Well I had a craving for some curry and what better to go with it than some fresh naan bread. Boy did this ever turn out well! I used honey instead of sugar and the flavour comes through well in the finished product. This did my confidence a nice boost as two of the last three bakes didn't go so well. Ever have one of those bakes where everything that could go wrong does go wrong?
40 g liquid levain, newly refreshed
141 g milk, scalded
1/3 cup + 1 Tbs high fat Greek yogurt
25 g beaten egg
330 g bread flour
1 tsp palm sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs canola oil
I mixed the levain and wet ingredients, added the mixed dry ingredients and after combining rested for 10 minutes. I then kneaded on the counter for 8 minutes and let the dough bulk rise for 1:30 or so. I cut off 120 grams and form a ball and let this rest 8 minutes while my cast iron pan heats up to medium. The rest of the dough goes into the fridge. At the 8 minute beeper, I roll out the dough and place it in the hot dry pan and cook 3 minutes per side, then brush with butter. Very happy with the results!
I have now taken three tries at coming up with a raisin bread I like and I am reasonably happy with this one, but it still needs some work. I will call it a work in progress . . .
Happy baking,! Ski
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I'am not really a fan of curry but when I eat some, I always eat it with rice and flat bread. The naan looks gorgeous and unique, quite different form one cooked in a tandoor. Flat bread are of the first things I baked in my entire life! I also always include eggs, some form of fat and a sweetener in my flat bread, honey too in my case because I always have in my shelf. Quite differently, I flatten it first before proofing until doubled; I dimple it too before baking it directly on the bottom of my pre-heated clay pot over a lot of embers, 2 minutes on each side. I don't know if it still qualifies to be called naan, it looks like a free form focaccia when done so I just call it flat bread. Freshly baked and bigger than my face, I could easily eat 3 of this; they're so good.
What flour are you using in your raisin bread? I could definitely see dough strength because of its shape, it looks like it was baked in a round form. It looks great, there is a swirl of raisins and there are raisins in the dough as well.
Very nice and brings back memories of my first baking adventures with my clay pot!
I got a good laugh out of the "Uncle Ski!" I forgot to list the honey in my recipe and have discovered I can't edit the original post, so if anyone makes these, add 15 grams of honey to the recipe.
I am using strong bread flour for almost everything I bake. I buy my flour from the head baker at our local artisanal bakery at the back door. Twenty kilos of the finest freshest strong bread flour for $20 CND. She told me she uses this flour for almost everything in her large commercial bakery, so I am just following her lead.
I ws so hungry to tuck into my food, I forgot to take a photo of the whole naan, so here you go:
Happy baking! Uncle Ski
Canadian flours really have a reputation for being so strong!
(First liar never stands a chance! Sorry PalwithnoovenP)
I plan on teaching a class at where I work, so I am looking at breads that can be baked on a griddle and this certainly qualifies. I've never made Naan before so I have a few questions. I will bake this at home before trying to teach my fellow workers.
Your Naan was 120 grams. I've seen recipes where they were about half that weight to just a little heaver. I know that this is all person preference but do you have any idea what a normal weight might be?
It appears that you cook the Naan right after you roll it out with no rise time, is that correct?
Since I am trying to encourage the people here at work to get into Sourdough (for the flavor) I might mix the dough up the night before leaving work and then cook them on a griddle at noon the next day. Any suggestions? I could leave the dough out on the counter or put it into a refrigerator. I also plan on making a yeasted version of your recipe for a taste comparison. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks again Doctor,
Dwayne
My 120 g naan, rolled out to about 1/8" then fried directly on a medium cast pan. This weight gave me a naan which was perhaps 3/8-1/2 thick and maybe 8" in diameter, so a little bigger than what I have had in traditional Indian restaurants, so call that weight a hungry man naan. I did one just now at 85 grams and it rolled out to about 6" dia. and a little thin, but still great taste after two days in the fridge. Pal in this thread rests his flatbreads before frying, so I will try that tomorrow.
I suggest refrigerating the dough as it will keep well for several days. The naan was as good yesterday after 2 days in the fridge as it was fresh.
Most of my baking is done from a liquid levain. To do this recipe yeasted, use 1/2-1 TBS instant yeast and add 20g each water and flour. This is a super simple and satisfying recipe that will cook up in a cast pan, griddle or in the oven on a baking stone. Good luck with your project Dr. Dwayne!
Happy baking! Ski
Dr. Ski,
Many thanks for your help and answers! One more question. What is the traditional shape of Naan? Round or Oblong or other?
thanks, Dwayne
Hi Dr. Dwayne, naan has always been served round in any Indian restaurant I have been to in this country, so I also roll mine out round. I have seen video of naan being baked in the traditional tandoor and they slap the rounds on the side of the vessel producing an elongated shape.
Best of luck and happy baking! Ski
These look great Ski!
