Naan (again)

I've also used this recipe to make Naan. My cooking friend gave it to me, but it's from the book How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. But apparently there's a difference between How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything: The Basics, which is the book I got from the library, because I can't find the recipe in there. (We also have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, a gift from Eric's sister.)

This is the one I used for dinner last night. I used 2 cups whole wheat flour (about 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat and 3/4 cup red whole wheat) and about 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour. I added a little extra yogurt and milk, and ended up using 1 cup water. While it was rising I read somewhere that it's almost always okay to just switch out 50% of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat without having to adjust anything else. I should have done that; the dough ended up being really wet and hard to work with when it was time to roll it out. Also, I didn't love the flavor with the whole wheat (but it wasn't bad, and maybe it would have been better if we would have brushed it with butter at the end instead of forgetting that step).

Ingredients

2 tsp instant yeast

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp plain yogurt (or sour cream)

1 tbsp sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg

2 tsp kosher salt

4 tbsp butter, melted and still warm

Instructions

1. Stir together the yeast, mik, yogurt, and sugar in a small bowl and set aside. 

2. Combine the flour, egg, and salt in a food processor. Turn the machine on and add the yeast mixture through the feed tube. 

3. Process for about 30 seconds, adding 1 1/2 cup water, a little at a time, until the dough starts to form a ball. (You may not need all the water.)

4. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few seconds to get a tight, round ball. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours. You can also let it rise in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours. 

5. Put a baking sheet (or preferably, a stone) in the oven and heat to 500 degrees. Punch the dough down and divide into 12 balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rest at least 10 minutes, and up to 30. 

6. Roll out the balls, two at a time, into an oval roughly 6 inches by 8 inches. Place a small bowl of water next to your prep area. Open the oven door, wet your hands and pick up the dough to dampen each side, then place them gently on the hot stone. Bake for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown, turning over with tongs. If the dough sticks to the stone, let it bake for 1 more minute. Brush warm naan with melted butter, and finish the process for the remaining dough. 

My notes

I always proof my yeast because I've had a couple of times where something didn't rise and proofing it makes me feel better. 

I'm pretty sure when he says "food processor" he means food processor like what you would chop vegetables in, but ours is too small for this recipe so I just did it in my Kitchenaid mixer. I also used the kneading paddle for the first knead. 

I guess this is where I got the idea to bake the naan on the pizza stone. Also, just like with the other recipe, I add a bunch of garlic (last night I added about 3 tbsp because I really like garlic) right before the second rise/rest.