Katy's Naan Recipe (First Attempt!)

Method:

1. Mix together a couple tablespoons of the warm water with the sugar and yeast. Let this sit until it bubbles, whilst this is happening there is plenty to do!

2. Put you’re flour and salt into a mixing bowl and mix together. Melt your ghee gently and have it ready with the remainder of the warm water. If you wants seeds through your dough, then add them now too. A teaspoon or so will suffice, toasted lightly first.

3. Add the yogurt to the yeast mixture, then the ghee( Make sure that it has cooled, it should only be warm), pour over your flour and mix. Go on to add the water. You will have a very wet sticky ‘dough’. More of a paste! Knead this for 5 or so mins until it starts to retain it’s shape more, and is less paste like. Set to prove for an hour and a half in an oil coated bowl, .. it should double in size. Mine didn’t, I think that Blake & Bull H&Q was a little chilly! The better the prove, the better the characteristic bubbles later..

4. Knock the dough back, and divide into 8 pieces. Roll each one on a floured surface and pull into a teardrop shape. Take your seasoned liner and place on the hot plate. Then place your Naan on this, turn when the first bubbles appear on one side (let the bubbles firm up a bit). You will get colour quickly, and you can flip to colour all sides. Don’t be afraid to go dark!

5. I then transferred mine to the oven, on one of our cast iron baking sheets to keep warm, I also found that they needed a bit of cooking through.

Things that I found tricky - The wetness of the dough, although I think the yogurt adds so much to the mix that I wouldn’t remove it. I found that because my prove wasn’t a triumph, the breads were a little flatter than I had liked.

What I found out - Cooking on the hotplate is fun and quick, and definitely gave an authentic darkness to the Naan! The dried chilli warmed in the ghee gave a really nice chilli taste and warmth, not chilli heat. And I liked the fennel A LOT! I think they offset the rich ghee too.