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Recipe 07

Pan-Charred Chicken Gyros with Soft Homemade Pita

Yield
4
Time
1 hour 45 minutes, plus 3-24 hours marinating

Complete recipe

Read from start to finish.

Before you start

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 700 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
  • 50 g full-fat Greek yoghurt
  • 30 ml lemon juice
  • 15 ml red-wine vinegar
  • 15 ml olive oil
  • 5 g dried oregano, about 1½ tbsp
  • 5 g sweet or smoked paprika, about 2 tsp
  • 1 g ground cumin, about ½ tsp
  • 1 g chilli flakes, about ½ tsp
  • 8 g fine salt
  • Black pepper
  • A little neutral or olive oil for the pan

Soft Greek pita

  • 215 g strong white bread flour
  • 107 g whole milk, at room temperature
  • 53 g water, at room temperature
  • 18 g olive oil
  • 4 g instant dry yeast
  • 3.5 g fine salt
  • 3 g sugar
  • A little olive oil for the pan

Tzatziki

  • 250 g full-fat Greek yoghurt
  • 150 g cucumber
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 7.5 ml red-wine vinegar, about 1½ tsp
  • 3 g fine salt, plus more to taste
  • Black pepper

To assemble

  • 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
  • ½-1 red onion, very thinly sliced
  • Sweet or hot paprika
  • Chopped parsley, optional
  • Additional chilli flakes or chilli sauce, optional
  • 300 g oven fries, optional but appropriate
  • Baking paper or foil for wrapping, optional

Recipe notes

Notes

  • Chicken thighs are much more forgiving than breasts and brown well in an ordinary frying pan.
  • Cook the chicken in batches. Crowding the pan steams it and prevents useful charring.
  • Squeezing the cucumber thoroughly is the difference between tzatziki and seasoned yoghurt soup.
  • Hand-stretching preserves more softness than aggressive rolling.
  • Pull the pitas while flexible and cover them immediately; chasing a dark crust produces excellent edible roof tiles.
  • The final 60-90-second crisping of the sliced chicken is the key home-kitchen adaptation.

11 steps

Method

Step 1 of 11

  1. Marinate the chicken.
    Mix the garlic, yoghurt, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, oregano, paprika, cumin, chilli, salt, and black pepper. Coat the chicken thoroughly, cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. Overnight is ideal.

Step 2 of 11

  1. Start the pita dough.
    Mix the milk, water, sugar, yeast, and olive oil. Leave for 5 minutes. Mix the flour and salt separately, add the liquids, and knead for 4-6 minutes until smooth, supple, and slightly tacky. Add only a very small amount of flour if it remains genuinely unmanageable after kneading.

Step 3 of 11

  1. Proof the dough.
    Cover and leave until approximately doubled, usually 40-60 minutes. Judge by volume rather than treating the clock as holy writ.

Step 4 of 11

  1. Make the tzatziki.
    Coarsely grate the cucumber. Wrap it in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much water as possible. Mix with the yoghurt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then taste and adjust the salt or vinegar.

Step 5 of 11

  1. Prepare the fillings.
    Slice the tomatoes and red onion. If using fries, start cooking them according to their package instructions so they finish around the same time as the chicken.

Step 6 of 11

  1. Divide and rest the pita dough.
    Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces of roughly 100 g. Shape into balls, cover, and rest for 10-15 minutes. If a piece springs back during shaping, cover it and give it another 5 minutes rather than fighting the gluten.

Step 7 of 11

  1. Shape the pitas.
    On a lightly oiled surface, hand-stretch each ball into a round approximately 20 cm across. Press shallow fingertip dimples into the surface or dock lightly with a fork. This discourages a full pocket and keeps the bread suitable for wrapping.

Step 8 of 11

  1. Cook the pitas.
    Heat a heavy frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. It should be properly hot but not smoking. Wipe it with a very thin film of oil. Cook each pita for 1-2 minutes per side, turning when bubbles and brown patches appear. Remove while still soft and flexible. Stack the cooked pitas immediately inside a clean folded tea towel so their steam keeps them pliable.

Step 9 of 11

  1. Cook the chicken.
    Remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before cooking. If the thighs are very uneven, flatten them to roughly 1.5 cm between sheets of baking paper using a heavy saucepan. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat with a little oil. Shake excess marinade from the chicken and cook it in two batches, without crowding, for roughly 4-5 minutes per side. The surface should be deeply browned and the thickest part cooked through, approximately 75°C if using a thermometer.

Step 10 of 11

  1. Rest, slice, and crisp.
    Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, then slice it into thin strips. Return the strips to the hot pan for 60-90 seconds, tossing just enough to crisp some of the cut edges. This gives a better approximation of shaved rotisserie gyros than simply slicing and serving the thighs.

Step 11 of 11

  1. Assemble.
    Warm a pita briefly if needed. Spread tzatziki over it, then add chicken, tomato, red onion, and optional fries. Finish with paprika, parsley, and additional chilli if wanted. Wrap tightly in baking paper or foil, leaving the top open. Do not overload it unless eating horizontally over the sink was always the plan.

Recipe preview

11 steps

A few ingredients

  • 700 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
  • 50 g full-fat Greek yoghurt
  • 30 ml lemon juice
  • 15 ml red-wine vinegar

The opening moves

  1. 01

    Marinate the chicken. Mix the garlic, yoghurt, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, oregano, paprika, cumin, chil...

  2. 02

    Start the pita dough. Mix the milk, water, sugar, yeast, and olive oil. Leave for 5 minutes. Mix the flour an...

  3. 03

    Proof the dough. Cover and leave until approximately doubled, usually 40-60 minutes. Judge by volume rather t...

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