How To Reheat Pita Bread – The Best Way

Who doesn’t love fresh and warm pita bread to go with dips and sauces? We also love filling the warm pita pocket with meat and all kinds of fillings. But you can’t enjoy pita properly when it’s cold.

What is the best way to reheat pita bread? The best way to reheat pita bread is over an open flame. The fire makes pita warm, puffy, and nicely charred. Other methods to reheat pita include doing it in the oven, in the microwave, in the pan or skillet, toaster oven, and on the grill. 

In this article, you will get step-by-step instructions on how to reheat pita bread on the open flame and in multiple other ways too.

Not only that, but we will also tell you how to reheat frozen pita bread as well as how to get dried pitas warm and soft.  

Can You Reheat Pita Bread?

Pita, the famous Middle Eastern bread, is at its best when it is warm. You can, of course, eat pita bread cold. However, warming pita bread makes it softer and somehow more delicious. 

If you have pita bread that is a few days old and you don’t feel like eating it, reheat it. Reheating pita bread revives it and makes it taste as if it has just been baked. 

How to Store Pita Bread to Reheat It Later

If you are a pita bread lover but you are also carb-conscious, you need to figure out a way of storing your leftover pitas for later use. If you fail to store the bread properly, reheating them certainly won’t make them taste very good. 

In case you will be reheating and eating the bread within a few days, the best place to store the bread is in zip-top plastic bags. Put the pita bread in the bag, squeeze out the excess air, and seal the bag tightly. 

For long-term storage, a freezer is an ideal place for pita bread. Wrap the bread in food wrap or put it in sealable plastic bags pushing out the excess air.

Then, wrap the bread with a layer of aluminum foil to protect it against freezer burn and drying out. 

Pita bread stored in the freezer will keep well for up to 3 months. 

Don’t leave pita bread in a regular plastic bag. Plastic bags the bread comes in may trap moisture, especially if you expose the bag to temperature fluctuations. This will cause the bread to go moldy and soggy very quickly. 

The Best Way to Reheat Pita Bread

There are many ways to reheat pita bread, but the easiest, quickest, and most effective way of doing it is reheating pita bread on an open flame. 

Here is the best way to reheat pita bread:

1. Turn on the gas stove. Keep the heat low to medium. 
2. Put the pita bread on the open flame using tongs. 
3. Leave the bread on the open flame for around 40 seconds. It will start to puff out and create the well-known pita pocket. 
4. Turn the pita bread to the other side to get it evenly warmed up. The open flame will also get the bread nicely charred. 
5. Leave the bread on the flame for another 40 seconds. 
6. Remove the bread from the gas stove and put it in a plastic bag. The steam in the bag will revive the bread and make it taste much fresher. 
7. After a few minutes remove the bread from the plastic bag and serve it with your favorite fillings and dips. You will be surprised at how soft and chewy the warm bread is. As if freshly baked!

Other Methods to Reheat Pita Bread 

As we have mentioned, there are a few ways you can reheat pita bread. Here are a few other methods in case you don’t want to deal with the open flame. 

Method 1: In the Oven 

There are two ways you can reheat pita bread in the oven. 

The first method is wrapping the pita bread in aluminum foil and leaving it in the oven for around 10 minutes. The aluminum foil wrap will make sure that the bread heats up evenly. 

Another way to reheat pita bread in the oven is by putting the bread on the oven rack. Make sure you put the rack higher to get the bread nicely charred. The bread will also puff out nicely in the oven. 

10 minutes in the oven heated at 350 degrees F is enough to get the pitas thoroughly heated.

Tip: When reheating pita in the oven without aluminum foil, brush it with some olive oil from both sides and season it. Doing this will make the bread taste even better. 

Method 2: In the Microwave 

Microwave is as always the quickest reheating method. You can reheat pita bread in the microwave with no hassle at all, just by putting it on a microwave-safe plate and reheating it for around 15 seconds.

If you don’t need the pitas to be whole and have a few extra minutes, you can do the following. 

Cut the pitas into triangles. Put the pieces on a plate lined with a damp paper towel. Microwave the bread for around 30 seconds.

After that, you can continue to heat the pita bread in 15-second intervals until hot. 

Method 3: In the Skillet/Pan 

When you are in an active cooking process, the most convenient way to quickly reheat pita bread is in a well-heated pan or skillet. 

Brush the pita bread with olive oil and put it in a heated skillet or pan. A few minutes on each side will get the bread nicely warm and puffy. 

If you are reheating multiple pitas, make sure to keep the warm ones covered until you finish reheating all of them. 

Method 4: On the Grill

You can also reheat pita bread on the grill. To do so, brush some olive oil on the bread from both sides. Put the pitas on the grill leaving them on for around 40 seconds on each side. 

Grilled pita bread, with the toasted stripes, looks exceptionally appetizing. 

Method 5: In the Toaster Oven

If you have a toaster oven, you can use it to reheat pita bread. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the pita bread in aluminum foil and leave it in the toaster oven for around 10 minutes. 

Related Questions

Now that we’ve shown you the best ways to reheat pita bread, let’s dive into some additional questions you may have.

How to Reheat Pita Bread to Make It Soft Again?

It is a common problem for pita bread to dry out. Especially if you leave the bag half-open after taking one out. 

But if the pita bread has dried out it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bad. So long as there is no mold or any organic growth in the bread, the chances of saving it are very high. 

Here is what you should do to revive the dried out pita bread:

1. Get a clean kitchen towel moist. The towel shouldn’t be dripping wet. Wring it to get excess moisture out. Make sure there are no dry parts on the towel or it will burn. 
2. Wrap the dried out pita bread in a moist towel. 
3. Put the bread on a microwave-safe plate and microwave it for around 10 seconds. You can also use the oven to reheat the bread. Leaving the bread in the oven preheated to 200 degrees F for around 10 minutes will get the bread warm and soft. 

If you want to make your job easier, use parchment paper instead of a towel. Using parchment paper is more convenient if you are going to reheat a few pitas at a time. 

Get the parchment paper wet. Scrunch it to get it all moist quicker. Wrap the pitas with moist parchment paper and stack them together. Reheat in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. 

Tip: If you want to get the bread soft and reheat it without a damp towel or baking paper, leave the pitas in a plastic bag along with a moist slice of bread for around 12 hours. The pitas will absorb moisture from the bread and become softer. 

How to Reheat Frozen Pita Bread?

Freezing pita bread is a great way to extend its shelf, but how do you reheat the frozen pita bread?

To reheat frozen pita bread you first need to thaw it. Take the bread out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature until it comes back to life. There is no need to take the bread out of the plastic bag it has been frozen in. 

As pita is not very big and it is also thin, it won’t take the bread long to defrost. 

Once the bread has thawed, sprinkle a few droplets of water on it and pop it in the microwave for around 10 seconds. You now have warm pita bread for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

If you have time, you can use other methods to reheat the bread. 

Note: Don’t refreeze pita bread once it has thawed. Drastic temperature changes and condensation will cause the bread to become too soggy. Refreezing bread can also make it taste stale. 

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