Topic: Davy's Naans with Piccy's

[JerryM]

Davy,

i did put the egg in this time (did not make much difference to taste so will leave out in future as i've done in the past). I even used the ASDA flour you used.

on the sconey taste i'm not worried now - i've adopted solely self raising from now on using UB's liquid ratio.

very happy chappy - many thanks for helping to conclude the way fwd  ;D

[JerryM]

have made naan twice now and 2 disasters - did not rise at all

the 1st go was with UB's recipe but used all self raising flour (no oil).

i then repeated Davy's recipe but with less liquid (300ml/450gm flour, 66%) than i'd previously used (also no yoghurt, no oil, no egg).

on both occasions i cooked the naans straight after mixing them.

i've come to the conclusion that some "proving" time is essential for self raising flour - say 1 hr.

[Davy]

Hi Jerry,
It won't rise as such but rather the air will develope in the mix. Mine usually prove for an hour or two even. If you are seeing two or three small bubbles appearing in the dough it's right enough. I used my recipe again less 1 egg and it was fine. I think the maybe your technique might be what is giving you problems. What are you cooking the naans on? Tava, griddle? Are you absolutely sure it is hot enough? It needs to be smoking hot. Am I right in saying you are using electric to cook still? If you are using electric try using an ordinary non stick frying pan the thinnest metal one you've got. Let it heat up on the hob for a good 5 minutes. Roll out just a little of the dough and drop it in. Brush the top immediately with oil. Flip after 2 or 3 minutes. If it bubbles up after a minute or so in your pan you've found the problem. When you make up the liquid add you Baking powder and salt to the liquid to ensure an even distribution through the mix. Lastly make it sticky. My last dough I mixed entirely with a spoon. It is really just like a thick batter. Don't worry about getting it out of the basin. oily hands and flour in another bowl will make it more managable when you come to use it. The stickier the dough the more air their will be in their. I think BIR's get away with a thicker dough because they have the heat of the tandoor to fall back on. Show us some pics, even if it fails, maybe we can help you better by seeing what you are doing. We will not let you go without Naan  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D Sorry forgot to mention. I have stopped using oil with no adverse effects. Still use the yoghurt though      

[JerryM]

Davy,

thanks for the kind thoughts.

i am sure it's the proving - there were no bubbles at all - i've not used self raising before and thought u could mix it and use it. when i made your recipe 1st time i made the dough at lunchtime and cooked in the evening - they were spot on!

i've always made KD's yeast naans. my gas bbq produces the best result but my cast iron  frying pan - i suppose "tarva" is pretty close.

both of the last 2 batches were sticky so that's not it. i did not use yoghurt (did not have to hand) for the last 2 batches but can't imagine this to affect the rising - they were as flat as a pancake.

ps no sconey taste at all - i think this comes from using plain and self raising together.

no base this week so will have to wait before trying again with a 1 hr prove.

[Tamala]

i am sure it's the proving - there were no bubbles at all - i've not used self raising before and thought u could mix it and use it

Self-raising flour does not need proving.

i've always made KD's yeast naans

Dough made from yeast does need proving.

both of the last 2 batches were sticky so that's not it

The dough SHOULD NOT BE OVERLY STICKY OR COVERED IN LOOSE FLOUR. A stiff dough will rise perfectly ok (I make them regularly and perfectly successfully)

i did not use yoghurt (did not have to hand) for the last 2 batches but can't imagine this to affect the rising - they were as flat as a pancake

Yoghurt will react with the bicarbonate of soda (in the baking powder) to cause the release of carbon dioxide (not "air") which causes the dough to rise. 

But yoghurt is not necessary if baking powder is used.  Baking powder is premixed with an acid (tartaric acid) to do cause this reaction to occur when the powder is wet

ps no sconey taste at all - i think this comes from using plain and self raising together

This is effectively a scone mix jerry (minus the butter in this case).  It is not the plain flour.  Self-raising flour is just plain flour plus baking powder. 

If you want them to be 'less sconey" replace some (or all) of the milk with water and reduce the butter/ghee (in naan recipes that call for this)

Also try making them thinner (and the tava hotter) if you want to encourage more/faster rising

I do hope my comments are helful guys 

[JerryM]

Tamala,

appreciate your help.

i know proving is the wrong word but i can't think of another. what i was trying to say is u can't put self raising flour in a bowl, mix with liquids and cook it straight away.

u seem to have to leave it. how long? - i don't know but at least 1/2 hr and probably better at 1 hr. the appearance does not change but the effect on the final product is significant - it simply does not rise otherwise.

i used 2 tsp of baking powder.

i intend to keep going at this to see if i can get the result i'm after (better than the KD yeast recipe)

[JerryM]

Tamala/Davy,

i'm now there - have made naans twice now and both times spot on. the key was to leave the SR dough for a while (1 hr) before cooking with it.

i'm still not sure if it needs the yogurt and will test out at some point. i still add 1 tbsp of caster sugar (it is ok without though so i guess optional)

i'm still using UB's stickiness though. so the recipe is as Davy's spec but no egg, 1 tsp baking powder but 310ml of liquid per 455 gm (inc yogurt giving 68% liquid:flour).

interesting though at this stickiness i can still use the rolling pin (with extra dusting flour)

[Davy]

Glad to see you sorted it Jerry  ;D As I said before I think the BIR's may get away with a less sticky dough but it seems to work well in home cooked Naan because we don't have the intense heat of the tandoor. I am still leaning towards UB's recipe as the all SR flour doesn't seem as close as UB's was to my local T/A. Anyway It sure is an improvement on a lot of the recipe books where they come out like ironing boards!!  

[JerryM]

Davy,

agree, i too lean towards UB's recipe but then i get that "sconey" taste . oh nooooo been there and not going back  ;D ;D ;D