homemade naan bread.

Naan bread.  It's delicious.  And expensive.  And insanely hard to find sometimes.  So.. I took matters into my own hands (literally) and made some homemade naan bread.  I was making chicken tikka masala for dinner on Sunday as a request and decided that after humming and hawing and working up the courage to make homemade naan I might as well go for it!  (I bought back-up pita bread since our local grocery store was out of naan.  As usual.)  To be honest... it turned out so well that I do not think I will ever buy it again.  Why buy it when it is so easy and inexpensive to make?

Here's the ball of dough after I mixed and kneaded it.  And before I started praying that it would rise while I waited two hours for a ball of dough to work some magic.  

This was probably the point that I started praying... after I covered the dough with a damp cloth.  This is also probably one of my favourite kitchen pictures because my handwritten recipe is sitting there too.  Candid shot of a hidden dough ball.  And now... the good stuff!

ingredients

• 3 cups of flour (approx.)
• 2 tsp. dry active yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 tsp. minced garlic)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free because that's what we had)
• 1 egg (I might just substitute more yogurt next time to replace the egg)

directions

(1)  In a small bowl combine yeast, sugar, and warm water.  Stir and make sure all of the yeast dissolves--I did not know yeast had such a rancid smell.  Once it's mixed and dissolved, let the mixture stand until the top is frothy which will take about 10 minutes.  Then stir in the oil, egg, and yogurt and mix until everything is combined well.

(2)  In a larger bowl, combine 1 to 1 1/2 cups of flour with salt and spices.  Then, carefully add the bowl of wet ingredients to the dry mixture.  While mixing with a spoon continue adding a bit of flour at a time until it becomes tough to stir.  

(3)  Make sure you have a table top or counter well-floured and knead the dough on your surface adding more flour as needed for about 5 minutes or until the ball of dough is soft with an elastic feel to it.  Make sure it isn't sticky.  

(4)  Place the dough ball into a bowl with a damp towel on top.  Let it rise until it doubles in size.  I let it sit for 2 hours. 

(5)  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Use a cooking spray, butter, or olive oil to lightly grease the skillet.  (You will likely have to grease it between individual breads.)  Cut the dough ball into 8 equal portions and then roll each portion into a ball.  Using a lightly floured rolling pin roll one of the portions out until it's about 1/4 of an inch in thickness.  Brush lightly with water or butter and cook on one side until large bubbles form  (I didn't think it would happen for mine but it did!) and the other side is golden brown and then flip and cook the other side.  Repeat. 

(6)  Brush each side lightly with butter or ghee and enjoy!  

I am going to see how well they freeze and make a few batches so I can have them on hand when I need them.  My taste tester doesn't like rice so naan is always a big deal when I cook Indian food.  I can imagine more possibilities for this delicious naan:  hummus, flatbread pizzas... the possibilities are endless in my mind.  

It has also taken a lot of willpower for me to save the last piece.  I am definitely making more this weekend.  You'll have to wait until Thursday or Friday for the second half of the best meal I've ever made:  Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala.  (It's even better than my White Girl Butter Chicken which I am going to turn into a Crock Pot meal someday soon.)