Naan Bread | White Teeth

'But what helps with the heat, Ravind? What will aid the gentleman with the burning sensation he is presently feeling?'
’More rice, Ardashir.'
'And? And?'
Ravind looked stumped and began to sweat, Samad, who had been belittled by Ardashir too many times to enjoy watching someone else play the victim, leant over to whisper the answer in Ravind's clammy ear.
Ravind's face lit up in gratitude.'More naan bread, Ardashir!'
White Teeth
Zadie Smith

So the world's going a bit crazy. Unfortunately in Australia we have also been affected, with cases growing in Melbourne very rapidly. It's amazing to see how the entire city has been affected, with trains and trams going empty, restaurants and cafes throughout the CBD bare and more and more companies bringing in mandatory work from home policies. Unfortunately, the hoarding mentality that many have adopted has also hit the supermarkets near me and being able to purchase flour (I just want to make cakes, people!) has been tricky.

I was able however, to get some Tipo00 flour so don't be surprised by the increase in bread related recipes coming up. White Teeth had been sitting in my shelf for the past six years, many friends of mine spoke of it as their assigned reading in high school - but I somehow had never come across it or even heard of it. I finally pulled it off the shelf around a week ago and practically inhaled the words. I think I finished it within the space of four days, taking every opportunity to sneak a few pages of reading in - desperate to know what was going to happen next. On that note - I do not recommend attempting to read while crossing train platforms on your way to work, you'll crash into people and they'll be super annoyed. Trust me.

There are numerous dishes mentioned throughout this book I want to eventually try (Jamaican dumplings, anyone?) but my attention was very firmly fixed upon an attempt at naan bread. Unfortunately, it's near impossible to find naan bread at any market that doesn't contain dairy and since going plant based I've had to miss out on it. I had a few attempts at this recipe - and unfortunately as I do not possess a cast iron pan, I don't believe I will ever get the perfect cook to them. However, using a non stick pan still resulted in delicious, fluffy naan breads - a perfect accompaniment to a meal.

*Note: You can use any plain yoghurt for this - I went with coconut though because it's just so delightfully tangy.

Naan Bread
Makes approx. 8
Ingredients
2 cups plain flour + 1 tbsp
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup lukewarm water
3 tbsp coconut yoghurt, *see note
3 tbsp butter, melted
3 cloves roasted garlic
Roughly chopped parsley, to garnish

1. In a largish bowl mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.

2. In a seperate bowl, combine the yoghurt, olive oil and warm water. Add to the mixed dry ingredients and combine - once the dough has started coming together, bring it onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.

3. Put back into a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap or a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Bring your risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a sort of log, cut it into 8 equal pieces. If the pieces are quite sticky still, dust a little of the extra flour on it to stop it sticking.

5. Roll out each individual piece of dough into an oval shape, ensuring that it's no more than a cm thick (I made this mistake when making it for the first time and they sadly ended up quite doughy).

6. Bring a cast iron pan (if you have one!) to a very hot heat slowly. Remove any excess flour from the uncooked naan breads by tossing them between your hands lightly before placing them in the pan.

7. As they are cooking, air bubbles should appear on top - after about two minutes flip the naan breads so that the other side can cook for another two minutes. They should ideally be golden brown with dark spots where the air bubbles have appeared.

8. To keep the naan breads warm while each one is cooking, pop them into an oven proof dish and place into the oven at a low heat.

9. Remove the skins from the roasted garlic and crush into the melted butter, combining well.

10. When you're ready to eat, use a pastry brush to liberally spread the garlic butter mix onto each naan bread before sprinkling with the chopped parley to serve. Enjoy!