Baking Bread - Pita (and Homemade Hummus)

Have I raved yet about the most excellent book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day? (Check out their blog site here.) I have used it for so many breads already, since receiving it as a Christmas gift. They make baking bread so easy, it's almost insane!

This is one of our new favorites to make at home, Pita bread and Hummus.


There is a post about their pita bread at their site, with great pictures and instructions, although the recipe for the dough is left out. That is probably because you can use any number of base doughs to make the pita bread. I used the main Boule dough recipe.

In their post about their pita bread, they call it the "fastest bread in the land", and they are NOT kidding. Five to ten minutes rolling it out, about five to seven minutes in a 500 degree oven, and we were eating. The hummus took longer! The pita bread not only is super easy, but it is delicious, too. Eaten by itself or topped with hummus, it was yummy!

Now, for the hummus. Simple ingredients combine for big flavor. I love garbanzo beans, or chickpeas, whatever you call them. I love them in salad, roasted with red pepper flakes, as hummus. If it's made with garbanzo beans, I'll probably love it, whatever it is. Here is our recipe.

1 cup of garbanzo beans, canned or reconstituted if dried
(We used dried beans, not canned, and keep in mind, they double in size after being boiled and soaked in water)
2 -4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped, depending on your liking
1/4 cup lemon juice
up to 1/2 cup of water
up to 1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini, if desired

In a food processor, combine the garbanzo beans, garlic and lemon juice. Process and add water and olive oil until your desired consistency is reached. (That's why I say "up to" - I've had hummus that was really thin, or very chunky. We like ours a little thick, but smooth.)

Add the salt and tahini. Note the tahini will make the mixture thicker.

We had a hard time mixing everything when we added the tahini at the beginning, it was just so thick. That's why I add it now at the end, and it works much better. Everything mixes and gets pureed nicely, then I can add the tahini. Personally, I don't know that the tahini necessarily adds much to hummus, but it's an ingredient I found in all the hummus recipes I looked through. It probably makes it "authentic hummus" if it has tahini! :-)

I made the hummus and then put it aside to let the flavors meld together. Then, I worked on the pita bread. I really enjoyed this, and coupled with a nice spinach and tomato salad, it would make an awesome dinner for Meat Free Monday!

We are not the Neelys, but . . .

We have discovered how much fun it is to cook together!

When I have watched the Neelys' Food Network show, Down Home with the Neelys, they work together in that kitchen like a well-oiled machine. And, they enjoy working together and helping one another. They also flirt an awful lot, but I find that cute, because, well, I'm married to the biggest flirt on the planet, and we do our fair share of flirting!

Our usual routine for cooking dinner was one person would cook and the other would clean. That seemed fair to us, and it worked out good for us, too. In the beginning of our marriage, I was not a cook. Like I said before, Hamburger Helper was my Go-To meal. But, I was an ace at washing dishes. And, he is an outstanding cook, so it worked out well.

But, now . . . I enjoy being in the kitchen and want to cook. And, I want to help. And, sometimes, I need his help. Still learning, you know, and well, math was never my strong subject and doubling or halving a recipe requires some math!

Recently, we had dinner at our house with some friends. Our dinner menu was Almond Crusted Chicken with a white sauce (a Rachael Ray recipe, minus the scallions for the non-onion eaters, and minus the wine for the momma-to-be), mashed red potatos, roasted carrots, and green beans. We decided to split up the cooking duties - I would make the chicken and the sauce, while he did the veggie side dishes. I also made a soy dessert, which I will post later, once I figure out what to call it. . . pudding? pie? pudding pie?

We were cooking, and drinking wine, talking, and singing along with the music, and generally having a blast, and that was before the company arrived! Once our friends did arrive, it was just like more people joined the party. The more, the merrier!

We enjoyed cooking with each other so much, we decided to do it again. And, we didn't even have company coming! We decided to make a dish called Shakshoukah, made with tomatos and eggs - I'll post this one, too, eventually - with polenta, and hummus and pita bread. He made the Shakshoukah and polenta on the stovetop, while I made the hummus in a blender and made the pita bread (from my new favorite book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day).

We didn't talk as much this time around, but I chalk that up to trying a new recipe. It was the first time for him making Shakshoukah, and it was my first time making pita bread (I will be posting about this later, too). However, I still enjoyed being with my husband, doing something together, and doing something new together. And, the food was delicious! Eating our creations was just as much fun as making them together!

Doing something simple and everyday can be refreshing and fun if done with someone you love!