Flatbreads with Hummus

For 2

(A blender is required for this recipe)

Flatbreads and hummus are two recipes that I think everyone should be familiar with, especially this recipe! These ‘pillow-like’ flatbreads and silky hummus will impress even the fussiest of eaters.

Warm flatbreads and hummus… is anything else more comforting? This easy bread recipe will elevate your lunches and impress your dinner guests, served alongside this hummus they will be in awe! You can add whatever dried herbs and spices to your flatbread dough and top the hummus with whatever garnishes you wish, or just tear off chunks of flatbread and dunk it into this moreish and luxurious hummus.

Ingredients:

FLATBREAD (makes 4 small flatbreads)

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

• 90g warm water

• 170g plain flour

• 1 tsp fine salt

• 2 tbsp full fat greek yogurt

• 1 tbsp olive oil

HUMMUS

• 1 cup of pre cooked chickpeas or

  1 can/ jar of chickpeas

• 3 tbsp tahini

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1/2 lemon

• salt

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

Step 1: Make flatbread dough

Add 1 tsp of sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of yeast to 90g warm water and stir until the yeast has dissolved and there are no pieces floating on the top of the water. Let sit for 10 minutes, until bubbles appear at the top. In a medium bowl add 170g of plain flour, 1 tsp of fine salt, 2 tbsp of full fat greek yogurt and 1 tbsp of olive oil then add the yeast water and stir until incorporated. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes, it doesn’t need to be smooth. Then shape into a ball and place back in your bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave the dough in a warm place to prove for 1 hour or just until has doubled in size.

Step 2: Make hummus

*If you want to cook your own chickpeas, as I did then use the recipe from ‘borlotti bruschetta’ but don’t add the tomatoes and chillis. Or if you are pushed for time just buy a can or jar of chickpeas, they will work just fine.

Drain you're chickpeas and keep the liquid then add your cooked chickpeas to a blender along with 3 tbsp of tahini, 2 cloves of garlic and 200ml of chickpea water. Blend until smooth then add 100ml of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and season with salt, continue to blend. You can add as much chickpea water as you like to achieve your preferred consistency. Keep blending until it is as smooth as you can get it!

Step 3: Cook flatbreads

Once your dough has doubled in size remove it from the bowl and place it onto a floured surface, divide the dough into 4 equal balls. Heat a frying pan or skillet to a medium/high heat and wipe with olive oil. One at a time roll out a ball of dough to about 1cm thickness then place into the hot pan. After a few minutes you will see a couple of bubbles appear on top of the flatbread, carefully turn it over, it should have dark golden patches on the bottom (if it’s too pale leave on that side to cook for a couple more minutes). Cook it on the other side, once cooked through wrap in the damp tea towel to steam slightly and keep warm.

Wipe the pan with some kitchen paper and some olive oil then repeat this process to the other flatbreads, one at a time.

*You can cook flatbreads directly on a grill or barbecue to achieve a more smokey, charred flatbread.

Step 4: Time to eat!

You can get stuck in and start dipping your flatbreads straight into your hummus or plate them up as beautiful Antipasti, topped with various herbs and pickles. I topped mine with homemade pickled cucumbers and chillis, slices of spring onions, herbs and toasted coriander and fennel seed olive oil that I made.

Be playful with these recipes, they are so versatile, try adding cumin seeds to your flatbread dough or adding paprika to your hummus!