Indian Cheese Bread (Naan au Fromage)
Source of Recipe
“My Paris Kitchen” by David Lebovitz
Recipe Introduction
I thought that this recipe looked easy enough and a couple of people at eGullet had made these, so I gave it a try. After much agita I got four good ones out of six, so not too bad. They are basically naan stuffed with cheese and were delicious.
My first two burned. The rest were great – nicely toasted and puffed with just a couple of charred areas. My problem with the recipe is an old one with me. Whenever a recipe calls for heating up an iron skillet on high heat until it is screaming hot and then cooking something in it, I should know better. It just doesn’t work for me. I have wonderful, properly seasoned, old skillets (one of them belonged to my greatgrandmother – it is probably 100 years old). But I put anything in a screaming hot skillet and it pours smoke and instantly carbonizes. It triggers my asthma and I start coughing and then I have smoke, burned food and a skillet with half a hamburger welded to it to deal with. Then I start all over again at a lower heat in a new pan! So that’s what happened. I figured, “the hell with it - here I am in the 21st century in the United States of America – I’m using a frickin' non-stick pan on medium high heat.” They were perfect. These reheat quite nicely in a toaster oven.
List of Ingredients
2/3 C. water, room temperature
pinch of white sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
3/4 t. baking powder
2 T. plain yogurt (full or low-fat_
5 T. melted clarified butter, plus more for serving [I used ghee]
3/4 t. sea salt
12 wedges plain Laughing Cow Cheese
Recipe
Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook. In the bowl, mix the water, sugar, yeast and 3/4 cup of flour. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Add the rest of the flour, baking powder, yogurt, 3 tablespoons of the butter and the salt. Knead on medium speed 5 minutes. The dough will be soft. If it is sticky, add more flour – a couple of tablespoons. Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Knead lightly on a lightly floured circle until no longer sticky. Roll each out to a 4-inch circle. Place two pieces of cheese in the center and fold the four rounded edges to the center to cover the cheese, pressing to stick. Turn over (seam side down) and roll each naan out to a 6-inch diameter. Place each naan on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper as you finish.
Heat a slick of ghee in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cover with a domed lid. Cook the naans, one at a time in the skillet until blistered and browned. A few charred spots are good. Flip to cook the other side, adding more ghee. When done, brush with additional ghee (or ghee heated with a bit of smashed garlic – very good). Serve these warm.
Makes 6 flatbreads
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