Naan

Naan breads are just so delicious and versatile. We often use them to soak up the liquid of our favorite Asian dishes, but another favorite way to enjoy these is as the crust to personal pizzas. Or folded for a panini. Yum! While they are easy enough to buy, you really cannot get anything better or more tenderly fresh than homemade. And the bonus is that you control the quality of ingredients and there are no preservatives! Win, win, win.

Makes 8

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)

1 tbsp honey

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup dairy-free yogurt* (or mix 1/4 cup nut milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar and let sit to thicken 5 minutes)

1 flax egg* (1 tbsp ground flax + 2 1/2 tbsp water, sit for 5 minutes)

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups flour* (use gluten free all purpose flour for gluten free option)

1/4 cup avocado or olive oil or good vegan butter, melted*

Salt

Directions

Add yeast, honey, and warm water to the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk to combine. Let sit 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. It should start to foam. Meanwhile, mix flax egg. Once yeast mixture is foamy, whisk in yogurt, flax egg, baking powder, and salt. Turn mixer on with dough hook attachment, and slowly add in flour. Let mix until all flour is combined. Form into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.

Once doubled, dump dough onto a well-floured counter. Cut dough into 8 equal sized balls. Working one at a time, roll out on floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Set aside until all are rolled.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (can use a ceramic nonstick) over medium heat. Once very hot, add rolled naan dough to skillet one at a time (no oil yet). Cook about 2 minutes until bubbly, and then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes. Alternatively, if using a gas stove top, cook the 2nd side over open flame. Place on cooling rack, brush with oil or melted vegan butter, and sprinkle with salt. Continue cooking until all 8 naan are finished. Serve with your favorite Indian or Thai dish. Store leftover naan in an airtight bag or container. Keeps at room temperature for 2 days, in fridge for 5 or can be frozen for a month and reheated.

*If not vegan you can sub an egg for the flax egg, regular cow’s milk or greek yogurt, and regular butter.