I love the versatility of a good fluffy, bubbled and buttered naan bread; from the ubiquitous nigella seed topped version to the almost extinct restaurant-style, cheese naan – my favourite. Whenever I cook Indian food … and have the time, I prepare a batch of naan dough to cook a few – and freeze the rest. And, although my kitchen is devoid of a tandoor oven, when you taste these, you wouldn’t know it!
Naan Bread
I love the versatility of a good fluffy, bubbled and buttered naan bread; from the ubiquitous nigella seed topped version to the almost extinct restaurant-style, cheese naan - my favourite. Whenever I cook Indian food ... and have the time, I prepare a batch of naan dough to cook a few - and freeze the rest. And, although my kitchen is devoid of a tandoor oven, when you taste these, you wouldn't know it!
Ingredients
makes 5 naans
- 1½ tsp fast-action yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 150ml warm water (150grams - weighing water is always more precise!)
- 300g strong bread flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp ghee or melted butter
- 5 tbsp natural yoghurt (110g)
- A little vegetable oil for the bowl (for the proving)
Naan dough
- fresh coriander
- nigella seeds
- garlic cloves
- cream cheese
toppings & fillings*
NOTES*
Once you have proved and divided the dough, you can freeze any you are not going to cook there and then. I like to seperate the dough pieces with small squares of parchment paper and store them in a tupperware container. They will keep for 3 months. When needed, defrost the dough pieces before heating the heavy-bottomed pan. Prepare as desired.
Method
In a small bowl, add the sugar and fast-action yeast along with two tablespoons of warm water (body temperature) and stir well to combine. Leave the yeast mix for ten minutes until if starts to froth. Once it has frothed up stir in the yoghurt.
Then weigh out the flour into a large bowl and in the salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mix along with the melted ghee (or butter). Start staring while you slowly add the warm water until you have a slightly sticky dough - you may not need all of the water. Kneed the dough until you have a dough that springs back and has a silky finish. I kneed my dough in the bowl; that way I am not adding any extra flour - and making less mess! Once your dough is needed, add a little oil to the bowl and roll the dough to cover. Cover the bowl (damp kitchen cloth or a plate) and leave the dough to prove and double in size for 1½ to 2 hours.
Once proved, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, flatten out and divide/ cut in to six equal pieces and roll into a rough ball-shape. At this point you can freeze any you want to save for another day.
Put a large, heavy-bottomed pan over a high heat.
For my cheese naan, flatten out one dough ball and add 1½ tablespoons of cream cheese just off-centre, fold over and using your fingers, push the dough out to form a rough circle. Then pick the dough up between 2 fingers and let gravity do its business - forming the classic teardrop shape.
To cook the naan breads, lay the naan into the hot pan and cook until the dough starts to bubble. Then turn over and cook the other side until the bubbly bits have taken on a dark golden hue. Remove from the pan and brush with more melted ghee or butter.
For the coriander & garlic naan, gently push the crushed garlic into the dough before laying the naan into the hot pan - plain-side-down. Continue as above and after brushing with the melted ghee, sprinkle over a few coriander leaves.
For the nigella seeded naan, after brushing with the melted ghee, simply sprinkle over a generous amount of seeds.
James and the flat peach x
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