Naan

Naan is a soft bread which is very reducing to vata people. Naan is traditionally cooked in a clay oven or “tandoor.” This recipe uses a regular home oven, or even a toaster oven if that is what you’re working with.

Makes 6-8 Naan.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour (I prefer to use 1 1/3 cup whole wheat bread flour to 2/3 cup rice or barley flour, but for gluten intolerance try: 1/2 cup each quinoa, amaranth, rice & arrowroot flour)

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon sweetener (sucanat, brown sugar, etc)

• Pinch of baking soda

• 2 tablespoons of oil

• 2 1/2 tablespoons plain yogurt (can omit if you don’t have on hand)

• 3/4 cup lukewarm water

Directions:

1. Dissolve active dry yeast and sweetener in lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy and yeast is activated.

2. In a separate bowl: combine flour, salt and baking soda and mix well.

3. To the flour mixture, add the oil then the yogurt, this will become crumbly dough.

4. Add the water/yeast mixture and make into soft dough.

5. Knead dough until smooth (about 5-6 minutes).

6. Cover the dough with damp towel and keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours until it doubles in size approximately.

7. If using a conventional oven: heat conventional oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone for at least thirty minutes so stone is hot. Using a pizza stone will help to give naan close to same kind of heat as clay tandoor. Then turn the oven to high broil.

8. If using a toaster oven, turn oven to broil (or the warmest setting it has) with cookie sheet in it until it reaches temperature.

9. Knead the dough for about two to three minutes and divide the dough into six equal parts.

10. Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll into 8-inch oval shape. Dust lightly with dry flour to help with the rolling.

11. Before putting the Naan in oven, lightly wet your hands and take the rolled Naan, and flip it be-tween your palms to get a little water on it, and then place onto your baking sheet or pizza stone into the oven.

12. If using conventional oven, you can place about 2 Naan on the baking/pizza stone at a time.

13. If using toaster oven, place only one naan at a time in the oven on the baking sheet.

14. The Naan will take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook, depending upon your oven. After it gets little lifted bubbles throughout it, the Naan is baked

15. Remove naan from oven and brush lightly with ghee.

16. Wait 2 to 3 minutes before baking the next batch of naan. It gives the oven a chance to get heated again so naan is baked at proper temperature.

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