We interrupt the regularly scheduled blog post to bring you... Naan.
I had to ditch what I planned on posting today because I was so love with this recipe it took center stage. I originally saw this recipe on Pinterest and fell in love with the photo of Naan covered in fresh herbs. This recipe originates from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, a cookbook I love. I had made the Naan recipe before, but this time I tried it with olive oil. That was it, I was hooked.
We love this bread torn into chunks and dipped in soup or to mop up any sloppy dinner.
Call me crazy, but Naan made for breakfast and spread with raspberry jam is amazing.
Smear some Naan with peanut butter and jelly and you have a creative twist to an old favorite.
This recipe comes together in minutes and requires no kneading. After a two hour rise you are ready to go. Or, you can refrigerate the dough for up for 3 to 4 days.
(Adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine via Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)
((Printable Recipe))
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups hot water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 tablespoon sea salt (plus more for sprinkling)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more for cooking)
5 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
Directions:
1. In a large container or bowl (at least 5 quarts) mix the water, yeast, and sugar. Let the yeast proof for a few minutes (until it starts to bubble.)
2. Stir in the olive oil and salt. Then stir in the flour. You can use a heavy wooden spoon (or if you don't mind getting dirty, just use your hands like I do.)
3. Cover (not airtight) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for two hours. During this time the dough will rise and then collapse. The dough can be used right away of kept loosely covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
4. Divide the dough into 10 balls. You can make it all at once or tear off what you want and use the rest another day.
5. Heat a medium sized skillet (I used my cast iron skillet.) Dust your counter lightly with flour and roughly roll a ball into an 8 inch round. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and add the Naan. Brush the top of the cooking Naan with a little more olive oil. When the top of the Naan begins to bubble and the bottom is lightly golden, flip the Naan and continue cooking for a few more seconds, until the other side is golden brown.
6. Remove the Naan and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Repeat with the other balls of Naan dough.
This has become a household staple, since it can be refrigerated and kept for a bit. Whenever we run out of homemade "regular" bread, I whip out my cast iron pan, a plastic sheet, flour and my bag of naan from the refrigerator and fry up what we need to complete lunch. It is great with soups. We tried to turn it into pizza once which was a little mixed. It wasn't crunchy enough, though I suppose if we fried it more, it would work. And we pronounce it so it sounds like "non" which makes it fun to say, "Hey, would you like a naan pbj" or "naan grilled cheese sandwhich" or "naan TLT sandwich) (TLT = Tofu, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich. You fry slices of tofu in soy sauce to give it the salty taste of bacon.)
ReplyDeleteShame I can't pin this to my pinterest page! :-( x
ReplyDeleteTracie, I'm not sure why it won't Pin for you. I just pinned it, so here is a link and hopefully you can repin it from there. :) http://pinterest.com/pin/28217935137704566/
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