Pita and hummus. Females be all bout pita and hummus in my household. Sorry about 'MURICAN measurements (I have to convert your recipes, too, ya know).
Pita bread (non-gluten-free the Sultan can eat whatever glutens he wants)
2 hours. Makes 6-10 loaves, depending on how you roll them. Can be doubled.
4c White all-purpose flour
1/4c plain sugar
1 1/4c warm water (100-110*F; 37-43*C)
1 1/2 TBSP bread Yeast
1/4c olive oil
1 TBSP kosher salt
1. Pour your warm water into a measuring cup and add the yeast. Stir gently until yeast is fully dissolved.
2. Mix all ingredients except salt in a bowl. Add the salt after the flour has picked up all the moisture.
3. Knead for 5 minutes.
And when I say for 5 minutes, I mean knead it non-stop for 5 minutes. If you've made bread before and it sucked, IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T KNEAD IT LONG ENOUGH, YOU UNCULTURED-- anyway.
The dough will have a smooth, almost rubbery outer appearance and consistency.
4. Let the lump of dough rise for 1 hour (or 60 minutes in European conversion), covering the bowl with a damp towel or plastic-wrap.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 475*F (246*C) and place a metal pan or a baking stone inside to warm up.
6. While the pan or baking stone is warming, roll out your pitas. Flour your table or countertop generously. Roll them thin: I like to roll out, flip 90*, roll again, flip 45*, and get them nice and round. You can roll them out and stretch the edges a bit if you like them extra-thin and leathery (more authentic) or you can leave them a bit fatter so that they're fluffy and 'MERICAN. You will hopefully put 2-3 in the oven at a time so size them accordingly.
7. CAREFULLY place the loaves flat on the hot surface.
8. Close up the oven and watch. They puff up! If you're a true Pokemon master they'lll puff up into a ball-shape. They only take 2-4 minutes to fully cook. You'll quickly get a feel for how fluffy or browned they get. Bake accordingly.
9. Remove with a spatula or whatever and cool the loaves on a wire rack. Put the pan back into the oven (or leave it in there when you scoop them out) and keep baking the loaves, 2-3 at a time. They freeze really nicely and stay fresh in a sealed bag for about 5 days before going stale.
Hummus
Warning: to all hipster pukes and soccer-moms alike who want artichokes and roasted-red-peppers in their hummus, begone!
Overnight + 30m. Makes 5-6 cups.
1c of dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans (seriously, just put in the extra bit of effort to get the dry ones. Or, one 16oz can of chickpeas will suffice)
one bay leaf
1/2 bulb of fresh garlic (4-6 cloves)
Juice of 3 lemons
1/2c tahini (sesame seed paste; can be found in the Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern aisle)
1/2c olive oil
1/2 TBSP salt (increase or reduce to taste. You're an adult. You can salt your own food)
Paprika
Ground Cumin
1-2 TBPS cold water
1. Soak the dry chickpeas for 24 hours. Change the water once if you remember. If not, no big deal.
2. Boil the chickpeas with a large volume of water + bayleaf for 90m. Cover with the lid ajar.
3. Blend the lemon juice and the garlic with a blender. Strain through a sieve so that you have the garlic-lemon juice but no chunks.
5. Mix the tahini with the garlic-lemon juice.
6. Add the warm chickpeas, tahini-lemon-garlic juice, olive oil, salt, water, and spices (about 1/2 TBSP each, but adjust for your own taste) into a blender and blend until buttery-smooth.
7. In 1 TBSP increments, add a bit of water, olive oil, or tahini to reach the consistency you want. Remember that the warm chickpeas will cause your hummus to be much runnier when it is hot, but if you refrigerate it will get a bit "thicker".
8. Store in a large container and enjoy! If you're a fancy-pants, serve a big dollop on a dish with rich olive oil drizzled on top followed by whole cooked chickpeas, fresh parsley, and paprika.
On top I use a few dusts of parmesan.
