Occasionally I like to bake or try out a new recipe. Today was that kind of day. I found a recipe for Naan, which is a type of flat bread, and it looked so yummy! I think I have only had Naan once in my life, and it was at a co-worker's birthday lunch at a local Indian restaurant. It was also my firs time trying a variety of Indian foods. I liked most of what I tried, but I remembered the bread being so light and delicious. I thought a batch of Naan would go perfectly dipped in the hummus I just bought.
This was my first attempt at making Naan, and I chose a recipe without the use of yeast, because I thought it would be easier for me. And it was extremely easy. I adapted the recipe slightly from the one I found via Pinterest at IndianSimmer.
Here is the basic dough ingredients list, though you can add flavor to your Naan with various spices and herbs. I chose a basic butter Naan with some light Italian Seasoning, because it was simple and I had that readily available.
How To Easily Make Your Own Naan Bread
Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour or wheat flour
1/2 cup of warm milk
1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp oil (for your hands while mixing the dough)
Directions:
Get out your large cutting wooden cutting board. Mix the dry ingredients directly on the board (not in a bowl or mixer). Form a "well" in the center of your dry ingredients.
This was the first time I had made anything like this and not used a bowl. It was fun. Radin watched, though I let him squeeze the dough and poke it once it was formed.
Now mix milk and yogurt together in a bowl and pour half of it into the well and slowly combine it together.
She also advised to use oil on your hands if the dough sticks to your hands too much. My advice is to just go ahead and apritz some oil on your hands beforehand, cuz it WILL still to your hands. Quite a lot.
Once you have your dough made, cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for at least two hours. I put my ball of dough in a bowl and covered it with a damp tea towel, then let it sit out at room temperature since it is summer and fairly warm in the morning.
After a few hours, dust your cutting board with flour, take out the dough and knead it for about 2-3 minutes. Radin helped me with this and loved it.
Divide the dough into smaller balls. I found it was easiest to roll out the dough a bit, then cut it down the middle, and then across three times, to form eight sections of dough. My naan were kind of misshapen, but whatever.
You probably want to redust the board with flour a few times so that the dough doesn't stick to it. Roll out and flatten the balls to make bread which is a little thick and elongated. In hindsight, I would have liked mine a little thinner. As mine cooked, the dough seemed to retract and thicken up again.
Now sprinkle one side of the bread with whichever flavor you want. I made simple butter naans, so I brushed melted butter on one side and sprinkled a little Italian Seasoning.
Brush the other side with water. I didn't have another brush (mine was coated in butter), so I filled a shallow dish with water and placed the naans in it for just a few seconds.
Heat a thick bottom skillet on medium-high heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, place the naan wet (watered) side down and cover with a lid.
Let it cook for about a minute or until you see bubbles forming on top. You may need less time if you roll your naan thinner. Mine were a bit thick, so they needed the full minute. Now flip the naan and let cook an additional minute.
Once removed from the pan, I re-smothered a good amount of butter on them and let them cool slightly.
Warm naan is sooooooo good. Radin seemed to like them too, even though he isn't a big fan of breads. I packaged them up and will eat them with Hummus later on! MMMMmmmm!
I can't wait to try this recipe with other flavorings!
