Garlic Cheese Foccacia and White Whole Wheat Pitas

This is the second time I have made pitas using my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book. This time they could not have turned out better. My mom gave me a pizza stone that had been sitting unopened in the box in her basement for years. That really did make a great difference versus baking the pitas on a baking sheet. They ballooned like they should and the consistency was just like anything you would buy in the store.

I cut some of the pitas into wedges and served them with store bought hummus and cucumber from my garden. I wanted to make the hummus from scratch as well, but that usually involves olive oil, which I don't have. I know olive oil is used often in the chicken, but olives are the one thing that really bothers my tastebuds, so I have a tendency to use canola oil any time olive oil is called for in a recipe. I didn't want to mess up a hummus recipe or spend the money on a bottle of olive oil that would not get used, so I just went with store bought.

One of my friends asked right away if I had made the hummus, when I responded that I didn't make that, but I did make the pitas, her eyes bugged out. She had no idea people could make their own pitas at home. She was happy it was made with whole wheat, as well. I have a few whole pitas left over, which I will either use for my lunch this week or freeze for later.

The pitas were not the only yeast bread that I made this weekend. I found a no knead recipe through King Arthur Flour (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/no-knead-garlic-cheese-flatbread-recipe). The recipe was simple to follow and I didn't even miss the pizza dough flavor that was optional. Of course, I skipped drizzling olive oil in the bottom of the baking pan, opting for using cooking spray to keep the bread from sticking. And I used canola oil in the recipe. The other change that I made was I sprinkled basil, oregano, parsley flakes and onion powder on the top.

The resulting bread was soft and fluffy, which is perfect for my husband who hates crunchy bread. The fact that there are chunks of cheddar throughout were a major draw, as well. All the girls also enjoyed the bread, which could not have turned out more perfect. For the minimal work, this is a great option for in the future, especially since it has great presentation.