Hi,

I have tried making naans many times but they become very stiff afer cooking. They are not as soft as we get in restaurants. Can you pls tell me what should be the consistency of the dough?

Thanks,

Ritz

Two thoughts.. your dough isn't wet enough.. most breads are better if the dough is quite sticky and wet then brought together as you kneed it...

second thought.. your oven/grill temperature isn't high enough so its drying them out ?

Steve

Hello Ritz

I am sorry for delay in replying. I got so busy deleting SPAM postings that missed yours!

Steve is right, the dough needs to be soft, because the steam from water makes the dough rise better. Just like chaptties, slacker your dough, better they rise and softer they are. So, the consistency should be as slack as you can manage to roll. Indian chefs often do it by hand and don?t even use the rolling pin. For this, the dough has to be really soft and pliable.

Too much yeast will also make them rise fast and then collapse. In fact, if you have time, use even less yeast that in the recipe and let the dough rise naturally. Most people in India do not use yeast at all, they let yoghurt and natural yeast do the work. In fact, I have amended the recipes today, to reduce the amount.

Oven temperatures of domestic ovens can not match a tandoor. Pre-heat your oven fully to maximum, before you cook naans. I cook them on a HOT pan these days. I understand that Dan Lepard cooks his on the concave surface of a wok, which helps to retain the moisture. This is exactly what the shape of a tandor does.

mamta