Naan Bread

I love bread of all kinds, especially if it is freshly baked.  So when my husband suggested I make Naan bread to go with our Indian food, I was all over it.  I had never had Naan before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I had seen it on cooking shows, and it sounded good.  I had even seen it in the stores as well, but was skeptical about those.  So I found a recipe and went to it.  It was really easy as far as breads go.  And I thought it tasted great.  I had nothing to compare it to, to know if it tasted like it was supposed to, but I liked it.  Then when we were in New Zealand over spring break, I was able to try it at an authentic Indian restaurant.  It was pretty darn close, my Naan bread measured up!  Yeah!!  This is about the only part of our dinner that my 6 year old will eat, but he loves it!


Naan Bread
Adapted from Allrecipes
Printable Recipe

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 Tbls milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Let it stand for 10 minutes, until it becomes frothy.  Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt and the flour.  Start with 4 cups of flour, and work up if you need to, to make a soft dough.  Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until smooth.  Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour, until it has doubled in size.

Punch down the dough.  Pinch of small handfuls of dough and roll into the size of a golf ball.  Place on a tray, cover and rise for another 30 minutes.  If you want to freeze some of the dough (it makes A LOT), you would wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and put in freezer before you let it rise for the second time.  This works very well, I have done it before.  Just let them come to room temperature before your proceed to the next step.  With 3 people eating it, the first time we ended up wasting a lot of it!  I learned my lesson. 



Once they have risen, roll the dough into a thin circle.  In a small saute pan melt the butter and garlic together.  Preheat the grill.  You can use the outdoor grill, or a grill pan to cook these.  Lightly oil the grill, and place the dough on.  Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, until it starts to get puffy, and little bubbles form. 



Brush the uncooked side with the garlic butter, and turn over.  Brush the other side with butter, and cook for another 2 minutes.  Remove from grill, and finish cooking the rest of the bread.



Serve with Chicken Vindaloo, or anything else you would like.  This would go well with soups too!