Gluten Free Naan!


Naans are soft pillowy yeasty bread, made with white flour, baked in a hot earthen kiln called the tandoor. They are part of Mughlai cuisine available in most Indian restaurants. Of all the different varieties of flat breads made in India homes, this one is reserved for restaurants only, rarely made at home. Of course my dear daughter always felt left out so i set out to find a Gluten free recipe which could be made at home. I was lucky enough to find this amazing recipe here which i could easily adapt to make it egg free and corn free too. I cooked the naans on the stove top instead of the oven and they still turned out deliciously soft and spongy.

Makes:7-8 medium sized naans

Ingredients
1/2 cup water, heated to 110 degrees F
1  tablespoon sugar
2  teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup buttermilk( or mix little water into yogurt to create instant buttermilk)
3/4 cup rice flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp potato starch
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp tapioca starch
2  teaspoons guar gum or 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tbsp cooking oil
2  eggs equivalent egg replacer (i used Ener-G)
unsalted butter, for buttering tops of naan

Directions
Mix yogurt with little water to create buttermilk.
Dissolve the egg replacer mix and stir till frothy.
Add warm water to a medium sized bowl.
Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
Add yeast, stir well and set aside until frothy, about 5 minutes. If it does not bubble start over with fresh yeast.
In a large bowl, add remaining dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Add buttermilk and egg replacer to the yeast mixture; whisk well.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir until it reaches a soft dough consistency.
Add the oil and knead it well.  Allow to rest for 20 minutes or longer.
It doesn't rise much unlike usual wheat dough.
Scatter some flour onto a clean, flat surface. Scoop 1/3 cup at a time of dough.
Knead and shape into a disk and roll into a circular or triangular shape with a rolling pin. Gently transfer to preheated flat pan.
Fry on each side for approximately 2 1/2 minutes till it puffs up and light brown spots appear
Coat the top of the naan with unsalted butter for added flavor.



Serve warm with your favorite curry. We enjoyed it with chicken kofta curry. Left over dough was used the next day to make naans which were rolled into kathi rolls. Uncooked dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

My daughter used the left over dough for her own creation - a snowflake :)



Variation: 

Garlic Naan - I finely sliced a clove of garlic and pressed the pieces onto the rolled naan just before cooking them to create garlic flavored naan.

Naan Pizza - Use the naan to make a pizza base and layer with your favorite toppings

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