Flatbread

Josh loves my hummus. I make it all sorts of different ways. And it's super cheap-- cooked chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. All in the blender or food processor.

The problem is that store-bough pita bread or flat bread to eat with it is 3.00 for a bag of 5 breads.

This recipe makes 8 pieces of flatbread that are larger, softer, and probably healthier than the store bought kind for less money. I'm estimating the cost for this recipe to be about $1.50 taking into account the cost per cup of flour and per package of yeast.

(Ps. this recipe was taken from the new edition of The Joy of Cooking and is unmodified)

Combine in a large bowl:

3 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 table spoons)

add:

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 1/4 cups room temperature water

mix well, then knead for 10 ish mintues until the dough is "soft, smooth, and elastic"

I found that I had to add a tiny bit of flour now and again to keep it from getting too sticky. It should be soft and tacky, but shouldn't stick .

put into an oiled bowl, turn once to cover dough with oil, cover with plastic wrap (I used a slightly damp, warm dishtowel) and let sit for 1-1 1/2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.

once doubled, divide into eight equally sized balls and let rest for 20 minutes.

then roll each out to an eight-inch round, fairly thin flatbread looking thing. The thinner the better, I think, just no holes or tearing spots.

Apparently it's best to cook on a baking stone, but I don't have one, so this is what the book told me to do:

invert a pizza, baking, or cookie sheet or pan and put in a 450 degree oven for 5 ish minutes to heat through.

remove from oven, spritz with water, wait 30 seconds, then place pitas on the inverted pan (as many that will fit without touching--like 2-3).

cook at 450 degrees for 3-4 minutes until the air pockets puff up, some will puff a lot, others just barely. Wait another 30 seconds, then remove from oven, place on cooling rack immediately.

they're supposed to be soft, maybe a tish of brown around the bottom edges, but not crispy. Toast them right before eating if you want a crispy flatbread. If you make them crispy at this initial baking stage, I imagine you'll have nasty brown frisbees instead of flatbreads.

eat! No preservatives so they'll probably only last 3-4 days if stored in a cool, air-tight place.