The reason why packages of naan sell for $2.69 at Trader Joe's is because no one has the time to wait around for dough to rise for three hours before a meal. It's a bread that has a very short shelf life and this is because it tastes the best when piping hot and fresh from the oven. But, these reheat pretty well in the toaster the day after too. For today's experiment, I used ingredients that I had on hand. So, the yogurt inclusion isn't plain yogurt, it's vanilla whole milk yogurt. I like whole milk yogurts. The thickness and texture is very similar to Greek-styled yogurt. My pizza stone broke a few months ago (apparently it couldn't survive the self-cleaning setting of the oven), so I used the reverse side of a heavy baking sheet. Most of my bakeware, if it's not glass, is made of steel from the Baker's Advantage product line.
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| Freshly baked naan |
Makes 4.
Ingredients
1 tsp yeast + 3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees F)
2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
pinch of baking powder
2 1/2 tbsp yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
bowl of water
Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Let the yeast proof for about 10 minutes.
2. In a larger bowl, whisk together: flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir in yogurt and olive oil. Next, add the yeast-water liquid. Mix until the dough comes together.
3. With floured hands, knead the dough until it is smooth. Put dough into a clean bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm room for 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Punch down dough and divide into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and set aside.
5. Dip dough ball into flour and roll out into a 1/4" thick oval shape on a clean kitchen towel. If you're using a baking sheet instead of a pizza stone, it's not necessary to preheat the sheet in the oven. Simply place the rolled out dough onto the sheet. As many as will fit on its surface with roughly 1" spacing.
6. Before putting the dough into the oven. Use your fingers to moisten the top of the naan with water. The added moisture help the dough from forming a hard pita-like crust. Bake for 4 minutes, flip the naan over and bake for an additional 1 minute. Remove from oven.
A couple weeks ago I had the worst-ever bowl of cream of mushroom soup at Palomino's in Bellevue. There was no excuse for it. Certainly not on my part since I finished reading Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential that weekend, in which Bourdain clearly says what foods to avoid on certain days. For example, never order seafood on a Monday (because the fresh stuff comes in on Friday morning for F/Sa/Su). And, sure enough, the dungeness crab sliders that came with my soup were cold, soggy, tasteless, and ugh, the crab tasted like it was frozen and reheated a couple times. Never order cream of anything at a restaurant, he warns. That is because you can hide all sorts of things in a cream-based soup. Heck, if I can make a decent crab bisque with a meatless carcass, imagine what an experienced chef can do in the kitchen. Anyhow. Here's a much better rendition of mushroom soup.
Ingredients
8 oz fresh white mushrooms, sliced
1 qt organic beef stock
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp unbleached AP flour + 1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp organic white wine
1/4 c buttermilk, or cream
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)
Directions
1. In a medium-sized pot, melt butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until tender; about 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms from heat and set aside.
2. Add remaining butter and stir in flour. This will make a roux. The flour will clump together into a ball, but not to worry, it will smooth out once the broth is added. Speaking of which, gradually add the broth, whisking until the flour dissolves in the broth. Pour in the rest of the broth and add the wine. Return 2/3 of the mushrooms to the pot. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Turn off heat and let the soup cool before using an immersion blender. The idea is to not purée the mushrooms, but to chop them up into little bits. Return remaining mushrooms to the pot along with the buttermilk, salt, and black pepper. Bring up to a boil for five minutes.
4. Remove from heat and ladle into bowls.
