Naan
Naan is a flat bread commonly served at Indian restaurants. This recipe is easy to make, although it takes quite a bit of time to raise. The bread tastes great eaten plain or served with your favorite curry.
Naan
Put the yogurt in a separate bowl. I used a four-cup measuring cup. I didn't have the yogurt at room temperature, but it probably would help to minimize the rising time. Add the boiling water and whisk it together. Add the yeast and stir well. Add the sugar, butter, and egg, and stir well.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Using the dough hook, blend the mixture for a bit. The dough should hold together and resemble a soft bread dough. If the dough is too soft, add up to 1/2 cup more flour. The moisture content of your flour and yogurt will determine how much flour you need. The dough is the right texture when it looks like soft roll dough.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn the dough to coat with oil. (I just left mine in the mixing bowl.) Cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to raise for four hours, or until double in size. Punch down the dough and knead for about one minute. The dough will be a lot less sticky than it was before, but should still be soft.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Place on an oiled plate or non-stick surface and loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap. If you have time, let the dough rise again for a few minutes.
Place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven. Heat your oven to 550° or set on broil. If you don't have a pizza stone or a baking stone, you can use a greased or oiled cookie sheet.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough until it is very thin, about a 6-8 inch circle. If you want your naan in a traditional shape, roll out or pull the bread into a teardrop shape. Brush the entire top of the dough with melted butter. You can also sprinkle the bread with garlic, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, or other spices to add more flavor.
For a baking stone: Slide the bread onto the baking stone, and bake for 3-4 minutes, until some bubbles puff up and the tops of the bubbles turn golden brown. While the naan is baking, roll out your next ball of dough.
For a cookie sheet: Oil the baking sheet, and fit as many naan on the sheet as you can (2-3 usually.) Bake for 3-4 minutes, just until some bubbles puff up and the tops of the bubbles turn golden brown.
Repeat rolling out the dough and baking until you have baked all the naan. As the naan comes out of the oven, store it in a clean, folded towel to keep it warm. Serve immediately, or while still warm. The bread doesn't keep for more than a couple of days, but will still be good the next day if you store it in an airtight container – it tastes best if you warm it up again before serving. Freeze leftovers immediately if you won't use them the next day.
Melinda's notes: I was pretty skeptical that the recipe would work, but the bread was soft and delicious. I left my naan plain, because I was serving it with tikka masala, which is quite spicy on its own. Naan is great with garlic butter and parsley, or other seasonings. Some people brush it with butter after baking, too, but that was too much butter for my taste.
Naan
2-1/2 cups flourMix together the flour and salt in your mixer's bowl (Bosch, KitchenAid, etc.), or use a large mixing bowl. (If you are using a bread maker, mix the ingredients according to your instructions).
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. plain yogurt at room temperature
1/2 c. boiling water
1 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter
1 egg
1/4-1/2 cup melted butter for brushing on dough
Put the yogurt in a separate bowl. I used a four-cup measuring cup. I didn't have the yogurt at room temperature, but it probably would help to minimize the rising time. Add the boiling water and whisk it together. Add the yeast and stir well. Add the sugar, butter, and egg, and stir well.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Using the dough hook, blend the mixture for a bit. The dough should hold together and resemble a soft bread dough. If the dough is too soft, add up to 1/2 cup more flour. The moisture content of your flour and yogurt will determine how much flour you need. The dough is the right texture when it looks like soft roll dough.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn the dough to coat with oil. (I just left mine in the mixing bowl.) Cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to raise for four hours, or until double in size. Punch down the dough and knead for about one minute. The dough will be a lot less sticky than it was before, but should still be soft.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Place on an oiled plate or non-stick surface and loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap. If you have time, let the dough rise again for a few minutes.
Place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven. Heat your oven to 550° or set on broil. If you don't have a pizza stone or a baking stone, you can use a greased or oiled cookie sheet.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough until it is very thin, about a 6-8 inch circle. If you want your naan in a traditional shape, roll out or pull the bread into a teardrop shape. Brush the entire top of the dough with melted butter. You can also sprinkle the bread with garlic, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, or other spices to add more flavor.
For a baking stone: Slide the bread onto the baking stone, and bake for 3-4 minutes, until some bubbles puff up and the tops of the bubbles turn golden brown. While the naan is baking, roll out your next ball of dough.
For a cookie sheet: Oil the baking sheet, and fit as many naan on the sheet as you can (2-3 usually.) Bake for 3-4 minutes, just until some bubbles puff up and the tops of the bubbles turn golden brown.
Repeat rolling out the dough and baking until you have baked all the naan. As the naan comes out of the oven, store it in a clean, folded towel to keep it warm. Serve immediately, or while still warm. The bread doesn't keep for more than a couple of days, but will still be good the next day if you store it in an airtight container – it tastes best if you warm it up again before serving. Freeze leftovers immediately if you won't use them the next day.
Melinda's notes: I was pretty skeptical that the recipe would work, but the bread was soft and delicious. I left my naan plain, because I was serving it with tikka masala, which is quite spicy on its own. Naan is great with garlic butter and parsley, or other seasonings. Some people brush it with butter after baking, too, but that was too much butter for my taste.
I was just looking at a recipe for Naan! I am excited to try it.
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