Homemade Naan Bread

Happy Friday everyone!  This particular Friday is a very special one.  Not only is it April's Fools (don't worry, I'm not going to try any trickery on you guys!), but as of 8:30pm tonight, I'm officially on vacation! 

It's definitely more of a "stay"-cation, but hey, I won't have to work for a full 11 days.  So it's going to be amazing.

What will I be doing? 

SPRING CLEANING.  There's so much I want to throw out and do over, it's not even funny.  Will I get to it all done in one week?  Umm... no.  I highly doubt it.  I'll probably only get through 3, maybe 4 rooms out of the house, but hey, it's a start.

Anyway, let's get on with some naan!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Food for my Family's recipe

3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 cups flour, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch baking powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 & 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
cornmeal, for dusting
unsalted butter, optional

In a small bowl, add the water and sprinkle yeast over top.  Allow to sit for about 10 minutes until foamy. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Mix in olive oil and sour cream until mixture is crumbly.  Slowly stir in the yeast and water mixture until a ball of dough forms.  My mixture was still a tad wet, so I added maybe 1/2 to 1 cup extra flour to get a desired consistency.

Knead dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until smooth.  Place the dough ball in a clean and greased bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 500F with a baking stone or an upside-down rimmed baking sheet (i don't have a baking stone, so this is the method I used). 

Flip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple minutes.  Divide dough into about 5-6 equally sized balls.  Dip each ball into flour and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Dust preheated baking stone or baking sheet with a light layer of cornmeal.  Wet hands and gently wet each piece of dough before placing them on hot baking stone or sheet (I did batches of 3).

Bake for about 5-7 minutes, or until tops are starting to brown and get bubbly.

Transfer each piece of naan to a plate and top with a pat of unsalted butter.

This was my first attempt at making naan and I must say that it couldn't have been easier!  Or more delicious!  I had a 1/2 piece of naan with each of my dinners this week, and it was the perfect accompaniment to my curried lentil soup I had the other night!  It's even great by itself!

How about you guys... have you ever made naan at home? 

Have a great weekend guys!  I'll see you next week for some goodies (and maybe some before and after pictures of the rooms I clean out!)

Cast Iron Cornbread

Although Andy got to "break-in" our new Cast Iron Skillet, I knew I had to use it soon after.  I don't know what it is, but when we get new things for our kitchen or home, I just have that itch to use them immediately!  I've held out since Christmas, so I mean, I've waited long enough.

Cornbread is one of those things that goes great with comforting meals.  In our case, we had some black eyed pea "stew".  But you know, most people have cornbread with chili and things like that.  Me... I like to eat it by itself.  What more do you want?  It's sweet, yellow, crumbly cornbread.  With a nice pat of butter.  Simple heaven, I tell you.

Ingredients:

1 cup white cornmeal (you can use yellow too, but this is what I had on hand)
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sugar

Grease a 10-12 inch round cast iron skillet and place in oven.  Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. 

In a separate medium bowl, combine milk, egg, olive oil, and honey. 

Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and mix well.

Carefully remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and pour in batter.  Return skillet to oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until cornbread is golden brown.

Cool slightly and slice into wedges.  Top with butter and enjoy sweet cornbread bliss!

I don't like an overly sweet cornbread, and I also don't like an overly dry and plain cornbread.  This was pretty close to perfect!  If you like it on the sweeter side, feel free to adjust the honey and sugar accordingly.  Like I said, this pairs perfectly with some beans or chili, but is just as great on it's own with some butter or extra honey! 

Hope you all enjoy your weekend... I'm off to make that pear-caramel ice cream and do a few other errands... Monday will be here before you know it, but I'm going to enjoy this 3 day weekend as much as possible!  Enjoy your weekend guys!