I usually make the dough in a bread making machine
I give it about 15 minutes kneading :-
Naan bread mix at the restaurant
This is the mix I was taught by the tandoori chef it is used in both restaurants
This quantity is approximately 1/3 of the portion done in the restaurant
And is what I make up at home.
Part 1
Mix this in a measuring jug
1/4 pint of semi skimmed milk straight out of the fridge
1/2 pint of cold water
1 large egg including yolk
1 teaspoon black onion seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon level of any baking powder not soda and do not be tempted to add more
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
whisk this up for 15 to 20 seconds
Part2
Get approximately 800 g /900g self raising flower and put it in a mixing bowl and add half the mixture. Mix this up quickly. Now add the mixture and kneed quickly until you get a good dough. This process should not take more than 2 minutes.The dough should be sticky but when pulled should leave the bowl without leaving any behind. You will have some of the mixture left at the end so
Don?t pour it all in. Discard any left over mixture.
Now pour veg oil . about 2 teaspoons. on your hands and quickly kneed this over the surface of the dough. This will take about 5 seconds it is merely to oil the exterior.
Part3
Let stand for one hour in the kitchen. The dough will not change size notably
Part 4
Wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge overnight . The restaurants all do this.
You can use the dough now but it is not as good as when it returns to room temperature.
Part 5
Take out of the fridge about 4 hours before use. The dough must return to room temperature. It will be marshmellowy and light when you take the clingfilm off
FOR PLAIN NAAN ONLY
The chef will take a piece of dough . around a sixth to an eighth of the completed dough and lightly dust it with self rising flour. Then roll it into a ball
He will now flatten the dough to about 4 inch in diameter.
Now he will dip his hand in oil and cover one side only of the bread with it.
Pushing the oil across the dough and making it about 5 inch in diameter.
Now here is the tricky bit. The plain naan bread is never rolled out and the restaurant
Style bread is achieved by tossing the dough between the hands until the dough becomes about 3 mm thick. You can also achieve this by spinning and pulling the edge of the dough until it stretches out. The tandoori chef will usually take about 30 seconds to achieve this it takes me slightly longer. The secret here is that some of the dough will be thicker than others giving the bubbly effect when tandoored. If any holes develop doing this don?t worry about it, it takes a while to perfect. If you desperately wish to roll the dough press a few areas down afterwards to give it an uneven effect and finish it off by pulling it. The teardrop shape is NOT achieved by the bread falling lower into the tandoor but by the chef pulling one end into that shape.
The bread is then stuck on the side of a low heated tandoor by its dry side and is cooked in around 2 minutes. The bread will start to develop lots of bubbles in around ten seconds.
For your first attempt it is best to get the dough down to about 1 - 2 mm as the bubbling will occur more when the dough is thinner.
If no tandoor is available then you will need to heat an iron griddle or similar until it is piping hot . Place the dough on this oil side up and place under a grill. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Do not put in an oven or you will end up with a giant scone.
If the dough does not bubble then the griddle is not hot enough OR the dough is too thick.
Once cooked lightly coat the bread with hot melted normal butter using a pastry brush.
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