Na'an

This is one of our favorite breads to make. We discovered the recipe when we found the Afghani Chicken Kebab recipe for our book club. Now it's impossible for us to serve our chicken kebabs without this bread. It's also great with other Indian and Middle Eastern recipes. We have always enjoyed na'an at our favorite Indian restaurant, but didn't know how easy it would be to make it at home. It always disappears very quickly and is always a hit. --Stacy

Ingredients:

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
¼ cup white sugar
3 T milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
2 T minced garlic (optional)
¼ cup butter, melted

Instructions:

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make soft dough (you may need to add up to an extra 1/2 cup of flour). Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well-oiled dough, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough, and knead in garlic if desired. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of golf balls. Roll into balls and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.

At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thing circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with melted butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with melted butter and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill and continue the process until all the na’an has been prepared.

Notes:

We’ve never added the garlic and the bread is still phenomenal! It’s worth buying a grill just to be able to do this bread. We’ve found that 4 cups of flour is usually enough, but you’ll have to experiment a little.