Garbanzos in the microwave to make hummus? Awesome! I would have never thought of that.

Adding some of the cooking liquid will really help moreover cooking, actually overcooking your own dried chickpeas really helps the texture.

My hummus has turned out smooth doing it this way, too. Funny, I never consciously thought about what the difference was. I use a crock pot after soaking & then make the hummus with warm beans. They come out smooth & yummy (I also toss in garlic scapes or roasted red pepper, too, for different flavors. Yummy!)

I get velvelty smooth hummus from blending ingredients in the Cuisinart. No extra steps!

I've never given much thought to the texture of my hummus but I guess this is worth a try. I do, however, use the liquid from the garbanzos in addition to lemon juice and olive oil. I think this adds a nice flavor.

Definitely add a bit of the cooking liquid. Makes tons and tons of difference.

I agree: whether you're using canned beans or homecooked, they should be warm when you drain and process them to make smooth hummus. The heat also helps the beans soak up the flavors faster.

Another way to make ethereally smooth hummus: remove the skin from the beans. You can rub the beans in a towel and discard the husks or just pop the skins off between your fingers. It's undeniably tedious but the couple of times I've bothered to do it, the hummus has been absolutely transcendent.

Hummus shouldn't be "velvety." THIS is hummus. http://wednesdaychef.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/hummus.jpg

I like my hummus velvety. That's why I buy Sabra. But I will try this. It is an eternal mystery why I can't make good hummus. I make a pretty awesome cannellini dip. My black beans turn out fab. I can even make an addictive lemon-parsley tahini! But add garbanzos and my bean mojo is ruined.

@Unbeliever Thanks for the link, that looks like a great recipe. I must say though that the description uses terms like "creamy" and "airy". The following phrase "process the mixture until an improbably creamy mass starts to form. Depending on how loose you like your hummus, you can add cooking liquid and lemon juice", leads me to think that the level of creaminess varies by palate.
Traveling around the hummus-eating world, you'll find different levels of processing.

Interesting. If you get hummus from a place here in NYC call "Hummus Place", where they claim to make fresh hummus every hour or so, it is often warm -- so no doubt they are using warm, freshly prepared chick peas. It is the best hummus anywhere!

Except on the very hottest days, I also like to serve my hummus just barely warm. The flavors blossom in the most incredible way!

From a restaurant in my old neighborhood, I learned one of my favorite ways to serve hummus: plate a big salad of baby greens, tomatoes, and plenty of blanched vegetables. Top it with a generous scoop of warm hummus, then make a well in the hummus and fill it with balsamic vinaigrette. Serve with warm Italian bread or pita. It is eye-rollingly delicious.

Same with @zaftigartist, I just blend for a long time in the Cuisinart. Super smooth, not grainy. My favorite recipe is from the New Best Recipes cookbook.

I also like my hummus super-smooth. Thanks for the tip!

I add greek yogurt to my hummus to make it creamy, along with the cooking liquid. I'll have to try the warm chickpeas.

The trick I've always used is to puree all of the "non-oil" ingredients together first, so lemon juice, any spices, chick peas, and some water, until they are super smooth, THEN add the oil based ingredients - tahini and olive oil. I've had really great results doing this. I guess it's something to do with the chemistry but I'm not too bright in that dept. to know how/why it actually works...I just know it does!

I've added a tbl of milk to make my hummus fluffy and light in the food processor.

Sew Heidi - if you're using extra virgin olive oil, you're right to mix everything else and then add it. You don't want to process extra virgin olive oil heavily or it releases bitter compounds. If you're using regular olive oil, there's more leeway.

I was admonished by someone from northern Africa for not using cumin-- now that I do, I've never gone back!

I suppose you could also use besan for a really smooth texture. I have yet to try it, but it seems logical.

I make killer hummus twice a month. I tried using just cooked garbanzos once but it was so creamy & smooth when whizzing in the food processor but turned out too thick because it's a false security of creamy using warm beans.

I use cold cooked garbanzos, zero oil, and use a lot, a cup or more (I must measure it!), of garbanzo cooking fluid plus 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice to 4 cups of cooked beans. It is creamy like you wouldn't believe because I don't stop whizzing it. Must be careful not to put in too much bean fluid, though. I freeze the rest and use it for sauteeing and also as part of the marinade for roasted veggies.

Good chick pea hummus has been my nemesis. I've recently tried processing in a blender instead of my cuisenart. This seemed to make it smoother. And I am not talking about a vita-mix, just a standard cheap blender. Anyone else had this experience? Looking forward to trying these other tips.

I have always made my hummus with warm/hot garbanzos, because I cooked or thawed them out for it. I just assumed it was because it was homemade that made it so good! Now I know :)

I have also made it in several different contraptions–3 cup chopper, blender (Vitamix) and my new Cuisinart Elite 14 cup (I used the 4.5 cup bowl). The Vitamix and the Cuisinart def get it the smoothest, the food processor just takes a lot longer, it's much harder to get it all out of the blender.

I have found that tahini adds little to no flavor...i have been using a small bit of sesame oil instead (tahini is more trouble than it's worth).
I have also been experimenting with citric acid (aka sour salt) to add extra sourness. I like it a lot and have been putting it in a lot of my cooking.
If you want some extra nutty/creaminess add a blob of peanut butter.