Homemade Naan Bread

Hello again! Sorry for the huge time lapse between posts. My life as a student has left little time for cooking and baking and even less time to blog about my day to day adventures. However, today I offer you a recipe for homemade naan bread. Most people think you need a tandoor oven to make delicious naan bread, but a cast iron skillet does the job perfectly. The recipe is incredibly easy, and costs a fraction of store-bought or restaurant naan bread. And, it is delicious!

Homemade Naan Bread

recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook, World Vegetarian

5 cups white flour (you could probably use any flour, but I have only used white)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. plain yogurt (I used about 3)

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 egg

1 tbsp. melted butter, plus more for cooking with

1/2 tsp. nigella and 1 tsp. sesame seeds (I did not use these)

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar and yogurt with an electric mixer. Add the milk and water to yogurt and mix well. Slowly begin adding 2 cups of the flour mixture, little bits at a time. When all of the flour is incorporated, mix well for 2-3 minutes on medium speed to build up the gluten in the flour. Add the melted butter and the egg and mix well. Now slowly begin adding the rest of the flour, switching to a wooden spoon when the mixture becomes too thick for the electric mixer. The dough should be very soft and sticky. Dump it out onto a floured surface and knead a few times with oiled hands. Divide the dough into 8-12 balls, depending on the size of your cast iron pan (I did 12 for my medium sized cast iron pan). Liberally dust a baking tray with flour and place the balls two inches apart. Press and flatten the balls slightly with your floured hand and cover them with a tea towel (please do not use plastic wrap, a towel works just as well). Refrigerate the naan for at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours. 

When you are ready to cook them, preheat your pan for 5 minutes. Melt a few more tablespoons of butter and dip your fingers in it. Take one naan at a time and press and shape them into a tear drop shape about 6 or 7 inches long (or long enough that the dough is about 1/2 inch thick and it will fit nicely onto your pan). Brush the top with a bit more butter and place (buttered side down) onto the hot pan. Sprinkle a small amount of seeds onto the top of the dough (if you are using them). Cook for about 2 minutes, or until nicely browned. Now because I don't use the seeds, I simply butter the top and then flip my naan over and cook them for another 2 minutes on the other side. However, the seeds would probably all fly off if you did that, so You can finish it off under the broiler until nicely blistered and brown. Cook all of the naan this way and keep them warm in the oven until you are ready to eat them. 

I would recommend only cooking enough to eat with your meal and leaving the rest in the fridge so you can make fresh ones as you want them over the next 2 days. Fresh off the pan is really the best way to have them. Or you could just cook them all and then eat a ridiculous amount of buttery, hot naan and feel really indulged and satisfied. I fully support that method :). 

I don't have a picture of the finished product, but this is what they should look like:

Tonight we are having this delicious bread with chana masala, recipe found here, and bengali spiced squash, also in World Vegetarian. 

What have you been cooking lately?

Homemade Bread

I have discovered the most amazing bread recipe that I have ever made. This bread rises beautifully, makes an excellent sandwich bread, and is has an amazingly simple method. I have been reading Rhonda's blog for quite some time now and have read her tutorials on baking bread, but never tried her recipe. Until last week. I am never going back! Here is her tutorial. If you have never made bread before (or need a refresher course) then make sure you check out her beginner's tutorial first before moving on to the intermediate, which is what I followed.

Here is what I used in my loaf:

(Barely adapted from Rhonda)
2 tsp. traditional yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup warm water

Mix all of these together and allow to sit for 10 mins, until foamy.

2 cups whole wheat flour
2- 2 1/2  cups white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. skim milk powder
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups warm water

Put dry ingredients into bowl of mixer fitted with dough hook and mix together. Add the yeast mixture, oil, and about 1 1/2 cups water. Mix until dough comes together (adding water and flour as needed- I needed about 1 3/4 cups water and 2 1/2 cups white flour). Knead for 6 minutes in mixer, or 10 minutes by hand, until soft dough forms. Dump out of mixer, knead a few times, and form into a ball. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Place in a warm spot (I use my oven with the light on) to rise for one hour.

Punch down dough and form into a loaf. Wet the top of the loaf and roll into oats/seeds, or whatever you would like on the top of the loaf. You can skip this step if you just want plain bread. Place into a greased loaf pan and allow to rise until dough crests over pan (about 30 minutes).

Today's loaf- sesame and poppy seeds.

