linbakesbread

Good morning bread bakers.

I’m very excited to try something new today – naan. I searched the internet and decided on a recipe by Aarti Sequeira from Food Network. It was the most authentic recipe I could find – Aarti is Indian and her recipe was passed down to her from one of her Aunts. My husband plans to make hummus, so looking forward to a light dinner of fresh naan and hummus.

Please bake Naan with me.

Special Tools you will need:

Cast iron skillet

Just a few ingredients:

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup melted butter

Directions:

Dissolve yeast: In a large glass, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with ¾ cup warm water. Let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes.

Sift dry ingredients: Sift flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and baking powder in a large, deep bowl.

Mix wet ingredients: Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and olive oil and stir to combine.

Make dough: Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and gently mix together with a fork. When dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn’t enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft free place for 2 to 4 hours.

Prepare to shape the naan: When you are ready to roll, make sure you have 2 bowls on your counter: one with extra flour and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky – this is good. Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking together.

Shape the naan: Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape. It should be 8-9 inches long, 4 inches wide at its widest and about ¼ inch thick. Once you’ve formed the general shape, you can pick it up by one end and wiggle it to stretch it out. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough.

Prepare to cook the naan: Warm a large cast–iron skillet over high heat until it’s nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.

Cook the naan: Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of you naans, flipping it from hand to hand to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it on the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.

After about 1 minute, flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened. Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

Remove the naan from the skillet and brush with a bit of butter. Place the naan in a tea-towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naan.

The finished naan:

Reflections on this bake:

Really tasty and easy to make. I would make them a little smaller next time since my cast-iron skillet is not that big. I also think I went a little heavy on the butter, but other than that, they were delicious.