6.24.2007

Whole Grain Naan

Grainy NaanThis Sunday on the way home from swimming, Trish asked if I could make some naan for the dish she was preparing (a special lamb and spinach Indian dish). When she says "naan" she's being generous. I make flatbreads that are closer to a pita than naan.

Well, not this time. I used a basic bread recipe and to cook, I chose my trusty Weber Q because it has a nice cast-iron grill surface. I heated it up to the highest I could, lubed up the grill with spray oil and plopped on my dough discs. They didn't puff up like my usual flatbreads (I usually do them in the oven). About 4 minutes per side gets nice small burn marks and the breads are heavenly. I only made 4 big ones. Here's the recipe I used:

Grainy Naan Dough
water, room temperature, 150 g
honey, 10 g/2 t
olive oil, 17 grams/1 T
yeast, rapid rise, 1 packet
salt, 5 g/1 t
swirl contents until honey's dissolved.
Add:
unbleached white flour, 150 grams
grainy flour (I used a 1:1:1 mixture of rye, wheat, spelt), 75 grams
Mix with large spoon until it balls up and then kneed briefly. Let rise an hour or so. Punch down and divide into 4 balls. Press the balls out to about an 8" disc using flour to keep them from getting sticky. Let rest and preheat the grill to the highest setting. Toss the dough on (I can fit about two on my grill at a time). Within a few minutes, they'll be sturdy enough to flip with a pair of tongs. Let cool and serve. Unbelievable.

feedback from the family:
There were 4 breads made from this batch. The thickest one tasted the best. The thinner ones were a little thin and cracker-like but the thicker one (depicted in the image above) was nice and floppy and tender.