Garlic Naan

I had a horoscope the other day that said something like:

” It’s time to try new things. If you don’t do it now when will you ever?”

So that’s why I tried making garlic naan.  I must get rid of this dough fear I have.   I saw Hannah post her naan loot on flickr the other day and boy was I jeeeeeeeealous.  I wanted a stack of naan in my kitchen!

I think one of the reasons why I am afraid of dough is the timing.  I always have like 5 projects going on at once– in addition to taking care of Cooper and oh my gawd-I have to go back and punch down dough and get all dirty again?  I guess I never time it right…and I don’t really know the right consistencies.  Plus I doubt myself….Is that yeast bubbly enough??! Am I kneading this right?  Oh dough, why aren’t you very forgiving?!

When it doesn’t turn out PERFECT I get all pissy.  Like REALLY pissy.  I KNOW what good carbs are supposed to taste like.  Believe me.

So I was delighted to find this recipe easy and pretty straight forward.   It produced a wonderful buttery crispy naan.  It’s not totally authentic, but it’s still pretty frickin good!   I think next time I will experiment and reduce the amount of sugar.  It definitely helped cut the amount of garlic in the dough (I added lots), but I want something a little more savory next time.  A little more on the salty side. I ate like 3 while I was making them. Shameful!

My advice:

-Make these when you have a whole crowd coming over. The recipe makes a ton!

-Do not wear black when you are kneading dough. Woops!

-Prepare for a huge smoke cloud in your kitchen! Make sure you have your fan on and windows open!

So gather your ingredients together and start that yeast!

After it’s all bubbly, add in your milk, eggs sugar & salt.

Then put your flour in.

You mix it up and  knead the dough on a floured surface for 6 mins or so.

Let it rest in a well-lubed bowl.

While it’s proofing, clean up your mess!  Seriously! You should be ashamed.

Get that garlic ready!

Look at that beautiful dough…doubled in size!

Add your garlic in and knead again.   I added a teaspoon at a time to evenly distribute.

Form the dough into balls. Let rest and then fire up the grill.

After resting, take a ball and flatten it and shape it into a disc. Make it as thin as possible.

Slap it on the heated & oiled grill . Add your first slather of butter on top.

Flip, then butter the top.

And in no time, you are gonna have a whole stack, just like Hannah!

Garlic Naan

(recipe allrecipes.com)

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/8 cup  sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)—I used like 4!
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1.  In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

2.  Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.

4.  At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.