Homemade Hummus and Wheat Pita

Hummus and whole wheat pita is one of my very favorite things. In fact, I joke with my son Ian that he's 'half hummus and pita' because I ate it so often when I was pregnant with him. I used to pay big money to get good hummus and pita and then I started making my own. Not only did it taste better, but it's so much cheaper that I don't buy the pre-made stuff any longer. I paid less than $5 for both the pita and hummus - a far sight less than when I bought it at the grocery.

It's also a lot easier than you may think. Here are the recipes I use most often.

Hummus
Makes 2 cups

2 cups cooked and drained garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/2 cup tahini - sesame paste
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lemon

Toss everything into a blender and pulse until smooth. For this one I added in a cup of diced red pepper. You can add in other veggies, etc. just make sure to balance out the liquid so the hummus isn't too thin.

Cooked chickpeas

Lemon, garlic, tahini and salt


Red pepper

Red Pepper Hummus

Homemade wheat pita

Wheat Pita
Makes 12

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil

Stir flours together with salt and set aside. Add yeast to 1 cup of warm water and stir until dissolved. Mix in 1/2 cup of flours and let stand until bubbly.

Make a well in the center of the flours and pour in the yeast mixture. Start mixing together and add the remaining warm water. Stir well until combined and knead for 5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Coat a bowl with the oil and add the dough - turning over once to coat both sides with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F and place a cookie sheet into the oven to heat as well.

Punch down dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. On a well-floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 6 inch circle. Let stand for 10 minutes. Taking turns, place each pita onto the preheated cookie sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes. Turn over once and continue baking until the pita puffs up. Remove from oven and push down gently with a wooden spoon to flatten out. Continue until each pita is baked. Let cool and store in plastic bags.