Bread is scary. For years, I have avoided it. Not because I was trying to achieve my 18-year old waistline through ketosis, but because I was certain I would screw it up and waste a ton of time. But recently, I was craving naan and quite frankly the store-bought naan just wasn’t going to cut it.
The More Dough the Merrier
The recipe below only makes 4 flatbreads, but we were vacationing with a group of 8 and I wanted everyone to have their own naan for our charcuterie and small plates dinner night. I also decided I wanted enough left over to use the naan for our make your own pizza night the following day. So this was 4-times the recipe featured below or in layman’s terms a SHIT TON of dough!
A Sticky Situation
Since I was making a large quantity, I used two large bowls – each with a double recipe. When I first mixed the ingredients together, I nearly had a panic attack. It was insanely sticky. Jen told me my safe word was ocean and she would come rescue me in the event this dough took on a life of its own and started encapsulating me like the blob. Seriously, this dough was the equivalent of quicksand. The more I struggled with it, the more it stuck to my hands. I was starting to feel like I had hulk paws.
But miraculously, as the flour became more and more mixed in, my hands slowly began to find freedom – sweet freedom. The directions said to cover and place in a dark warm place. Since we were at the beach in a house where no darkness was to be found, I turned on the oven for a few minutes, turned it off, covered each bowl and placed them inside to rise. And wow, did they rise!
No Baking Necessary
Once they had more than doubled in size, we took one out, wrapped it in plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge for the next evening’s pizza crust. Jen took the other ball and cut it into 8 equal-ish parts, rolled each out and lightly fried them in a skillet. They turned out perfect! Even the pickiest eater on the trip could not get enough of the naan pizza crust the next night. I will 100% be making this recipe over and over again!
A Simple Homemade Naan Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 Flatbreads 1x
Description
Courtesy of Nick Sharma’s Season Cookbook
Ingredients
½ cup whole milk, heated to 105 to 115 degrees F
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. plain, full fat greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tsp. fine sea salt
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
2 cups all purpose flour or whole-wheat pastry flour, plus more for rolling naan
Instructions
Using a fork, whisk the milk, egg, yogurt, butter, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle with yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. The mixture should be bubbly on the surface.
Put the flour in a large bowl or mound on a clean working surface and make a well in the center.
Pour the yeast mixture into the middle of the well. Using clean hands or a large wooden spoon, gradually mix the flour from the inside wall of the well into the liquid to form a sticky dough. Knead well for 4 to 5 minutes.
Fold the dough by grabbing it from the underside and stretching it and folding it back over itself. Rotate a quarter of a turn and repeat three or four times. Brush a large bowl with a little oil and put the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a dark, warm place until it has doubled in size, about 4 hours.
Divide the dough into four equal parts and shape into balls. On a clean, lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough, one at a time, into circles about ⅛” thich and 6” in diameter.
To cook the Naan, heat a large skillet with a lid over medium -high heat. Slap a circle of dough into the hot skillet and cover the pan to trap the steam. Cook for 3-4 minutes, flip the dough and turn the heat to low. Cook covered until Naan blisters, with a few big bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and wrap in a clean kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining circles of dough.
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