My daughter brought this cook book home from school last year. One of the recipes in this book was Naan bread. This bread is so cool. It is fast and easy to make. It is easy to pack in lunches. It is versatile (I will come back to that) and it tastes good.
When I first saw the recipe I was intrigued because you broil the bread. Then I was like we can do this on the fire sweet.
The bread is unique, kind of a cross between fry bread and a pita. More towards fry bread since the dough rises at different rates.
Here is the recipe Makes four individual loaves
3 tablespoons of lukewarm milk
2 teaspoons fresh yeast
1 and 2/3 cup white bread flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 egg beaten
3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
2 tablespoons melted butter
cumin seeds
oil for greasing pans
- Using your finger mix the milk and the fresh yeast together. Set it aside until it get a little bubbly (about 10 minutes)
- Sift the flour and salt together.
- Using a wooden spoon gradually stir the yeast mixture, egg, and yogurt together. Once blended,gradually stir the flour into the mix. Stir until you have a soft dough.
- Knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface or until it is a smooth elastic dough. If you have hot hands you will need to flour your hands.
- Lightly grease a bowl with oil. Put the dough in the bowl cover and let rise until it has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Knead the seeds into each quarter (optional).
- Using a rolling pin, roll each quarter into a tear drop shape. Stretch the dough if needed.
- Preheat the baking tray/pan under the broiler.
- Brush the butter on both sides of the naans. Place on the tray and broil both sides 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.
This bread is great for the kids lunches – which I already mentioned. It is quick (prep and cook time for a double was 20 minutes). It is versatile. Here are some of the ways this bread can be used
- for dips and salsa
- it is great for salad sandwiches
- my kids idea was tacos – haven’t tried it yet
- roll the dough thinner add pastrami and cheese, fold it over and you have a makeshift calizone
- You can make cheap desserts with it. Just add some pie filling and fold the dough over
- You can turn it into a sweet bread just by adding some honey