One of these days I'm going to make some Naan. When I go to China I always make my vendor take me to this specific Thai restaurant where they have Naan with green onions and I love to pile on the spicy beef dish I order.
Question for you regarding the palm sugar. So if you use the honey why are you also using the palm sugar? Wouldn't it make sense to just use all honey?
Thanks,
Ian
I find that both the palm sugar and honey add different flavour notes to the dough. I began adding 1 Tbs palm sugar to my pulla dough some time ago and it was instantly taste able. To come up with this formula, I did a search of naan recipes on google to supplement the one in my 30 year old Indian cookbook and two of the classic recipes used both sugar and honey. The palm sugar was my idea from my pulla experience. Give it a try! The recipe is fast, easy and tasty. What's not to like?
Happy baking! Ski
the thought of eating it without naan would be so wrong. Yours looks great and has to taste just right for that curry. the raisin bread looks pretty good too.
We just made some corn tortillas using the liquid from the chicken green chili for the liquid in the dough. Best tortillas ever! Made stacked enchiladas out of them. They sort of look like naan:-) Happy baking Ski
Indian food without naan is just wrong! That is a fine looking tortilla and I LOVE your idea of using the chicken, green chili liquid to make them. Great idea.
Happy baking! Ski
I baked the last 118 grams of my original dough today. It had been in the fridge for four days with no apparent ill effect. With Dwayne's project I thought I should post my results.
I made one change up this time. After I rolled out the round, I let it proof on the counter for five minutes before laying into the hot cast pan and the result was a beautiful puffy naan. Same flavour, but best looking naan of the week!
Boy did I enjoy this recipe!
Happy baking flks! Ski
Sourdough Naan:
This is Dr. Skibum’s recipe that I have put into a form that I prefer. I like breaking Instructions down into the 12 stages that I found in Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”. Let me know if you see how I can make this more clear.
Thanks, Dwayne
Day 1: Mix and ferment the dough
Day 2: Pre-shape, Shape and Cook
Recipe: Makes 8 Naan breads at 83 grams each.
Ingredients
Grams for 8
Cups
TBSP
Tsp
Calories
Baker's %
Cost
Grams for 12
Grams for 12
Flour, All Purpose
330.0
2
10
5/7
1,201
100.00%
$ 0.23
495.0
990.0
Total Flour
330
Milk, Whole
140.0
9
1/2
85
42.42%
$ 0.16
210
420
Milk, Yogurt Whole Milk
93.6
6
1/3
58
28.36%
$ 0.33
140
281
Leaven, Sourdough Starter
40.0
3
1 1/6
72
12.12%
$ -
60
120
Leaven, Baking Powder
2.1
1/2
1
0.64%
$ 0.02
3.2
6.3
Egg, Whole
25.0
1
2
36
7.58%
$ 0.06
37.5
75
Salt, Table
1.5
1/4
0
0.45%
$ 0.00
2.3
4.5
Oil, Canola
13.8
1
0
122
4.18%
$ 0.05
20.7
41.7
Sugar, Granulated
4.0
1
15
1.21%
$ 0.00
6.0
12
Sugar, Honey
15.0
2 1/8
46
4.55%
$ 0.12
22.5
45
Totals
665
1,636
201.52%
$ 0.96
997.5
1,995
Note for a Yeasted version: 1/2-1 TBS instant yeast and add 20g each water and flour.
Instructions:
Stage
Time
Duration
Description
1. Mis En Place
2. Mixing
-Dist. Ingr.
-Dev. Gluten
-Init. Firm.
11:30 A.M.
11:35 A.M.
05 Min
10 Min
3. Primary Firm.
12:15 P.M.
12:45 P.M.
1:15 P.M.
1:45 P.M.
2:15 P.M.
2:45 P.M.
30 Min
02 Min
02 Min
02 Min
02 Min
02 Min
4. Punching Down
7:30 A.M.
02 Min
Scrape the dough out of the bowl gently onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently pat it into a rectangle.
5. Dividing
7:32 A.M.
10 Min
Divide the dough into equal pieces (83 grams) for the number of Naan that you are making.
6. Rounding
7:40 A.M.
05 Min
Pre-shape each piece into a tight ball. Place each piece of dough smooth side Up onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper that has been sprayed with pam.
7. Benching
7:45 A.M.
04 Hours
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and/or a kitchen towel and let it rest for about 4 hours.
8. Shaping & Panning
11:30 A.M.
05 Min
To shape a Naan take a dough ball and roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8” thick. You can roll the dough into a circle or an oblong shape.
9. Proofing
11:35 A.M.
__ Min
After shaping the Naan, transfer them back to the parchment paper. Cover the Naan with plastic as you shape the other Naans.
10. Baking/ Cooking
11:40 A.M.
350F
__ Min
11. Cooling
11:50 A.M.
__ Min
Place in a tortilla warmer to keep warm.
12. Storing & Eating
I think that you can figure this step out by yourself. : )
I hope you are enjoying the results.
Happy baking! Ski