All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Thursday, October 9, 2008

making naan bread


For a while last year, I seemed to see articles about naan all the time - even my local supermarket ( now closed) offered it, misshapen and rustic, in plastic bags near the checkout. When I started feeling that too-full feeling from my usual sandwich bread, I decided to try naan. While naan does use yeast, it's more like a soft pita bread - and thicker than pita. It's also fast - probably 1 1/2-2 hours in all, depending on rising time. There is only one rising, then you shape the dough into a "teardrop " shape, and bake quickly in a hot oven. Many recipes call for an additional quick broil, but I skipped that.
What I like about this bread is that you can mix in spices and herbs as you make the dough - I've been leaning heavily toward coriander powder and cracked pepper, but I might start trying minced fresh herbs as well.
This recipe makes four large naan ( as big, at least, as your hand).
To make:
4 T. milk, lukewarm
1 small packet yeast, 1/4 oz, softened in the warm milk
1 T. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 T. plain yogurt
2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour
1-2 t. coriander and freshly cracked pepper
about 1/4 t. salt
Melted butter to brush on naan.
Soften yeast in the milk and let blend for 15 minutes.
Mix all the ingredients, including the milk/yeast mixture, in mixer bowl. If dough seems dry, add 1-2T. warm water. Switch to a dough hook, or just massage dough until silky.
Let rise in a covered, oiled bowl for about an hour, or til doubled
Form dough into a ball, and cut into four pieces.
Preheat oven to 400F. Place unoiled baking sheet in oven to heat up.
Shape each piece into a teardrop shape with a rolling pin, about hand size.
When oven is at 400, remove baking pan ( remember- it's HOT!)
Place naan on baking sheet, brush with melted butter, and quickly place in oven.
Bake naan 5 minutes on each side.
They will be done in ten minutes. Let cool before packaging.
These are thick enough to cut in half for sandwiches.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Katrina ~ Crazy-busy weekend! (aren't they always that way?)

I've never had naan, but I have seen it in the store - guess I'll have to try it sometime. I love almost any kind of bread, so I'll probably like it too.

This looks chewy and delicious.

Anonymous said...

It HAS been a wonderfully busy weekend here, with lots of walks in the brilliant sunshine under a canopy of blazing leaves - gorgeous!

The naan I started making now seems to be popular within the family - my little granddaughter loves to have a whole one (none of that cutting in half!) to dunk into jam, honey, or peanut butter. And I now mail my mother naan, because she can't find a bread she likes. I just like having fresh bread - not a huge loaf - every few days. But, then again, it may not be for everyone, Barb....

Enjoy these beautiful days!

Anonymous said...

Hi Katrina! I love your blog! I wanted to tell you that I have been experimenting with grilling naan. I was interested in learning a bread that could be cooked without electricity and naan fits the bill perfectly. You should try it on a grill or cook cannister outside.Barbara

Anonymous said...

Barbara - Amazing. This is how this bread originated - in Persia and Persian speaking countries, and then, slowly, to India and beyond. So you're following it back to its earliest source. I would love to hear about how the grilling affects texture ( mine was tender and somewhat fluffy), and taste! Thanks for the great feedback!

Anonymous said...

Hi again Katrina! The texture depended on how thickly the dough was rolled out. We preferred a rather thicker circle and that puffed up more like a restaurant naan. I'm sure that the skin was a bit crisper than if baked...but the grill marks were lovely. When we rolled it out very thin it was more of a cracker. At first we didn't like these, but after they sat a bit, they were very nice and could definitely be used as a cracker. I can't tell you how well they last because our entire batch was eaten by the next morning! Here's the recipe that I based my experiment on. I love allrecipes.com because of the input of so many people. Some of them have wonderful ideas. Barbara

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Naan/Detail.aspx

Anonymous said...

Hi Barbara - Oh! I thought you used this recipe! I'll go check out the allrecipes one....

Anonymous said...

I just checked it out - I think the big difference is their naan requires 2 risings, and includes sugar ( but no spices) - but very interesting recipe. I'm happy to hear that this grills well, I hope to get a grill next summer to try all those great grill recipes I've been collecting..
Thanks for your input!

Anonymous said...

Katrina - I'm sorry I wasn't clear. When I make it again, I will use your recipe and report back. It was too windy for me to use my cannister cooker, so I'd like to try again, this time also cooking them in a cast iron skillet over the cannister cooker.

I did change the allrecipe by adding 1/2 teaspoon of banking soda and using a bit less flour. Barbara

Anonymous said...

Another tasty recipe from you
Made it for dinner today. It was a big hit. Thanks Katrina!!

katrina said...

Awesome, Anon! Hmmmm, now you got me thinking it's time for me to make this again - thanks!