Topic: Naan Bread - Next step after h4ppy-chris

[JerryM]

the h4ppy-chris naan post has raised my game beyond expectation. i still have a fight with the amount of sugar but take it out and the magic is lost.

thing is though - i had some naan bread out at very posh restaurant. i have tasted this quality in the past (very few).

the topping i feel had something to do with the rating - i think garlic powder was added into the butter coating.

the bread part was though where the magic was - no sugar sweat just really light bread.

i know the tandoor will have an effect and that combination of the stone base and soft upper part make for a perfect combination.

the naan was thin but not crispy. gut feeling it was not SR flour.

any thoughts appreciated - specifically if anyone has tried h4ppy-chris method but adapted to yeast flour.

this being my best thought of a way forward

[Stephen Lindsay]

Could the topping have been garlic salt?

[littlechilie]

Hi,
I never liked sweet bread ever since my first visit to France.

[JerryM]

Stephen,

Salt is a real good way of making most thinks better than they are.

Have never tried garlic salt - it could very well have been

Might just have to try it. I've been impressed with garlic powder and now using it in non curry cooking too. The naan topping did have a grittiness to it. Emm

Want to try out that red tandoori recipe so might do a kd yeast naan night using the h4ppy-chris method.

Best wishes

Littlechilli - got a chuckle that. Stick bread good and the wine.

[sp]

the restaurant i worked in used sr flour, egg, milk, salt and sugar... and that's all

here is my recipe for it... http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,13151.0.html

a tandoor is pretty much essential though in my experience

[mickdabass]

Hi Jerry
I follow the H4C recipe to the letter except I add 1 Dsp of yoghurt and half the sugar + 1tsp kalonji. The resultant dough is very,very loose but just about workable and produce 100% BIR naans. If u find it too runny ( I didnt) im sure you could Add a little more flour. To me one of the secrets is the almost unworkable dough, and the oiling just prior to cooking on the cushion side. Works for me every time and to me can be signed off as 100% BIR. For me it's the first recipe on this forum to reach that accolade     

Regards
Mick

[livo]

Some of the naan doughs I've seen on videos is so loose I often wonder how they do it.  As a past bread maker I know the difficulty of sticky dough.

[JerryM]

So naan

300g of self raising flour, I used tesco value but the BIR uses Elephant Atta self-raising, note that there is no baking powder, soda or yeast added.
1 egg
175ml milk
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp sugar

Sp / mickdabass

Appreciate recipe info and will keep in mind.

I've ended up setting a batch off and will then take stock. Used kd yeast recipe at 66 % hydration.

For info I wanted to add milk or yogurt but want to keep the 3 day ferment. Actually thinking 2 day without yeast then add on day before cook.

I'm not sure how milk or yogurt will hold up and may make throwaway batch.

Sp.'s SR might have to be my starting point if the yeast don't work. Previously on made yeast dough same day for naan.

Ps I use UB's 66% hydration as STD for all naan. So defo agree on sort of sticky best.
I think h4ppy-chris 53%.

[sp]

don't get too hung up on the specifics, like the rest of BIR stuff it's done by eye and feel, when i made the big batches of naan dough the flour was added, then the egg(s), then the salt, sugar and enough milk until it "came together", then you put the bowl in the sink and "scooped" the dough with your one hand, the other moving the bowl round rather than your hand round the bowl, adding water from the tap a few trickles at a time as required until the dough felt soft, pliable, sticky, but all together.  then it was covered with plastic food bags, and put in the fridge for a few hours.  after that, it would be removed and formed into dough balls on a floured tray, then covered again to stop them drying out in the heat of the kitchen.  any unused balls at the end of service would go back in the fridge

[livo]

And again, although the image is blurred from motion, you can see how loose the dough is.  From what I've seen the naan should pull itself out under it's own weight, while the handler simply applies motion to facilitate the shape and evenness of the bread.  If you have to really pull it out, and it wants to spring back, you will have a tough naan.

This simply can't be done with a dough that has been excessively kneaded, as the gluten chain network will be far too elastic. Even after resting the dough for hours, if you have strong gluten it will toughen again almost immediately you move it.

I have to resist the temptation of reverting back to my loaf bread technique, which is difficult because you just slip into it automatically.