · oil 2.7% · yeast 1.4%
  5. Pain pita · bettybossi.chsugar 0.4% · oil 2.7% · yeast 1.4%
Back to the key

Group H · 12 recipes · 12% of all

Little or no sugar, less oil and less yeast

Sugar 0.8% or less, oil 3.2% or less and yeast under 1.3% of the flour weight. 10 of the 12 use no sugar. 4 of the 12 use no oil. 2 of the 12 use no yeast.

Median recipe of group H at 400 g of flour, beside the typical recipe of all 93
At 400 g flourGroup HAll
Flour400 g400 g
Water275 gabout 1 1/4 cups255 g
Oil8 gabout 1 2/3 tsp17 g
Sugarnone3 g
Salt8 g8 g
Yeast2 g6 g

Bake475°F (245°C) for about 23 minutes, the medians of the 8 recipes here that state a temperature and the 10 that state a time.

Nearest the middle of group H

Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.

  1. This is The Easiest Ultimate Pita Bread Recipe! - ChainBaker · chainbaker.comsugar 0% · oil 2% · yeast 0.3%
  2. This Cold Fermented Pita is So Easy and Tasty! - ChainBaker · chainbaker.comsugar 0% · oil 0% · yeast 0.3%
  3. Pita Bread Recipe · breadtopia.comsugar 0% · oil 2.4% · yeast 1%
  4. Whole Grain Sourdough Pita · leitesculinaria.comsugar 0% · oil 0% · yeast 0%
  5. Simple Handmade Pita Bread Recipe - ChainBaker · chainbaker.comsugar 0% · oil 0% · yeast 0.4%
Back to the key

How the questions are chosen

Each ingredient is ranked by how much recipes disagree on it: the width of the middle half of recipes (25th to 75th percentile) divided by the median, less 4% for each place it sits down this lab's list of ingredients, so the ones that define the dish win near ties. For pita the order is sugar (2.63), oil (1.00), yeast (0.86) and water (0.19), and the first 3 are asked. Salt is never asked about: recipes differ on it mostly by brand and taste.

Every split is at the median of the recipes in front of it, rounded to the percentage shown. Recipes exactly at the median go to whichever side leaves the two halves more even. No answer may keep fewer than 5 recipes; a group that could not be split further says so.

The recipes listed under each group are the 5 nearest its median on every ingredient at once, each scaled by how much recipes vary on it. Every recipe page links to the original for the method.