Homemade Oven Baked Naan Bread

Lately Ive been trying to expand my bread making skills, this week I tried two new ones for me ... Hamburger Buns ... and one of my all time favourites , Naan Bread .

Ingredient List :

2 Cups Unbleached AP flour 

1 Cup Bran AP Flour 

1 TSB Sea Salt 

1 TSB Garlic Chips ( or fresh , whichever you have on hand )  

1/2 TSB Baking Soda

In a Sauce Pan :

1/4 cup melted butter 

1/4 cup warm milk ( not boiling ! ) 

1/4 cup yogurt ( I used 3% organic ) 

In a bowl :

2 1/4 TSB Dry Active Yeast ( or One pouch )
2 TBS Warm Water 

1 TSB Sugar

Extras : 

2 TBS Butter , melted - For brushing Naan after
1 TSB Sea Salt - For brushing Naan after

1/3 Cup Water -  

1/4 Cup flour - 

2 TBS Oil - I used EVOO 

Step One : 

Put warm water in a small bowl, add sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Leave for about 10 minutes , should be frothy 

Step Two : 

In a Sauce pan gently warm yogurt , milk and butter ...  Once warm , add to bowl with flour , baking soda, salt and garlic chips ...  use your mixer , or hands ... and knead for 6 - 10 minutes :) Mix until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl then knead for 6 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  You may need to add a little water or flour , I ended up adding a 1/2 cup of warm water , and 1/4 cup of flour ...   I think 1/3 cup would have been perfect.  

Step Three :

Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl , turn to coat the dough ball . cover with a clean , damp cloth , and leave to rise for about 4 hours or until doubled in volume . 

Step Four : 

Preheat oven to 520 degrees F   or your oven's highest setting and set a rack in the lower third of the oven, place a pizza stone on the rack to preheat also. 

Step Five :

Knock the dough down and knead briefly. Then Divide into six pieces, roll them into balls. returm them to the oiled bowl and cover with lightly plastic wrap. Rest them for 10 to 15 minutes. Next, roll out and stretch each ball until it is about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide.

Step Six : 

Gotta be fast for this step ...   I left the pizza stone in the oven and just slid the rack out a little,  I managed to fit two loaves onto the stone ,   4 minutes on the first side, and then 2 to 3 more on the other, and that is it !   Remove from the oven , I used my bbq flipper ... worked perfect !  Repeat until all your dough has been cooked .  Took me less than 30 minutes to make the six loaves.

Step Seven :

On a clean tea towel , lay out the hot naan bread, and brush with melted butter and salt , wrap in the towel,  and served immediately , or cool and refrigerate.  They should last for up to a week...  but its highly unlikely they will be around that long .   

Step 2

My Scribbles ! 

Step 3

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Mmmm Naan Bread ! 

If your dough hangs off the stone , it will get crispy :) 

All done :)  Time to eat ! 

I enjoyed this one while still warm from baking !  

Mmmm it made for an amazing pizza ! 

I promised myself I would make this well over a year ago , Im so happy to say , that it was quick, easy and VERY tasty and it will become one of my regulars :)

I hope you enjoy

Peace, Love and Good Food
Rich  

Homemade Crusty Bread

Okay ....   Enough already , Ill write the recipe !!  hahahaha I must have had 20 requests for this bread recipe :)   So here it is :)  

I must add this has become my favourite bread of all time ...   nothing Ive made or had can beat the crunchy crust with the chewy soft interior , and as a bonus its a very flexible recipe , can be made with or without a blender with equal success.

This post outlines , my first attempt at making this , almost a year ago now ...  since then I have made well over 50 loaves , using a wide variety of flours and flavours :)

Ingredients for a double batch :)

12 Cups of Flour , can be a variety of combinations for this one it was 10 cups AP, 2 cups 12 Whole Grains  , if using Whole Wheat I use 8 AP , 4 WW
2 Teaspoons Dry Yeast
7 Teaspoons Sea Salt
6 Cups Warm Water

The rest is optional ...  for this batch I used

4 Cloves of garlic, Minced
1 Large pinch of dried basil
2 dutch onions , minced

Mix all the dry ingredients first 

Stir in water

I did this batch by hand , using two wooden spatulas , took about 5 minutes ...   A stand mixer will do the same, in about the same time ...  should be a sticky mess

Cover with plastic wrap , and leave on counter for 18 - 24 hours 

Should at least double in size over night  - At this point you will want to put your dutch ovens into a oven , preheat t 450F ( about 20 minutes or so )  

On a well floured surface , divide into whatever sized loaves you like ..  this will require a bit of effort ...  you do not want them sticky ..  

