Great Success!

This is probably the easiest bread recipe I have ever followed.  I guarantee that you can do this at home because I can finally say that I didn’t screw this one up!  Please allow me to explain.  I have only had good luck making homemade bread once out of the dozens of times I have tried.  The one successful time doesn’t even really count because it was pizza dough; but I like to call it a success.  It tasted pretty good.  The other times, well, were not so successful.  One recipe didn’t even rise, and it turned out rock hard.  It was so hard that when my best friend and I threw it off of our apartment balcony, it hit a tree and broke off a branch.  It’s kind of funny if you think about it, but it was an epic failure.

The Naan (traditional Indian bread) however was awesome, and I had so much fun making it.  I found the recipe online at allrecipes.com.  It’s my go-to site when I can’t find what I’m looking for in my cookbooks.  There are a lot of other recipes out there, but I chose this particular one because it didn’t require a lot of time and I could cook it on a grill or Panini press (which is what I used).  You can also bake the Naan, but in the recipes I found the dough would need to rest a while longer; and I just didn’t have the time.

So without further adieu, here is what you will need for your own homemade Naan:
Ingredients:
1 cup of warm water
1 package (.25 oz) of active yeast
¼ cup of sugar
3 Tablespoons of milk
1 egg beaten
2 teaspoons of salt
4 ½ cups of bread flour (I used 4 cups)
2 Tablespoons of Butter or Olive Oil
and
2 teaspoons or 1 clove of garlic (optional)

Equipment:
1 medium sized bowl
2 damp kitchen towels
1 greased cookie sheet
1 rolling pin
A grill or indoor griddle
and
A spatula

Steps:
-  In a large mixing bowl, add the water and yeast.  Mix together until yeast has dissolved.  Allow the water
   and yeast to sit for 10 minutes.
-  While that sits get the sugar, milk, egg, and salt ready.
-  When the 10 minutes are up, add the sugar, milk, egg and salt and mix together.
-  Begin to add the flour ½ cups at a time and mix together until dough begins to form.  I mixed with my
   hands.  The dough came together easier that way.
*You may not need to use all of the flour.  I only used 4 cups.  I think 4 ½ would have made my dough too 
   dry.
-  Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes on a floured surface until it becomes smooth and elastic (when you pull
   the dough it will stretch).
-  When finished place the dough in a well greased bowl and cover it with a damp cloth.  Let it sit for 1 hour. 
   The dough will double in size.

-  Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down into it with your fist.  Drop the minced garlic
   into the dough and kneading it in for about 2-3 minutes or until incorporated.
-  Once garlic is incorporated pull off golf ball size pieces of dough and roll circles.  Use all of the dough.
  *I made baseball sized circles.  Golf ball sized pieces will give you Naan about the size of your hand. 
   Baseball size will make bigger pieces of finished Naan.

-  Place the rolls on a cookie sheet and cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes.  The dough will double in
   size. 
-  After your dough has grown, lightly flour a solid surface.  Get out your rolling pin and grill (or griddle).

-  Lightly coat your grill/griddle with butter or olive oil.  Take one of the pieces of dough and roll it out to
   desired thickness (about ¾ of an inch).  Place it on the grill/griddle until it begins to bubble (about 30
   seconds to 1 minute).  Flip over.

-  Cook on other side for 30 sec.-1 min.  There should be distinct grill marks on both sides.
-  Place it on a plate and you are good to go!  Be careful though, it will be HOT!

*Leftovers would be great to use for sandwiches.  Just make sure you omit the garlic! 

Enjoy!