Naan Bread

Because we live in the deep dark Scottish countryside, fresh naan bread is not available unless we visit a restaurant. I decided to try my hand at making them one year. Pleased with the results, I ended up making them for years.

This recipe from Madhur Jaffrery's Eastern Vegetarian Cooking. The recipe is modified for domestic ovens so that you don't feel the need to buy a clay tandoor. The recipe calls for a great deal of plain yoghurt. Conveniently, I have a coal fired range in my house. It was discovered that if the door to the oven portion of this range was left open, the temperature inside was perfect for the making of yoghurt. This means that I only ever have to buy a small amount of yoghurt as starter and make the pint of yoghurt needed here at home.

A different recipe that doesn't require any yoghurt can be found HERE.
1lb/450g plain white flour
1tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
about 15 fl oz plain yoghurt
unsalted butter (optional)

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Slowly add as much yoghurt as you need to gather the flour together and make a soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes and form a ball. Put the ball in a bowl and cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Set this aside in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Knead the dough again and divide into nine equal parts. Keep these covered util you are ready to bake them.

Heat a cast iron frying pan or griddle over a lowish flame.

Pre-heat the grill

Take one of the parts of dough and make a ball out of it. Flatten it and then roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

When the frying pan or griddle is hot, slap the naan onto the frying pan. Let it cook for a few minutes. It will puff up a bit, sometimes it will puff up completely. Now place the whole frying pan or griddle under the grill to cook the top half of the naan. This was always the part that my children loved and where the bread got the nick name "puff-a-puff" bread. The bread will puff as it cooks. You will know it is finished because reddish spots will have appeared on the surface of your naan. Remove the naan with a spatula and brush with butter if you like. Make all your naans this way, keeping them stacked and covered with a clean cloth.