I received two cast iron bread pans for Christmas, and I am in love with them! They are entirely non stick already and produce a nice crispy crust every time. I love the fact that these will be my bread pans for life and they will just get better with age. That doesn't happen very often anymore.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to about 450 F. Place risen loaf in hot oven for about 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400 F. Bake for 20 minutes, or until loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Last week's loaf- oats.

This bread is delicious, frugal, and healthy! All of my favourite things! Let me know if you try it, I would love to know how it turns out for you and what you top it with! Do you have a favourite bread recipe?

Brenna

A Day in the Kitchen

I am just finishing my weekend, and today the kitchen was calling my name. Here is what I made:

The top is homemade pita bread, recipe found here. I have made this recipe several times, and it is delicious every time. It is also incredibly easy, and only takes just over 2 hours from start to finish! We use pitas for quesadillas, falafels, mini pizzas, and just to eat with some eggs. They last for a good 5-6 days on the counter (if you can restrain yourself from eating them all hot from the oven), and are super cheap to make. 

The bottom is Whole Orange Cake, recipe found over at Rhonda's. This is the first time I have made this cake, and it is delicious. But, I have a confession to make. I forgot to put the eggs in. How, you ask? Well, I have no idea. Apparently the thought of blending up an entire orange in my food processor was a little too exciting, and I just completely forgot! Surprisingly, it is still delicious, just a little dense! I used one and a half oranges because mine were a little small. I love citrus season! We got three 3 lb bags of organic oranges (1 navel and 2 Cara Cara) for under $10 the other day, and organic lemons are 3 for 99 cents! Cannot beat that! If you have not tried Cara Cara oranges, I highly recommend them. They are sweet and juicy, and have a lovely pink flesh. I used navels in the cake recipe, in order to leave the Cara Caras for eating fresh. I will have to remake the cake properly, eggs included, next week when we are finished with this one. 

I also made some homemade vegetable stock, but that will be a separate post sometime next week.

Happy Cooking!

Brenna

Homemade Buns

On my days off this week, I decided to replenish the buns in our freezer by making a batch. We use buns mostly for veggie burgers, and they are so much better (and cheaper!) when made by hand.  The recipe is slightly altered from one that I found on The Fresh Loaf. Here is my version:

2 cups white flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons regular yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups warm water

Start by activating your yeast. Mix yeast, sugar, and water in the bottom of a large bowl, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. It should look all foamy when it is done, like this:

Mix together the white flour, 1 1/2 cups of the whole wheat, and the salt in a separate bowl. Slightly beat the eggs, then add the olive oil. Mix the wet and dry ingredients into the yeast mixture, stirring until a dough starts to form and pull away from the sides. Dump the dough onto your countertop, and knead for about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed. The dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky.

Dough before kneading

Dough after kneading

Next, clean out your bowl and coat it in a thin layer of oil. Put dough into the bowl and flip it upside down to grease the top of it. Cover it in a clean tea towel and put it somewhere warm to rise for an hour. 

Dough greased and ready to rise

Dough rising

My warm place is my oven. While I am kneading, I turn my oven on to the lowest setting (150 F) for a few minutes. I then turn it off and turn on the light. I put the bread into the warm oven and keep the light on as it rises. After the first hour of rising, the dough should be doubled in size:

after first rise

Punch down the dough, knead it a couple of times, and put it back in your warm area to rise for a second hour. It will double once again. After the second hour is over, punch down the dough again, knead it a couple times, and divide it into 8 or 12 pieces, depending on the size of bun desired. I did 8, as we tend to make our burger patties large. Flatten each piece into a small disc and shape into buns by folding the edges into the center:

Fold in the edges 4 times

The bottom left is what all of your buns should look like after shaping

Flip all of your buns upside down, so the smooth part is on top (prevents seals from splitting while rising), and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover with the towel again, and let rise for 35-60 minutes. Mine rose really quickly, so they only needed another 35 minutes. 

final rise

Preheat your oven to 450 F (remember to take out the buns if you were rising them in the oven!). Flip over the buns so that the creases are on top. Bake at 450 F for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown, and hollow sounding when tapped. 

hot from the oven!

Allow them to cool completely, and either freeze them immediately, or keep on the counter for 3-4 days, if they last that long! Mine don't look exactly like kaiser buns, but they are homemade and delicious, which is all that matters to me! Happy Baking!

Brenna