Friday 3 July 2009

Naan

This has to be the easiest yeast recipe ever. I made these naans tonight to go with our chicken and corn korma (Patak's sauce) and they turned out perfectly.

A few nights ago I made the naans for the first time and didn't add enough flour (I mis-weighed, if that's a real word!), so that I was dealing with a sloppy, very sticky dough that was impossible to roll, so I squashed blobs of dough into the pan with my hand. And they still turned out very well.

Tonight though the dough was just right and very easy to work with.

Mix flour, instant yeast and salt in a large bowl, and in a small bowl or jug blend together warm water, yogurt and oil. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients, then use your hands to form into a soft and slightly sticky dough. Add a few extra drops of water if necessary.

Knead the dough for a few minutes (I do this in the bowl but you can knead on a flat surface if you prefer). Cover the bowl and leave for an hour or so in a warmish place until the dough has doubled in size. Knock out the air and give the dough a very quick knead.

The dough risen and ready to be divided up.

Divide the dough into four pieces (or eight if you'd prefer smaller breads like the ones in my photos) and roll them out to about 5 mm thickness. Putting a little oil on your hands, work surface and the rolling pin will stop any sticking.

Leave to rest for 5 minutes while you heat a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Do not add any oil to the pan.

Cook each piece of dough for 4 - 5 minutes until a crust has formed and it is golden and patched with brown.

Turn it over and continue cooking until the other side is golden.

Ingredients:
500 g plain white flour
2 level tsp instant yeast
1 tsp fine salt
300 ml warm water
1 generous tbsp plain yogurt
2 tsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

Adapted from a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe

4 comments:

Mary said...

Seems quite delicious!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Great idea to make your own Naan. I really love the peshwari naan. Perhaps I should try that! Thanks for the inspirations, yours look delicious!

Rhyleysgranny said...

Oh they do look good. Quick and easy too.

Cynthia said...

I like naan with butter and tea :)