Naan -- Indian Flatbread

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Serivngs: makes about 12 pieces of Naan

Ingredients:
3-4 cups all-purpose flour (I did half whole wheat and it was delightful)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon sugar
3-4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
Pour the milk into a liquid measure and heat in the microwave until warm to the touch (about 110 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). If using active dry yeast, mix the sugar and yeast into the milk and let it sit for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is foamy and the yeast has activated. Once the yeast/milk mixture is foamy, pour the mixture into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and add the salt and 2 1/2 cups of the flour (proceed with the second paragraph of the recipe). If using instant yeast, pour the warm milk into a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add the sugar, instant yeast, salt and 2 1/2 cups of the flour. Proceed as directed below.

Mix well to combine. Continue adding flour gradually in small amounts, until a soft dough is formed that cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough by mixer or hand until it is smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes in the mixer or 10 minutes by hand.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest at room temperature, covered lightly with greased plastic wrap, for about 2 hours.  (I actually made my dough Saturday night and put it in a tightly covered bowl in the fridge till we got home from church - about 16 hours - and it seemed to work fine).

After the dough has rested, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, rounding each into a ball shape. (I cut the blob of dough into wedges with a pizza cutter, then kind of folded/rolled them into balls - check out Mel's website for step-by-step photos).  Cover the pieces with a towel and let them rest for 30 minutes. While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F and place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, try grilling the dough on a lightly oiled outdoor grill or use a hot griddle to bake the naan – you’ll have to experiment with cooking times but I’ve seen either of those methods used with cooking naan also.)

Once the dough has rested for 30 minutes, one by one, roll each piece into a circle about 6-8 inches wide, depending on how thin or thick you want your naan. Lay the circle of dough on the hot pizza stone and spritz lightly with water. Close the oven and bake the naan for 2-4 minutes, until it is lightly puffed (some pieces will puff more than others) and brown spots begin to appear on the top. Remove the naan from the baking stone and place on a cooling rack. Brush lightly with melted butter (garlic powder mixed in the melted butter was pretty tasty, too). Stack the hot naan on top of each other as it comes out of the oven. Cover with a towel and let the naan cool completely or serve warm.

Notes:
I was feeling in the mood for some Indian food the last little while, and I've been collecting a variety of recipes for curry dishes and Naan.  Let me just say that the Chicken with Green Curry Sauce I made today wasn't all that I was hoping for, but this Naan was AWESOME.  Really so yummy and simple (really, if you're scared of yeast, don't be ... this recipe is not hard and it doesn't take much time at all - besides the resting periods, so plan ahead for that).  Our first few pieces turned into round fluffy pockets full of steam, rather than flatbread, but by the last batch (we did 2-4 pieces at a time because they were quite small) I had figured out how thin to roll the dough.  I found it helped to kind of stretch it out with my hands after rolling to make it really quite thin. Yum.  Perfect for sopping up sauces and scooping up rice (and making an otherwise rather bland meal turn out tasty).