Fritzgarden, Are you adding everything in the mixer all at one time? When making a pastry crust it's important that the flour & fats get combine just until their just slightly smaller than pea size. During the baking process it's those fat pockets that create the flaky crusts. After I measure out the fats, I place them in the freezer 10 minutes, then I take a cup of water to which I've added ice. When ready, I'll measure out the ice water. Mix together:the flour, salt,shortening & butter mix until the mixture resembles peas size. Slowly add the water, as soon as comes together remove from the mixer. Gather it together,then make your disk, place that in refrigerator, it's important that this pastry rest 30 to 60 minutes, it's also very important that the fats get cold once again, before rolling out to ensure a flaky crust.

Oh, no! Bad sentence on my part. Southern California. We had a wonderful Syrian bakery that made brilliant pita. I still miss them. My heart breaks for what has happened there, but I've never been to Syria. You haven't said why you're eschewing "enriched flour" and don't need to, but white flour products are required by law to use vitamin enriched flour, and even most home baking white flour (bleached or unbleached) is enriched and has a little malted barley flour in it as well, which has a lot of an enzyme that's needed for rising. Unless you have a specific problem with one or more of the vitamins or the barley, the enrichment shouldn't be a problem. Maybe you're just concerned that there's white flour in there. White flour is often added to whole wheat flour to make the rise spongier. Sometimes vital wheat gluten is added to strengthen the gluten (the bran in the whole wheat can weaken or cut it). Wheat gluten can be isolated by hand by washing the wheat and kneading out the starch, and has been done for centuries, so it's not a weird industrial product. Anything that's made with white flour in the U.S. uses enriched flour. There may be some places that mill and sift their own flours that do not, but that's an extremely rare exception. Therefore, I would guarantee that the Lebanese pita are made with enriched flour. The thinner thing is probably a lack of leavening. Even in the Middle East, nowadays, the pita have leavening and are a bit spongy. That's not traditional. :) I haven't seen Kontos, and I'd guess it's an East Coast brand. I don't doubt that it's good! Whole Foods might be a better place to get 100% whole wheat, however, unless you can find a Middle Eastern or halal store where people are into the "new" kind of dietary laws (no white flour, pasture raise livestock, etc.). Maybe try stores near the colleges? College kids tend to be into better eating. Turlock is from California. I know they freeze to ship it to avoid preservatives, so you might find it there, but more likely the Whole Foods have something local. Good luck on your quest.

I mill bean flour and use it in many different ways. I mill in a Whisper Mill (now goes by the name - Wonder Mill) grain mill, so I get a very fine flour. Not all grain mills can mill large beans - so check manufacturer's information. If you want to add fiber and protein to baked goods, use bean flour for a portion of regular flour (up to 15-20%). Small white beans have the least amount of "beany" flavor and work best in baked goods. They also work best in foods that include spicy flavors (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.), which help to hide any bean flavor. You will find lots of recipes using bean flour in most gluten-free cookbooks. Bob's Red Mill has recipes using bean flour: - Fast Refried Bean Dip (uses black bean flour) - Mexican Bean Gravy " - Black Bean Tortillas " - Black Bean Dip " Click on the link below. Click on RECIPES at the top of the page. BAKEHOUSE CHEEZY HEARTLAND SOUP (using whole white beans milled into flour using the Whispermill) Mix together and stir well before each use: 1/2 c. Red Star nutritional yeast 2/3 c. white bean flour 1 t. sea salt 1/4 t. each paprika and celery seed 1/2 t. mustard (ground) 1 T. chicken style broth powder 1/8 c. bac'un bits Bring one cup water to a boil, reduce heat. Stir in 3 T. of the mix. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use less water for a thick cheezy style sauce. Variation: Saute 1-1/2 c. diced veggies (onion, carrot, celery, potato) until softened. Add 1-1/2 c. water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and 1/3 c. cheezy saucy. Cook 5 minutes, until veggies are tender and soup is thickened. Soup will thicken a little more as it cools. This chills and reheats well. ------------ You can make refried beans in a few minutes using pinto bean flour. Great for campers. - 1 cup whole beans = 1-1/8 c. bean flour - STIFF REFRIED BEANS - 1 c. water plus 1/3 c. bean flour = 1 c. instant mashed beans (equal to canned refried beans) Cook and stir for 1 minute until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to medium/low. Cover the pan and cook 6 minutes (stirring occasionally). - FLUFFY REFRIED BEANS - 2 c. water plus 3/4 c. bean flour = 2-1/2 c. fluffy mashed beans (nice on tortillas or used for dips by adding salsa or picante sauce) You can also mill black beans for refried black bean. Boil 2-1/2 c. water Whisk in dry ingredients: 3/4 c. pinto or black bean flour pinch garlic powder (optional) 1/2 - 3/4 t. salt 1/4 t. cumin 1/2 t. chili powder Cook and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium/low. Cover pan and cook 4 minutes (stirring occasionally). -------------------- CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP Here's a way to make cream of chicken soup from beans. The kids love the stuff. 1 Cup Navy Bean Flour (Lima beans or Garbanzo beans will also work.) 4 Cups Water or Milk 1 Tablespoon Chicken Bouillon 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup dehydrated onions or 1 small onion optional Grind the dry beans in a wheat grinder. Usually, 3/4 cup of beans will make 1 cup of flour. Add the other dry ingredients to the bean flour. Stir 1/2 cup of water or milk into the bean flour until it is mixed then add the rest of the water or milk and heat it in a medium sized sauce pan, constantly stirring. As it reaches the boiling point it will thicken. Boil it for about a minute. If it gets too thick add a bit more water/milk until your soup thins down to what cream of chicken soup should be. If it lacks flavor, add a bit more chicken bouillon. Garnish with dry parsley flakes. Serves 4. Recipe from waltonfeed.com. Here is a link that might be useful: Bob's Red Mill

found this on their website under recipes and i searched for soups Pueblo Black Bean Soup Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 pkg Mahatma® Black Beans and Rice Mix 1 can 16 ½ oz Cream Style Corn 1 cup salsa 1 cup beef or chicken broth Directions: Prepared rice mix according to package directions. Add remaining ingredients and heat until hot.