Wash and rinse the dried chickpeas, removing and discarding any broken ones.
Place chickpeas, water, and baking soda in a large stockpot with a lid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Leave the lid slightly askew or the water boils over.
Boil for 30 minutes, carefully tasting and testing the consistency of the chickpeas. They should be mushy.
When the chickpeas are nice and smushy, drain them in a colander under cool running water.
Add chickpeas, herbs, and garlic to a food processor. You can also use a blender as I did to make the recipe shown. Process until it is smooth.
Drizzle in the lemon juice and olive oil, processing until smooth. Add salt to taste.
Serve on crackers or with vegetable sticks. Refrigerate the unused portion.