As you noticed by now, we are showing you different food, recipes, and restaurants from around the country. Here’s another bread I love to make when I have time. This dough does need to rise for 3 to 4 hours before you can knead and bake it. Make sure to allow enough time for the dough to rise for a perfect delicious naan bread.

Naan bread is the Indian version of the tortilla. It is a popular bread in India. It is a flatbread, and it does have a resemblance to pita bread, only softer and not as dense. In India, they cook the naan dough in a tandoor, which is a clay oven. The naan bread is used to scoop up some of the food it accompanies. You can eat it with yogurt, curry rice, or anything your heart desire. You can eat it plain with your dinner.

I like my naan bread with garlic herb butter, brushed on it while it is still hot out of the oven.

Garlic Herb Butter Naan Bread:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of all purpose flour
• 2tsp of dry yeast
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 4 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 1/4 cup of lukewarm water

Preparation:

• in a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the 1 1/4 cup of warm water and let is rest for about 10 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and cloudy
• in a different bowl, add all the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar
• mix the dry ingredients with the yeast and water mixture

• add the oil into the mixture, the dough will become crumbly

• knead the dough until all ingredients are well combined

• cover the dough  and put it in a warm place for 3 to 4 hours. It will double in size at that time
• after 3 to 4 hours, unveil your dough, it should look soft and doubled in size!
• while you knead your dough a few minutes, turn on your oven bake at 500 degrees. Your oven has to pre-heat for about 30 minutes to make sure the stone is hot enough to bake your dough
• insert a pizza or baking stone inside your oven, you will be baking your naan dough on top of the stone. The stone is imitating the tandoor oven in India.
• make small golf balls with the dough, roll out the dough into 5 to 6 inches in diameter, use flour so the dough does not stick onto the rolling pin
• turn your oven to broil now.
• take the rolled naan and switch it back and forth between the palms of your hands, dust some flour on your hands so the dough does not stick. Put it on top of your hot stone
• do the same with the rest of the rolled dough
• naan dough should take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook depending on your oven
• once cooked, the naan should be fluffy and golden
• take it out of the oven, brush some garlic herb butter right away, while the naan is still hot, so it can absorb all the delicious butter taste!
• if you have some more rolled naan dough to bake, make sure your oven is re-heated to reach the hot temperature of the stone, to have a better baking result

Serve your naan plain, chicken curry stew, cucumber salad, or use it with hummus. You can make the naan bread in advance, and freeze it in the oven. When ready to be eaten, just reheat in the toaster oven. It’s delicious, and the taste is as fresh as you made it the same day! Enjoy a Delight Dining Indian dinner with naan bread.