Sailing the Bakery
Traveling with few plans, baking with few recipes
Naan bread
2018-07-27

Naan bread

I know I have a lot of bread recipes on this blog, but this one is so easy and it makes any meal a little more special and delicious. And, it doesn’t require turning on your oven...just your stovetop.

I didn’t know this was possible, but we’ve actually met a fair amount of people that don’t use the oven on their boat. Once, a woman said to me, “I can’t remember the last time I turned on the oven.” I sat there, jaw-dropped, not knowing what to say. I mean, what do you say to that? I silently tried to think of all the things I make in our oven that wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t turn on the oven: cookies, cakes (she didn’t make a cake even for a birthday?), pizza, blueberry muffins, bread, biscuits, potatoes, pie, roasted vegetables. I could go on. What I did say in response to her was, “I can’t remember a day where I didn’t turn on the oven,” and just like that, we silently agreed to disagree on the subject. Let’s be clear here, the subject was, in my regard, are ovens necessary on a boat. Okay, okay, she may not have been taking it that drastically, but I was. The audacity to not use a tool that takes up presumably a third of her boat galley! 

Naan in the wild

Naan in the wild

I convinced myself she was an isolated case, and that she wasn’t a terrible person on a whole just because she had never made cookies for herself and her husband after a long passage. But then we met more people who spoke similarly unbelievable statements, “I don’t really use the oven,” or “it makes the boat too hot, so I don’t use it,” or the most incredible, “I don’t even know what I would use it for.” I cannot tell you how many times I’ve made the boat hot in the name of fresh pie. You know what? It was worth it. Nobody has ever said, I’d rather have a cool boat than this pie in front of me. It’s been proven. Seriously though, we live on a boat! Things are difficult and not always convenient! The least you could do for yourself is treat your Sunday mornings to some cinnamon rolls. 

But if you’re like these ridiculous people (who I am certain do not read this blog) who don’t use their ovens, you can “bake” this naan bread and get a taste of what you’re missing.  

If you are one of the oven non-users, comment below and help me understand why?!! 

Recipe:

1/2 cup yogurt/sour cream (room temperature)
3 cups flour  
1/2 package instant yeast  
1/2 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1/2 cup warm water or milk

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and kneed gently for 3-5 minutes. Add more flour or water depending on consistency. Dough should be soft and not too sticky. Let sit 15 minutes and divide into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Cover with a towel and let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour depending on your ambient temperature. Once dough has doubled in size, heat a skillet (I use a cast iron) on medium-high heat and grease very lightly with some oil or butter. Take a dough ball and gently flatten it with your fingers, creating a round disc, about 5-8 inches in diameter and about 1/3 inch thick. You can experiment here depending on how thick you like your naan bread. Once the pan is relatively hot, place the naan in the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Serve immediately with dinner or just eat it with butter!