Preparing Dry Beans

1. The night before you want to make your hummus, soak your dry beans in a large bowl filled with the beans and water to cover the beans about 2". You'll want to leave room for them to expand. Add 1/2 tsp of your baking soda to this mixture and let sit 8 hours or overnight.

Making Hummus

1. Drain your soaked beans and give them a quick rinse. (if using canned beans, rinse and drain then continue as directed). See instructions below if using Instant Pot method.
2. Add beans to a large pot, fill with water to cover the beans about 2" or more. Add in your bay leave and 2 cloves of peeled garlic and your additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
3. Bring beans to a boil on medium-high heat, continuously skimming the top foam.
4. Continue this process for 45 minutes to an hour on medium-high heat.
5. Once the beans are soft, drain (you can reserve the liquid if you'd like, this is aquafaba which is used in place of eggs in many dishes). Remove the bay leaf, keep the garlic cloves with the beans.
6. You'll want to let your beans cool to at least room temperature, processing warm beans will result in a very thick and paste like consistency.
7. Once your beans have cooled, in a high powered blender or food processor, add your beans, ice cubes, remaining 2 garlic cloves, tahini and lemon. Blend, add a few tablespoons of water as needed to thin. You may opt to use toum garlic sauce in place of fresh garlic, it gives it a more mellow garlic flavor. I would add 3 heaping teaspoons to start and adjust to taste, same with fresh garlic.
8. Taste and add in salt and any additional lemon (to taste). If your mixture is too thick, thin out with some additional water, one tablespoon at a time.
9. Scoop out into dish, and top with your garnishes.  Enjoy with pita bread, veggies or chips.

Instant Pot Method:

1. Place dried beans (better if soaked overnight but can be done dry) into your Instant Pot and cover with water by 2 times. Omit your baking soda but add in your garlic and bay leaves.
2. Set your Instant Pot to high pressure, beans for 45 minutes.
3. Quick release after 5 minutes and check the texture of your beans.
4. They should be soft and ready to process after cooling, continue with same steps as traditional method.