After 2 weeks of being forced to stay off my feet and out of the kitchen
with recovery from surgery, I was so happy to be able to get back in
the kitchen. Big E and Little E joined me today and we made some naan
for our curry dinner.
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| The hazards of baking with a baby in your arms. Floured toes!! |
If I have one weakness, it is bread (or maybe cake). I love it in all
shapes and forms and it loves to shape and form me! We have a
love/hate/eat kinda relationship.
Ingredients:
(As adapted from Fine Cooking)
2 cups lukewarm water
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup milk
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground sea salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Fennel seeds, black onion seeds, and ground pepper for seasoning.
To make the dough: Put 1/2 cup of the water in a
cup or glass and stir in the yeast. Heat the milk in a small saucepan to
lukewarm, about 100°F. Pour the milk and remaining 1-1/2 cups water
into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture. Stir in about 2 cups of
flour, stirring always in the same direction, until smooth. Stir in the
salt and continue stirring in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough
is too stiff to stir but is still soft. Turn out the dough onto a
lightly floured surface. Wash, dry, and lightly oil the bowl. Knead the
dough until it's smooth, 4 to 5 minutes, incorporating only enough flour
(by keeping the work surface dusted) to prevent the dough from
sticking; the dough should be quite soft and not tight.
Put the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic, and let it rise in a
cool place for 8 hours or overnight. If you're not ready to bake yet,
punch down the dough, put it in a plastic bag, and refrigerate it for up
to 3 days.
To shape and bake: About 1-1/4 hours before you
want to serve the breads, set an oven rack to an upper-middle rung. Put a
large baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles on the rack, leaving a
1-inch gap around the border. Heat the oven to 500°F.
Pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl and transfer it to a
lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half, putting half of it back
in the bowl (covered) while you work with the other half.
Cut the dough half into five equal pieces. Shape each one into a
ball by rolling the dough on the counter or by using both hands to turn
it, round it, and smooth it. Put the balls to the side or back of the
counter (flour the surface), and brush each with melted butter. Cover
with plastic and let rest for 20 minutes. During the last few minutes of
resting, prepare the remaining dough the same way.
Dust a rimless baking sheet or peel lightly with cornmeal or flour.
Put one risen ball of dough on the floured work surface and push it out
with your fingertips to a 6- or 7-inch round; don't turn it over. Set
it aside; repeat with a second risen ball. Bake the breads until their rippled tops have light golden spots
and the bottoms are golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove them with a peel or
long-handled spatula, transfer to a rack to cool for about 5 minutes,
and brush with more melted butter, if you like. Wrap them in a cotton
cloth to keep them soft and warm. Repeat the shaping and baking process
with the remaining 8 balls of dough.
