Add flour, salt, and yeast to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Give it a quick whisk then add the olive oil and water a little at a time until you have a soft, sticky dough and all the flour is incorporated. The amount of water you need will depend on the flour you are using, how you store it, the time of year, humidity, etc so you will need to use your judgment.

Knead the dough in your stand mixer for 5 minutes. If you don't have a stand mixer, scrape the mixture onto a clean surface that has been rubbed with olive oil. Don't use flour because you'll make the pita too dry. Oil works much better for kneading. Oil your hands too, and knead for 10 minutes. The dough will start out sticky but will become supple and moist as you knead.

Put the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl (I use the one I mixed it in. No need to wash it). Give it a toss around so it is lightly coated in oil then cover the bowl. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, then with a rolling pin roll each one out into a circle or oval shape about 3 to 4mm (⅛ inch) thick. Place on a couple of lightly floured large baking sheets and cover gently with clean, damp dish towels. Leave to rest again for 30 minutes.

While you are waiting preheat your oven to 500 °F (260 °C). If your oven doesn't reach 500, set it to the highest temperature possible.

After 30 minutes uncover and place the trays in the hot oven. Bake for 5 - 6 minutes until puffy and swollen. Don't let them colour. They should stay pale.

Have a clean, dry, dish towel handy. Remove the pita bread from the oven and place them stacked up in the middle of the tea towel. Wrap them up and leave them in there until you serve, or until cool if you aren't eating them right away. The towel slows down the escape of the steam and makes the pita bread nice and soft.