Naan

Naan is an Indian leavened flatbread. It is traditionally cooked in a tandoor oven. Here is a homemade version that uses a stovetop cooking method. This naan recipe is loosely adapted from the late Pierre Ripert’s cookbook Et si l’on faisait soi-même pains, viennoiseries et gâteaux secs?

Naan recipes vary widely. Some use a mixture of yoghurt and water while others use a mixture of yoghurt and milk. Some are eggless while others use eggs. Ripert’s recipe is an all-yoghurt and egg-inclusive one. I made a few modifications to the ingredients such as using a mixture of all-purpose flour and bread flour, substituting ghee and olive oil for the vegetable oil, and using dark muscovado. I elaborated and modified the methodology to make a stovetop version using a tawa (Indian griddle pan) instead of the original baked version.

The resulting naan is a soft, tender, thin, and flavourful one. It is a versatile flatbread that can be used in many different ways: as an accompaniment to curries, as a quick snack, or as pizza naan, amongst others. It keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer. It can be lightly toasted in the oven to produce a crispy crust and a soft inner crumb. For a more cracker-like texture, it can be toasted for longer in the oven.

Naan

Makes 8

Ingredients

150 g all-purpose flour

150 g bread flour

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon instant dry yeast

1 cup (240 mL) plain yoghurt, at room temperature

1 medium egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon dark muscovado or brown sugar (I use dark muscovado)

1 tablespoon ghee, melted

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon melted ghee + 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking

Method

In a large bowl, sift the flours. Add the salt and dark muscovado. With the back of a spoon, crush any lumps of muscovado. Mix well. Add the yeast. Mix well.

Add one tablespoon of ghee. Mix well.

In a bowl, beat the egg. Add the yoghurt. Stir.

Make a well in the flour mixture. Add the yoghurt-egg mixture. Mix well. The resulting dough is soft and sticky. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Pour one teaspoon of olive oil on the surface of the dough. Oil the surface of the dough well.

Cover the bowl. Keep the bowl in a warm, draught-free place. Let the dough rise for two hours, until it has doubled in size.

Press on the dough to degas it. Transfer it onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 8 equal pieces. With floured hands, shape the dough pieces into balls.

In a shallow bowl, add some all-purpose flour. In a small bowl, mix one tablespoon of melted ghee and one tablespoon of olive oil.

Dip a dough ball in the shallow bowl of all-purpose flour. Flour it well. Place it on the lightly floured work surface. Using a floured rolling pin, flatten it into a thin oval.

On medium heat, pre-heat a tawa, cast-iron pan or frying pan. Holding the flattened dough with both hands, and stretching it thinner with your hands, transfer the dough onto the heated tawa. Brush the top of the dough with the ghee-olive oil mixture. Bubbles will form on the surface of the dough. Flip the dough. Brush this side with the ghee-olive oil mixture. With the back of a spatula, press on the edges of the dough to flatten any thick edges. Flip and cook both sides until they are golden and lightly blistered in spots.

Repeat with the rest of the dough balls. You may need to lower the heat to prevent the flatbread from cooking too fast and burning.

Serve immediately.