Naan

Ingredients

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with a tablespoon of sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, until frothy.
2. Stir in remaining sugar, milk, egg, salt, baking soda, and only enough flour as is needed to make for a soft dough (likely 3.5 cups, possibly up to 4.5). Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let rise 1 hour, dough should roughly double in volume.
4. Punch down dough, knead in garlic if desired. Pinch off small, roughly golf ball-sized pieces. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow dough to rise until again roughly doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
5. Brush or spray grill with canola oil to prevent sticking. Preheat to high.
6. Roll dough balls into circles; pinch in half, and flatten again. Naan will cook substantially better if it’s very thin.
7. Place dough circle on grill; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with melted butter. Turn. Brush cooked side with melted butter. Cook another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill. Continue for all dough pieces until done.

Notes

1. You’ll probably only need about 3 1/4 cups of flour. A bread machine can do a lot of the work, but if doing so only use that much flour.

   To aid with the rising, put the dough bowl on the top rack of a cool oven, and a bowl of hot water on the lower rack.

   Bread flour will work best, however I’ve done this with all-purpose and it’s still turned out nicely.