Spicy Naan

This is a reasonably simple recipe for an Indian flatbread. I got the recipe from a magazine and modified it. It's a bit time-consuming, but definitely worth it! Goes great with curries.

• Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 12 breads

Ingredients

• 2  cups water (lukewarm)
• 1  teaspoon  yeast
• 1  cup milk (lukewarm)
• 6  cups flour
• 1  tablespoon salt
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 2  tablespoons  melted ghee or 2  tablespoons  oil  oil (can be omitted, makes bread less soft) or 2  tablespoons  melted butter
• 1  tablespoon cumin seed (can be omitted)

Directions

1. Proof yeast in 1/2 cup of the water: mix the water and the yeast and teaspoon of flour in a cup; cover and let sit until it's bubbly and active (5- 10 minutes).
2. Mix the yeast/water, the milk and the rest of the water in a large bowl.
3. Stir in 2 cups of flour (always stir in the same direction) until smooth.
4. Add the salt, oil and cumin seeds and stir well.
5. Add the remaining flour 1/2 a cup at a time until the dough is too stiff to stir.
6. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board.
7. Knead well, until the dough is springy; only add enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the board.
8. Let dough rise in a lightly oiled bowl, covered with plastic, in a cool place for a few hours (warmer rising spot= shorter rise; I prefer leaving it longer).
9. When the dough has risen to about double its original size, knead it down.
10. Preheat the oven to 500ºF.
11. I use unglazed quarry tiles in my oven when I make naan, attempting to mimic the tandoor ovens that are supposed to be used.
12. If you don't have baking tiles, just use a baking sheet (I guess).
13. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces and form them into balls.
14. Brush the top of each ball lightly with melted butter or ghee and let it sit for about 20 minutes before shaping (by the time you've formed the last ball, the first one has usually sat long enough).
15. Shape and bake naan two at a time: first smoosh the ball down flat with your fingers, then stretch it out into an oval shape.
16. Transfer to the oven using a baking peel, or some other lightly floured thing you can use to slide the breads into the oven.
17. Bake for about 6 minutes, or until puffy and getting brown.
18. Yum!