Indian Naan Bread with Ghee

August 10, 2016

Hello, beautiful people!💐 I have been wanting to share a super simple idea with you for a while now, one that might liven up your table or even replace ordinary bread, flatbreads and the like – Indian naan bread. Why did I take so long over this new post? Ha, the reason is very simple and yet enormous, and it has poured a huge number of new thoughts, ideas and ambitions into my already overloaded head. A couple of weeks ago I dreamt about a cake. It was SO beautiful, SO original, that I understood in an instant that I have to devote all my resources, energy and time to making that particular kind of cake my calling card! And they will be! I believe it with all my heart! I don't want to say too much about this new project of mine (I am a woman after all, I do like a bit of intrigue 😄), but I promise you that before long you can expect to see something you won't be able to buy in any shop or bakery!🎂

Ta-daa! Just writing about my new idea has me glowing with happiness like that bright, blazing Turkish sun scorching the backsides of the ladies lying on the shore at Antalya – except I have no intention of scorching anything (apart from the odd cake sponge😂). But perhaps we should get back to the naan, hm? Enough of these lyrical detours, haha. So what exactly is naan and what do you eat it with? Put simply, it is a flatbread from Central/South Asia, most often used to scoop up curries, thick soups or various dips. Naan is served hot or at room temperature, and it is at its best when brushed with ghee before or after cooking. Pure goodness, nothing less!

There are more recipes for this bread online than you could cart away, but mine is tried and polished to perfection. I make naan two ways – stretching it by hand until it is paper-thin, or rolling it out slightly thicker with a rolling pin (my other half likes to use the thicker naan as a pizza base, which is why half a day later there are no breads left and small pizzas have mysteriously appeared in the oven instead).🍕The best part is that making them takes less time than waiting for the dough, so you really won't be stuck in the kitchen. What do you think, shall we give it a go? 😉

Indian Naan Bread

Indian Naan Bread with Ghee

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
2 tsp dried yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 cups flour (+ a few more spoonfuls if needed)
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup natural/Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tbsp ghee

Instructions

In a large glass, mix the water with the dried yeast and one teaspoon of sugar. Leave for about 10 minutes, until frothy.
Sift the flour, salt, remaining sugar and baking powder into a bowl.
Once the yeast is foaming, add the yoghurt and oil to the glass and mix well. Pour the wet mixture slowly into the flour, stirring, and start kneading by hand. At first it may seem there isn't enough flour, but keep kneading until the dough turns elastic and slightly sticky (if it really is too wet, add a little more flour as you see fit).
Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave somewhere warm for about 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Turn the risen dough out onto a floured work surface and dust it lightly too, so it doesn't stick to your hands.
Shape it into a cylinder with your hands and cut it into 6 pieces with a knife (if you want very thin breads, halve those 6 again to get 12). The dough will be very elastic and sticky – that's good, but dust the pieces lightly with flour so they don't stick to the surface.
For thicker naan, roll the pieces out with a rolling pin to about 4-5 mm thick; for thin ones, stretch them by hand until the dough is really thin.
Heat a pan really well (no oil), brush the breads with melted ghee and lay them in the pan. Cook on both sides over medium heat until "blisters" start to form and they turn nicely golden.
Once baked, you can brush the breads with ghee again – twice as delicious!
Serve with sauces, dips or stews.