Topic: Josh's Restaurant Naan Bread

[Razor]

Hi Caze,

not sure why you say to use a cup of milk and then say you'll probably only need half of it

As you will know, bread making is not an exact science.  Many factors influence the amount of liquid required such as temperature, humidity and so on.  I think that Josh's is giving this quantity just to cover these variances and to get the mix ratio's correct.

I've made this naan and probably used just over half of the mixture.  Got to say, they turned out great.

How do you intend cooking them Caze?

Ray

[caze]

How do you intend cooking them Caze?

I cooked them on a pizza stone in the oven at it's highest temp (it was on for nearly 2 hours before they went in), unfortunately I don't think my oven is quite good enough to get these exactly right, it only goes to 230c.

They turned out a lot better than my previous efforts, but they were still some way off resteraunt quality.

The main improvements were with the softness, but ideally you should have a uniform softness, mine were a bit overcooked and hard on the outside, but quite nicely done inside. I'm sure this was solely down to my oven temperature, I might try switching the grill on once the oven is fully heated the next time (I've a couple of them in the freezer so will try again in a few days). I'd never heard the water-sprinkling trick before, and that definitely helped create some blisters, but as it wasn't hot enough so they didn't brown enough.

The taste was also not quite there, it was close though. This could well have been down to the fact that I used a lot less of the milk-egg mixture in the end, the next time I might use more of that mixture and less of the water.

I was also surprised by the lack of yoghurt, most recipes seem to use it, so that could have effected the taste as well.

[Malc.]

You will never successfully 100% recreate a BIR naan at home unless you install a Tandoor. However, you can get good results. If I may, I think you went wrong when you passed the notion of having a very 'wet' dough. At lower oven temperatures it would seem that you need a very moist dough, to the the degree that it is almost impossible to handle without very floured hands.

The best results I have seen on here are by members who have made 'wet' dough for their naans. Not having such a dough consistency tends to result in a 'baked' bread as you have experienced. I freely admit that I have not tried the 'wet' dough idea. I turned instead, to making Paratha which I decided were just as appetising, especially stuffed. 

[joshallen2k]

Hi Caze,

I've tweaked the original recipe quite a bit since I originally posted it.

First I feel the quick rise yeast makes a big difference. As Jerry noted, the regular dry yeast adds a "yeasty" flavour. The Quick Rise does not.

In terms of the changes, I now omit the additional baking powder, and add 2 tablespoons of yogourt. I also now omit the water, and just trickle warm milk into the mixer until the consistency is right.

Josh

[caze]

First I feel the quick rise yeast makes a big difference. As Jerry noted, the regular dry yeast adds a "yeasty" flavour. The Quick Rise does not.

Did you see my earlier post regarding what exactly constitutes Quick Rise yeast? I'm not certain whether mine does, but I had no problem with the dough rising, and there was certainly no yeast-like taste. What brand do you use?

In terms of the changes, I now omit the additional baking powder, and add 2 tablespoons of yogourt. I also now omit the water, and just trickle warm milk into the mixer until the consistency is right.

I did leave out the baking powder, will try with yoghurt and milk-only the next time. What kind of consistency are you looking for? Is Axe on the right track with wet dough? I got mine to a very elastic, almost sticky dough.

[joshallen2k]

Did you see my earlier post regarding what exactly constitutes Quick Rise yeast? I'm not certain whether mine does, but I had no problem with the dough rising, and there was certainly no yeast-like taste. What brand do you use?

I use Fleishmann's Yeast. However I'm living in Canada now, so I don't know if this brand translates back to the UK. Quick rise yeast is pellet-shaped and much smaller than the usual round regular dry yeast.

I found the milk-only and yogurt helped. Initially I went for a wet sticky consistency. This produced good naan but was difficult to work with. Notice my original recipe called for oil to make the finished dough easier to work with. Now I add enough milk to make the dough pull away from my fingers and not leave any behind. I should do a milk% calculation like I do for pizza dough when adding water. I also now use bench flour only when flattening out the naan for the oven, instead of oil.

Hope this helps a bit.

-- Josh

[Geezah]

Just tried this recipe out as my first ever time making nan breads.
I didn't use the oven though, just a heavy frying pan on the hob.



I'm quite pleased for a first attempt.