Naan Bread (without a grill)

I was first introduced to Indian Naan bread by Brad and Alicia (who also blogs here) when we went over for an Indian dinner one night. We love, love, love flat bread and so of course we were in love with this. Alicia made up the dough and Brad cooked it on the grill. It had those beautiful grill lines.

Well, Andrew and I wanted to make a flat bread to go with our dinner yesterday. We remembered the yummy Naan but were afraid we wouldn't be able to make it since we didn't have access to a grill. We decided that since tortillas are cooked on a hot flat surface and pancakes are too- why not Naan?

We cooked up our little breads on my electric skillet (which is one of the most wonderful kitchen appliances in the world) and they were beautiful and perfect! Not to mention delicious.

So, if you don't have a tandoor or a grill- don't be intimidated- you can still make a mean Naan.

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

OR

3. Heat electric skillet to about 300 degrees. Let it get very hot.
4. Flatten out one roll of dough very thin. Lightly brush one side of the bread with olive oil and place oil side down in the skillet. Cook 2 minutes. Brush the uncooked side with butter and turn over. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Butter the cooked side. Remove from skillet and continue until all naan has been prepared.

Alicia, is this the same recipe you have? If yours is different you should put yours on here.