Topic: CA's Naan Bread (Illustrated!)

[martinvic]

Have you got a Tava/Tawa (not the non-stick ones)?

I think they work better than non-stick frying pans, as I feel you can get them hotter without worrying about them.

Doesn't that play havoc with the surface of the tava though?  I have enough probs with my traditional tava when cooking chappatis if i get too carried away with the heat

I what way?

Basically it's just a steel disk with a handle, how can it play havoc with the surface?
When I've finished I give it a bit of a wipe or scrape, if needed, and then re-season before putting it away.

Martin

[curryhell]

Basically it's just a steel disk with a handle, how can it play havoc with the surface?
When I've finished I give it a bit of a wipe or scrape, if needed, and then re-season before putting it away.

Martin

It's the scraping and the having to re-season bit that i hate ;D.  No pain, no gain i suppose :

[martinvic]

 ;D Fair enough.

I guess it's something I've got used to doing as I've done the same with my steel wok I've had for about 30 years.

Martin

[curryhell]

;D Fair enough.

I guess it's something I've got used to doing as I've done the same with my steel wok I've had for about 30 years.

Martin

Doubt whether i'll have time to have a go at this today but i'll suffer the pain in anticipation of the results.  Just finished seasoning my new "cast iron" balti dish.  What  a pain this seasoning lark is.  But boy does it look the b*****s  ;D

[Cory Ander]

i used to use yeast, yogurt, SR flour and BP all in one recipe    but the secret is keep it simple.

Hi UB,

I used to use just self raising flour (which is just plain flour plus baking powder) and yoghurt (for flavour, more so than as a leavening agent....and I still wouldn't make naans without it, for taste).  However, I found that the dough was not particularly pliable and that rising, on cooking, was a bit hit and miss.

In my opinion, the secret to making a good naan is to get a good texture (w.r.t. the dough and the finished naan), a good taste and to get them to rise nicely (i.e. large "blisters").

I have conducted a four way experiment, varying the leavening agents, as follows:

• self raising flour, plus instant yeast, plus baking powder
• self raising flour, plus baking powder
• self raising flour, plus instant yeast
• just self raising flour

My clear conclusion was that 1 was easily the best, producing a nice, airy, pliable dough which shaped nicely and rose nicely on cooking.  I added only a small amount of instant yeast and its taste, in the final naans, was barely perceptible.

2 and 3 were much of a muchness.  A less pliable dough, more difficult to shape, erratic rising (i.e. very small bubbles, if any, rather than large blisters).

4 produced a rather rigid dough that didn't shape particularly well and rose erratically (but otherwise still perfectly acceptable).

I used yoghurt and sugar in all of them.

For expediency, I sometimes buy frozen precooked naans ("VIMAL") from the Asian store.   They really are very good (reheated, from frozen, under a medium hot grill, for a couple of minutes)!  The ingredients are listed as:

• flour
• milk
• water
• butter
• salt
• curd (which I take to mean yoghurt)
• sugar
• oil
• baking soda
• baking powder

I've also tried adding baking soda (i.e. bicarbonate of soda) but found that it made the naans taste too "cakey".

[Cory Ander]

Some photos of my naans using a modified recipe and method (without using a tandoor):







Please let me know if you wish me to post my modified recipe and method.

[Whandsy]

They look the dogs to me CA so would love to give them a bash

Many thanks

Wayne

[martinvic]

They look great CA, please do post your recipe and method.

[curryhell]

They look like they've just come out of my local BIR's tandoor.  Please post the revised recipe CA.

[martinvic]

Any updates on this then CA?

Martin