Drop the dough into the HOT dutch ovens ...  no oil required, just a hot pot!  

Cover and into the 450F oven for 30 minutes...   Just for fun I tried one in a silicone bread pan , with tin foil as a lid , remove the lids after 30 minutes , and continue cooking for another 15 minutes 

After 45 minutes ... you will have something like this !!!  Mmmmmm

This is my 6.5 Q dutch oven, makes a really nice big oval bread !  

The silicone pan worked out just fine 

Thats it ... let them cool on a rack , as long as you can , and then grab some butter and dig in ! 

Nice bonus, if done right ...  no clean up!!  Just a quick wipe of the pot!  

I hope you try this out, and come to love it as much as I do ...

Peace, Love and Good Food!

How to season a cast iron pan

Love my cast iron cookware :) I have quite a collection going with several sizes of skillets , a flat plate , and a even a few enamelled ones.  I was recently given 3 more skillets , small medium and large sizes ...  all brand new , and need of seasoning .

Its a very easy skill to learn , and comes in very handy , as its the same method to re-season an old pan , or one that was forgotten and rusted up  .

All that is required , other than the cast iron pans them selves is :

- Steel or Copper Scrub
- Dish Soap ( the only time your cast should ever see it ! )
- Hot Water
- Towel
- Hot Oven

Start by giving your pans a good wash, with hot soapy water , and a metal scrub - This is to remove the oil it was shipped in , and /or  to remove a rusty spot.

After washing , dry the pan well... you can pop it in the oven , or just give it a good towel dry ,  add a good splash of  high temp oil , or lard ,  I used sunflower .  

Rub the oil , all around the pan ,  including the handle and the bottom...  try not to have any puddles of oil . 

Pop it into a 350F oven for at least 1 hour , two is best ... longer is just fine ...  make sure to turn on your fan , and maybe open a window:) It will smoke !   After the cook time ,  I simply left them in the oven to cool on their own .    

That is it!! Its that easy :) Your cast iron pan is now ready for use,  just remember to rub a little oil into after each use... eventually , you will have a glossy black pan , that will rival the best non stick pan .

Good luck, and enjoy !  Well taken care of cast iron pans can last for generations !

Woodstock UK, Churchyard

7 Pepper Birthday Chili

Whats your favourite Birthday meal ??   Mine is a nice juicy steak, with a jacket potato ... but this year for the first time in ages , birthday dinner with Mum ( We share the same Bday ) was a few days early ...  leaving me with a big question ... What to have on my Birthday !!   It didnt take long to realize Id been craving chili all month .. so Chili it was !!    Simple, Good Food !

Basic Ingredients ( I dont cook with a recipe , or even write anything down hahaha )

2 lbs of Ground Beef from local butcher
2 large mexican sausages from local butcher
1 lb of braising steak , Crossrib - Flour for dusting
4 tins of Beans ( Unico , 3 Red Kidney , 1 Romano ) - I prefer dried , but am using up old stock
2 large sweet red peppers
2 large chili peppers
2 cayenne chili peppers
6 long green chili peppers
3 small dried red chili peppers ( Very hot ! )
8 medium onions
1 head of garlic
1/2 tin of chipolte peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 pint of dark ale
1 pint roasted tomato sauce ( Homemade )
1 quart of stewed tomatoes ( homemade )

Chili Powder, L&P, Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Start by sauteing the onions ...  transfer to slow cooker when done 

Next step, the beef , best to add flavour here , chili powder, S&P, L&P, and half the can of beer 

 In the meantime,  I rinsed and boiled the tinned beans ... rinsed again and added to the slow cooker

While the beef is browning ... add in the beans, stewed tomatoes , and roasted tomato sauce 

Once the ground beef has finished, add the sausages , and cubed and flour dusted steak ..   just need to brown these , then add to the slow cooker 

Once done with frying ...  use the other half of the beer to deglaze the pan , add to the slow cooker, this is some amazing flavour here !  

Its starting to look like chili :))   Let simmer for 2 hours 

Once the base chili has simmered , its time to add the peppers in for the last 1 to 2 hours of cooking 

All sliced and diced, and ready for the pot!! 

Five hours after slicing the onions ...  CHILI!    Mmmm its time to eat ! 

The leftovers....  usually i portion this out and freeze it up for easy meals later , this time I decided to pressure can it ...   a future post maybe ??

MmmmMmmm  I do hope you enjoy my spicy chili , this one was quite the sweat inducing bowl of goodness !!  I wouldnt change a thing .. but if your not a big fan of spicy, i would cut back considerable of the hot peppers and add more sweet :)

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Peace, Love and Good Food to everyone !
Rich