Indian breads. My kitchen nemeses. I don't know what it is about them that I just can't seem to master. My favourite, paratha, is always a hit or miss, with more misses than hits. It could be the rolling. I'm still not very good at rolling out dough, especially when the dough needs to be on the thinner side. I can never get it even, which risks some areas being overcooked and others being undercooked. It could also be the heat of my tawa. Too high or too low - hardly just right.
It took me a while to one to work on for this month's Bread Bakers. Naan won, because naan didn't look "perfect". I could focus on making it even without worrying if it were a circle. In fact, the blog that I was reading highly recommended hand-stretching over rolling. I could aim for an oval-ish and stress a tad less. A tad.
It worked. My naan worked. Did I struggle a bit with the best cooking times? Yes. But did I have very delicious, fluffy naan at the end? Yes, yes, yes. I might even try this again.
Thanks for pushing me out of comfort zone, Renu! Scroll down to see how others mastered Indian breads this month!
Butter Naan
Yield: 8 naans
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon active yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ml yogurt
6 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
Melted butter for brushing
Directions
Whisk flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together. Add yogurt, milk, and melted butter. Knead until you have a soft, smooth dough. Add more milk if needed. Dough should be tacky.
Cover and rest until the dough doubles in size. You can also refrigerate overnight.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
On a floured surface, roll (hand-stretch) each ball into an oval that's about 8 inches by 5 inches. Don't stress too much about getting the perfect size.
Heat a tawa (or griddle) over medium heat. Place the naan on the heated tawa. After about a minute, it should start bubbling. Flip the naan, and cook for another minute to minute and a half. Remove from the tawa, brush with butter, and repeat.
Serve immediately.
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- Butter Naan from Passion Kneaded
- Cheese and Garlic Naan from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Gujarati-style Savory Pancakes from Food Lust People Love
- Gulachi Sanjyachya Polya with Whole Wheat Flour from Sneha's Recipe
- "Instant" Appam from A Messy Kitchen
- Khamiri Roti from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
- Litti Chokha from Cook with Renu
- Magical Avocado Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Butter Naan from Passion Kneaded
- Cheese and Garlic Naan from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Gujarati-style Savory Pancakes from Food Lust People Love
- Gulachi Sanjyachya Polya with Whole Wheat Flour from Sneha's Recipe
- "Instant" Appam from A Messy Kitchen
- Khamiri Roti from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
- Litti Chokha from Cook with Renu
- Magical Avocado Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm
