Garlic-Butter Naan

Nothing beats a fresh piece of Indian flatbread, when you are eating curry. I know this will be a recipe I'll go to again and again. To me, one of the best things about this bread is that you throw the ingredients together the day before (in the food processor), then refrigerate the dough overnight for a slow rise and then the next day all you have to do is roll it out and cook it. It simplifies things if you are making a curry meal, when chances are you are making the curry and possibly rice too. Letting the dough rest overnight also makes it easy to roll out. 

This recipe makes 4 pieces of naan. I think you could serve 1/2 a flatbread per person. Unless you're like me, I ended up eating 3 out of the 4 pieces all by myself over 2 days... Oops!! 

Garlic-Butter Naan

~makes 4 naan~

Note* This recipe is made in a food processor, which makes it very simple to put together. But at one point my food processor's motor (which is a pretty nice Kitchen Aid) seized up. So you might want to be cautious about that when making this recipe. You could probably just make the dough by hand, adding a little extra flour, if necessary, because the dough is a bit sticky.

What you need:

1/2 c. ice water

1/3 c. nonfat greek yogurt

1/4 c. canola oil, plus 1 t. for cooking the naan

1 large egg yolk

2 1/4 c. flour

1 1/4 t. sugar

1/2 t. instant or rapid-rise yeast

3/4 t. salt

2 T. butter

1 clove garlic, minced

What you do: 

1. In a small bowl, mix together water, yogurt, 1/4 c. oil and egg yolk. In the workbowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and yeast to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the liquid ingredients to the flour. Process until combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt and process another 30-60 seconds. It will form a sticky dough that should clear the sides of the food processor workbowl.

3. Scrape dough out onto a floured worksurface and knead just until smooth, about a minute. Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl (large). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 16-24 hours.

4.After the dough has rested, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide dough into 4 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rest 15-20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile melt the butter in a small saucepan, then add the garlic. Set aside.

6. Roll the first piece of dough out into a 9 inch round. Using a fork, poke the dough all over, 20-25 times. Lightly mist the top side with water.

6. Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Wipe the oil out of the skillet with paper towels, then add the rolled out dough, sprayed side down and spray the other side lightly. Cover skillet and cook until spotty brown underneath, 2-4 minutes (poke any large bubbles that form). Flip naan, cook, covered, another 2-3 minutes until browned. Flip again, brush with butter, then transfer to a plate and cover with foil. While rolling out and cooking the remaining naan.

Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated Magazine