Pita is a round, brown, wheat flatbread made with yeast. The origins of pita bread have been traced to the Middle East. It is traditional in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines and prevalent from North Africa through the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, possibly coinciding with the spread of the Arab expansions under Islam.
Pita is now the western name for the Saudi Arabian bread called khubz baked in a brick oven. The 10th century Arab cook book, Kitab al-Tabikh by ibn Sayyar, includes 6 recipes for khubz, baked in a tannur, which is like the modern brick oven. Pita is used to scoop sauces or dips such as hummus and to wrap kebabs, gyros or falafel in the manner of sandwiches. Pita bread was first introduced to the United States by Middle Eastern restaurants.
