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Cooking Tips

How to Grill Pitas Without Drying Them Out

This method waves goodbye to dry and papery and hello to warm and pliable.
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Published May 17, 2023.

How to Grill Pitas Without Drying Them Out

Grilling breads like ciabatta, focaccia, or naan couldn’t be easier. Brush with olive oil, throw onto the grill, achieve grill marks, remove.

But what’s up with pita bread? 

Throw pita on the grill and it becomes stiff, dry, and papery.

Try this brilliant sandwiching method instead.

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This technique comes from Cook’s Illustrated Deputy Food Editor Andrea Geary. While developing her recipe for Grilled Halloumi Wraps, she sought to find a way to grill pitas while keeping them pliable enough to roll.

Presenting: the “sandwich” method.

1. Using four pitas, lightly spray two pitas with water, sandwich the other two pitas between them and wrap tightly in lightly greased heavy-duty aluminum foil. 

2. Grill over cooler side of grill for about 5 minutes, flipping occasionally.

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The pitas essentially steam inside the foil packet, warming them through and making the roll-up process a breeze.

No char? No worries! That’s what the goodies on the inside are for. Fill your grilled pita with any of the following:

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