BAKE OFF: CHEW ON THIS
Naan is easy to make, meaning it’s not just for takeout anymore.
Naan is easy to make, meaning it’s not just for takeout anymore.
tHE WORLD IS FULL OF flATBREADS, SIMPLE dough cooked on a griddle, over open flAME OR SLAPPED ONTO THE WALL OF A 450 C tandoor oven. One of the best known is naan, that chewy, bulbous bread typically served with saucy curries and dal. Although it’s something people most often associate with takeout, naan is a simple dough to make.
In the absence of a tandoor oven, cast iron works well (it conducts heat evenly and can withstand intense heat), or you can cook the NAAN DIRECTLY ON YOUR GRILL, flIPPING WITH TONGS, for added smokiness and charred edges.
It’s a simple route to warm, freshly made BREAD, AND EACH flATBREAD COOKS IN JUST A FEW minutes on the stovetop.
Naan
Ghee is clarified butter that, with the milk solids that typically burn removed, allows you to cook at higher temperatures while retaining buttery flavour. Adding some regular butter to your oil also works, adding nuttiness as it browns.
½ cup warm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
½ tsp salt
¼ cup canola oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg oil, butter and/or ghee, for cooking
In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the water and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. (If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is inactive; toss it out!) Stir in the flour, salt, oil, yogurt and egg and stir until the dough comes together, then knead until you have a soft, pliable dough. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for an hour or two. (If you want to make it in advance, cover and store in the fridge to slow down the rise.) Pinch off pieces the size of an egg or two (depending on how big you want your naan), and roll into a thin circle or oval — don’t flour the surface, it needs to be tacky enough to grip slightly, like a post-it note. Preheat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle generously with oil and a pat of butter, or add a spoonful of ghee and rotate the pan to coat the bottom as it melts. Peel each piece of dough off the countertop and lay it in the hot skillet. (To make garlic naan, crush a clove of garlic and swirl it around in your cooking oil or warmed butter or ghee before you cook your naan.) Cook until it grows dramatic bubbles on one side, then flip and cook until golden on the other. Stack on a plate as they cook, and bring them to the table warm. Makes about 8 naan.