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NAAN Makes 6 naan

When asked about a bread that typifies Muslim Northern India and Afghanistan, naan

—which is the name for this bread and also the generic word for bread in those areas

—is the first one that comes to mind. It has become very popular outside this region,

too; every Pacific Rim restaurant seems to offer naan because of its buttery flavor and

moist texture. These long oval flatbreads are baked in a tandir oven, which is a deep

clay floor oven. The shaped dough is placed on a gaddi (cushioned pad) and the naan

are baked by slapping the dough onto the walls of the hot oven. One end of the dough

hangs out over the fire, producing a pretty teardrop oval of bread about twenty inches

long. Homemade naan are easy to bake in a conventional oven, and are usually made

smaller out of convenience. Yogurt is a nice tangy addition to this dough, accenting the

flour and replacing the fermented yogurt starter called for in many recipes. In India

naan is made from white flour, but Afghan bakers use chapati flour, a very fine whole

wheat flour that you can find in an ethnic grocery. Substitute an equal amount for the

bread flour called for here. If you like, in place of the butter, use ghee, the clarified

butter that is the preferred fat in India. Nigella seeds are sometimes called black

sesame seeds or black onion seeds. They are traditionally sprinkled over the naan.

Naan are meant to be eaten just out of the oven. Serve them with goat’s milk yogurt or

soft goat cheese, as they are eaten in Asia every day, or to accompany roasted meats

and stews.

- OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES

1 tablespoon peanut oil

cup plain yogurt

cup milk

2 cups bread flour

teaspoon salt

teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons SAF yeast

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