Southern Girl. City Swirl.: Weekend Bread Baking: Naan

Yeast bread baking use to intimidate the heck out of me! It took me years to work up the courage to work with yeast. Man have I come a long way!

My very first foray into yeast bread were these Christmas Day Rolls a couple of years ago. Y'all they are every single thing. Full of flavor and the dough is forgiving.

Then I tried my hand at cinnamon rolls. Off the charts delicious (recipe, and better picture, coming soon).

I even baked sandwiched bread that never made it to the blog but was super delicious!

Then I got full of myself and tried making croissants. It was full of so much failure. All of the failure. Just all of it. Knocked me clean off my bread baking high horse!

If you follow me on InstaGram (I don't know how to do a proper screen shot from my pc, sorry!) then you know of my great croissant debacle earlier this year. I legit wanted to weep in my kitchen y'all! They turned out horribly. OK, maybe that is an exaggeration, they were flavorful but not croissant like in texture at all. All of that European butter I used and they sucked!

Failing at those croissants was a blow to my bread baking ego. I was fully prepared to live the rest of my cooking life unable to master bread baking, buying 50 ingredient bread for the rest of my natural life. Sigh.

#Dramatic much? LOL

So I decided to start with easier breads, working with them often. I figure the more I use yeast and become familiar with proofing methods, proofing times and just the regular feel of proper dough, the better I will become. My goal is to master croissants by year end!

So this weekend, I made naan*! The dough is easy and forgiving and it only required one rise (proofing). Naan is a very versatile flat bread that can be infused with any number of flavors. They are best eaten warm, in my opinion!

Topped with Steak, Arugula, Gorgonzola and Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette

Homemade Naan

Adapted from: http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-naan-step-step-photos/

What you need:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup hot tap water
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1 cup Greek yogurt
Olive Oil or melted salted butter, enough to brush each side of your flattened dough

What to do:

In a medium size bowl dissolve the sugar in the warm water (about 105 degree F). Add the dry yeast to the warm water and stir until the yeast is dissolved.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam and rise.

Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder to a stand mixture bowl.

When the yeast is foamy, add the warm milk and yogurt.

Pour the wet ingredients right into the middle of the dry. Mix the ingredients with the dough hook attachment of your mixer just until the dough comes together. The dough should be sticky, but should form a ball and be soft.

If you don't have a mixer, begin mixing the wet with dry using a wooden spatula. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to finish mixing. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. It should be sticky, but should form a ball and be soft.
Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place 1 hour.

When ready to cook divide the dough into 8-10 equal balls. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into an oval shape. It should be about 6-8 inches long and about 1/4-inch thick, but no thinner. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough.

Warm a cast iron skillet over medium heat (you want a hot pan). Brush both sides of the naan with the olive oil or melted butter and if desired sprinkle on any spices you like such as cumin and garlic.

Place the naan on the hot skillet, cover with a lid and cook for 1 minute, until you see bubbles starting to form. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side, until large toasted spots appear on the underside.