Naan

pattikay in L.A.'s Note:

This naan is from the New Vegetarian Epicure. With just four ingredients and no yeast, it is simple to mix up, but it is so soft and flavorful I figured I'd add it to the many recipes already posted. Prep time does not include 1 hour of "resting."

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

Directions:

1. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Stir in the yogurt till the dough is too stiff for a spoon, then knead it in the bowl till it holds together well, adding more flour if necessary.
3. Turn it out on a floured surface and continue kneading for about 5 minutes till the dough feels smooth and elastic.
4. Form the dough into a ball and put it in an oiled bowl, covered with a towel, to rest for an hour or longer.
5. Take the dough out and cut it into 10 equal pieces. Form each into a ball and press the balls flat into round discs.
6. Heat a large frying pan or griddle, either seasoned cast iron or a good non-stick finish.
7. Heat your oven to about 500 and have the broiler on (this is how the original recipe states it - I know with my oven it's either 500 degree oven OR the broiler, but you get the idea.
8. Take 1 piece of dough at a time and roll it out on a floured surface till it is about 8-10 inches across and less than 1/4 inch thick.
9. Lay it on the hot griddle and cook it over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes (I don't think mine took that long).
10. It will puff up in places or all over, and there will be some blackish-brown spots on the bottom.
11. Slide a spatula under the naan and transfer it to the oven, directly onto the rack, for a minute or two, just till it finishes puffing up into a balloon and begins to color lightly on top.
12. Remove naan from the oven and brush it lightly with melted butter if you like.
13. Continue this way with all the dough, stacking the breads into a napkin-lined basket.
14. Serve the breads hot, fresh from the oven, or let them cool and wrap them up.
15. To reheat, wrap them in aluminum foil, in packets of 4 or 5 breads and put them in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Reviews

[~*lil_miss_SBC*~]

turned out really well, used half whole wheat flour and half white. found that the ones that were rolled thinner puffed up better. thanks!

[Jujubegirl]

Beware making these--you will gobble them all up, make more, and eat those too. These are SO good. Easy to make, too, though a little time consuming. I flatten mine out in a tortilla press. I found the flatter, the better. Getting them paper thin to the point of nearly tearing gave them those puffy little pockets like restaurant naan. I've used store-bought yogurt as well as homemade nonfat yogurt, and both work well.

[HomeFryMama]

I used whole wheat pastry flour and nonfat plain yogurt. I also added two teaspoons of turmeric for color and flavor, divided the dough into 16 small rounds, and brushed the finished product with melted garlic butter and Indian spices. They were amazing! Chewy, crisp, light, and puffy.