Naan

[Juana]

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup ghee


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

Punch down the dough and if you want to add anything, now's the time (I like to add about two teaspoons garlic and an eyeballed amount of basil). Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball, roll them into balls, and put them on a tray. Cover it with a towel and allow the dough balls to rise again for about half an hour, until they've doubled in size.

After the second rising, preheat a skillet to medium heat and oil it with ghee. Flatten each dough ball, brush it with more ghee and drop it on the skillet. When it gets fluffier, paint it with yet more ghee and flip it over. The way I tell if they're done is to mash them with my spatula. If the resistance is stiff all the way through, it's done. If you can feel a squishy part, wait a little longer.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

what's a ghee and/or what can hopeless people substitute for it?

[Triple Zero]

Ooooh! I love naan!

I had to look up "ghee". Glad to find out it's basically clarified butter, that's easy enough

[Triple Zero]

what's a ghee and/or what can hopeless people substitute for it?

I didn't know either: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghee

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Yum!

[Cain]

Two tablespoons of garlic, maybe

Cain,
not getting kissed tonight.

Seriously though, naan is the best thing ever.

[Juana]

  That it is.

what's a ghee and/or what can hopeless people substitute for it?

I almost included a ghee recipe. Shoulda, hm?

In a pan on very low heat (one or two, if you've got an electric range like mine), melt a stick of butter and cook it, stirring periodically. If you watch it, you'll notice it starts to look a little odd, a little bit, and that's the milk solids separating from the oil. Keep going - it's going to get a little frothy but don't worry about it. Eventually, the solids will turn brown and you can filter then out (cheese cloth is ideal). You can store it without refrigeration for up six months.
If you don't want to do that, any oil with a light taste and a high burn temp will do.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

I cheat. I buy ghee at the indian market.

Also, I wonder if I can get a pizza stone (which is actually a tile from home depot) hot enough in my fire pit to do this. Fireside naan.
Mmmmmmmm.

[Richter]

Thanks Squid!

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

since I don't have one of those clay oven things... a tandoor..


that's some fine naan makin right thur.

[Forsooth]

whenever me and the wife go to the local Indian restaurant/buffet thing, the owner sees us and yell in the kitchen, "more naan"