Greek Chicken Gyros​

Make Greek Chicken Gyros at home from scratch! The combo of homemade Pita bread, tender Greek-style marinated chicken, tomato, zesty onions, and refreshing Tzatziki sauce is literally addictive. No reason to go back to your local Greek restaurant!

INGREDIENTS

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For The Homemade Pita Bread​

• 1 cup (250 ml) warm water
• 2 and 1/4 tsp (7 g) instant yeast
• 2 tsp white granulated sugar
• 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 tsp salt

For The Greek Chicken Marinade​

• 2 tbsp (35 g) full-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
• Pepper (to taste)
• 2 lbs (900 g) skinless boneless chicken (sliced into 1-inch thick stripes or diced)

For The Tzatziki Sauce​

• 1 cucumber (peeled)
• 1 and 1/2 cups (420 g) full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• Salt (to taste)
• Optional sprinkle on top finely chopped dill or mint

For Assembling The Gyros​

• 2 tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion

INSTRUCTIONS

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• Make the Pita bread dough. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the warm water, instant yeast, sugar, and 1/2 cup (60 g) flour. Mix until combined and let sit for 10 minutes. The mixture will puff up. Once puffy, add in the remaining flour, olive oil, and salt. Knead or mix until a dough starts forming and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Then place the dough into a clean greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. Meanwhile, marinate the chicken and prepare the Tzatziki sauce.
• Marinate the chicken. While the dough is rising, marinate the chicken. Add the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper to a ziplock bag or medium bowl and mix until combined. Add the chicken to the marinade and toss until evenly coated. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
• Prepare the Tzatziki sauce. Grate the cucumber using the large side of a grater, then use your hands to squeeze out all the juice until your grated cucumber is mostly dry. Set aside. In a medium bowl, add the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and prepared cucumber. Season with salt and pepper and mix until combined. Taste and adjust if desired.
• Cut the veggies. Dice and salt the tomatoes and thinly slice the red onions.
• Cook the Pita bread. Punch down the dough, then divide it into 7-8 pieces, and roll each disc into a 1-inch thick disc. Heat a comal or cast-iron skillet over high heat to cook the pitas. Place the first pita onto your hot comal and cook until it bubbles up (about 1 minute), then flip and cook for about another minute. Pita bread needs to cook on high heat in order to cook quickly without drying out.
• Cook the chicken. Place a medium skillet over high heat, once hot, add the chicken to the skillet and discard the marinade. Cook until browned (4-5 minutes), then flip and cook until browned again (3-4 minutes). You want to cook the chicken on high heat so it'll cook quickly without drying out! The internal temperature should be 165F (73C).
• Assemble the Chicken Gyros! Grab a pita, add some of the prepared chicken, tomatoes, onions, and Tzatziki sauce to it, then use a piece of parchment paper or foil to keep it wrapped up. Add more sauce on top if desired and enjoy!

NOTES
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Make-Ahead Instructions: Make the Pita bread (step 1) and place the covered bowl into the refrigerator to rise overnight. The next day, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and allow the dough to come down to room temperature, then follow step 5. Or, you can also combine step 1 and step 5 and cook the Pita one day ahead of time and reheat it in the microwave the day of. You can also marinate the chicken overnight (step 2).

Storing Instructions: I recommend assembling only the chicken gyros you think you'll need, this way if you do have leftovers you'll be able to store and reheat them separately.Pita: store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Keep in mind that baked goods tend to dry up overtime. You can reheat the stored Pita in a microwave until hot and soft again!Chicken: store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in a skillet or in the microwave until hot (internal temperature should measure 165F).Tzatziki sauce: I don't recommend storing leftover Tzatziki sauce because of the fresh olive oil + garlic combination which is very time sensitive. I've heard of people storing it overnight with no issues but when I tried that, it didn't work for me. I invite you to use your best judgment for this one.

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