A few weeks back I conquered baking naan for the first time. My hubs just loooves Indian food and since I pretty much decide what we get to eat for dinner every night, I figured it would only be right to attempt a few of his favorite things. I served this along side my pitiful attempt at saag paneer which I will not be posting a recipe for any time soon. In all honesty it tasted ok - hubs was a happy camper, but it really was not up to my Tomato Snob standards. Perhaps after a few more tries I'll be closer to channeling my inner Padma Lakshmi. As for the naan the recipe it's super straight forward. The bread is delicious and leftovers were awesome two days later slathered in cheese, sliced tomatoes and more leftover tapenade - YAY.
Easy oven naan
INGREDIENTS: Yields 8 flat breads
1 1/2 tsps dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsps cane sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour or stone ground whole wheat
1 tsp salt
6 tbss ghee - melted & cooled
3 tbs yogurt - I used low fat
3 tsp toasted cumin seeds (optional)
PREP: Combine water, yeast & sugar and let set until frothy (about 10 mins). Sift flour & salt into a large bowl, 3 tbs of the ghee, yogurt as well as the yeast mixture. Mix through with your fingers until the dough comes together and transfer to a clean floured surface to kneed. Kneed the dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 mins). Add a few drops of oil to a clean bowl place the dough in and cover to rest for 1.5 to two hours. Punch down and kneed for another 10 mins. Divide dough into 8 balls, then flatten out (about 1/2 inch thick) onto an oil foil lined baking sheet - you can use a rolling pin if it's easier. Brush the naan with more ghee and sprinkle with toasted cumin seeds.
BAKE: Pre heat at 400. Then bake naan until puffy and golden. About 10 mins.
