baked falafel

So I made baked falafel for lunch today, following a mixture of recipes, as always.

Ingredientes:
15 1/2 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, or cilantro, fresh, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

I mashed this all together by hand because my blender is no substitution for a food processor, no matter how stubborn I am, it just doesn't blend some things -- like garbanzo beans. Anyway than I formed the doughish substance in little patties and fried them in about 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Then I cooked them in the oven at 350°F for perhaps 25 minutes.

Than I chopped tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro and mixed this together with a bit of lemon juice.

And I blended an entire garlic head (peeled and whatnot) with 1/2 cup of olive oil and a bit of cilantro and then added a tablespoon of lemon juice. Then I mixed half of this with like 150 grams of natural yogurt.

Then you cut the top off the pita, and stuff it full of these ingredients.

The recipe turned out pretty well. This is only the second time I made falafel. The first time was like 5 years ago and I was so traumatized by the experience that I didn't try again until today. Hahahaha.

Next time I'll probably cook the garlic bulb in the oven maybe 10-15 minutes before blending it with the oil, because the sauce turned out sooooo strong, burn your mouth strong. And next time I won't forget the salt!!! That sure complicates things. Overall I was satisfied with the results for the first time in forever that I made falafel, but the one thing that bothered me is that the inside of the falafel patties weren't at all "bready", like I've eaten before. Cuak. Anyone have any tips?