This is Naan bread, the perfect accompaniment to a curry.
It’s a flat leavened bread that is light, delicious and bears no resemblance to the
supermarket naan bread. Put those tasteless, additive packed imposters out of your head
and give this a go, you won’t look back!
Ingredients:
- 150mls warm milk
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons dried active yeast
- 450g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 150 mls live natural yoghurt
- 1 egg
Method:
- Gently heat the milk. It should be hot, but you should be able to hold your finger in it without burning yourself.
- Add the honey and yeast. Stir well, dissolving the yeast. Leave in a warm place for 15 minutes. It should become frothy, and the yeast should be releasing its wonderful aroma.
- Combine the sifted flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture, olive oil, yoghurt, and egg. Mix thoroughly until all the flour has been amalgamated.
- Dust a clean work surface with flour, tip the dough onto the surface and knead until you feel a change in the dough, then knead for another five minutes. This should take about ten minutes. (I always set a timer because ten minutes is a lot longer than you think!)
- When ready, put a teaspoon of olive oil in your hand, pick up the dough and make a ball, covering the dough with oil. Dust the bowl with a little flour, place the dough in the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel.
- Leave in a warm place, airing cupboard, back of Aga, near a radiator, anywhere warm and cosy to rise for an hour or so. The dough should double in size, but if it isn’t quite double don’t worry, keep going!
- Now the tricky bit. If you have a tanoor or clay pizza oven, go ahead and use it! If not, heat your oven and make it as hot as possible. If you have a separate grill, heat that up too.
- Put a large baking tray in the oven to heat up. Whilst that is heating, take your dough and punch it down. Divide into six equal balls. Cover 5 and work as fast as possible with the sixth. Work the dough, stretching it into a tear shaped loaf. Aim to make it 25cm in length and about 12cm at its widest point.
- When ready, remove the hot tray from the oven and slap the dough onto it. Put it back in the oven for about 4 minutes. Now watch the magic!
- Remove from the oven when the bread has puffed up and put under the hot grill, close to the element until the naan bread browns a little. Repeat with the other five dough balls.
- It is at its best eaten straight away. If you are not eating immediately wrap the bread in a clean tea towel.
