tuesdays with dorie / baking with julia: oasis naan

In my continuing quest to find bread recipes that fit into a working girl’s schedule, this week’s selection for Tuesdays with Dorie/Baking with Julia, Oasis Naan, fit the bill.

This is a flatbread with savory toppings. The flour canister was emptier than I expected, so I made half a recipe. Four breads would be enough for our household of two anyway.

It was easy enough to mix up and knead in the morning before work. No machinery was required for this one, a completely unplugged recipe. I stirred yeast into warm water, then added flour and salt gradually until the dough was stiff.

Dough Before Kneading

Then, I “vigorously” kneaded the dough, adding flour until it was smooth and elastic and a whole lot less sticky that when I started. I needed to add more flour than called for, but perhaps that was due to the humid weather. At that point, I set the dough in the refrigerator to rise while I was at work.

Dough After Kneading, Before Rising

After work, first thing, I took the bowl out of the fridge to warm up. Then I put my pizza stone in the oven and let it heat up to a high temperature. The dough was divided and rolled between my hands into four balls. Then, with the rolling pin, I rolled the each ball into a 6-inch disk. Each disk was moistened, and then, “with determination”, I used a fork to prick the center of each one. Finally, I sprinkled each bread with kosher salt, chopped scallions, and some seeds. The recipe gave the option of cumin or caraway. I had both on hand, so, for the first round, I made one of each I preferred the cumin, so the last two were topped with cumin seeds.

I have never mastered the art of using the floured back of a baking sheet as a baking peel. My doughs did not slide, but stuck, to the baking sheet. I had to use a spatula to help transfer. My breads lost their round shape in the process. This method also lacked precision. I was baking two at a time, and they ended up touching, both times. If you have any tips on how to make this work, I’d love to learn.

So, the verdict? I like how easy this was and enjoyed the taste. To be honest, I was a little disappointed at how puffy it was because I was expecting a flatter flatbread. Mine was more like pizza dough. Perhaps I didn’t use enough determination to flatten the center of my bread. I’ll be checking out the other links to see how to improve my technique. You can too here at the Tuesdays with Dorie “Leave Your Link” post for this recipe.

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Posted on 5 June 2012, in Baking, Tuesdays with Dorie and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 18 Comments.

  1. Wow – kneading by hand! Well done! I was kind of “lazy” and used my KA.
    I loved their taste and will make them again: probably because I love Pizza as well.
    Yours looks so yummy – it’s midday and I am pretty hungry: what a pity they are all gone!

  2. I learned that the docking step is important or the bread doesn’t come out flat. My first attempt was so dense compared to the second batch.

  3. My naan were pretty puffy, too. I guess it’s all in in the docking. Still, I really liked this recipe.

  4. Look at them, they are absolutely delicious!
    Oasis Naan were a winner in my family.

  5. I think your naan turned out lovely. There is normally just two of us also, so next time I will halve the recipe also. I had an issue or two with getting the naan off the pizza board, but by the last two, I was a pro.

  6. Sounds delicious!!!!

  7. They look good.
    Like the new blog look :-)

  8. Betsy, Your naan look perfect…I loved this recipe…so delicious! I froze 5 of mine. Some for later!

  9. thekitchenlioness

    Betsy, your naan looks wonderful with the scallions and cumin seeds – eight naans were a bit too much even for us and half the dough is still lingering around in the fridge…

    Hope you are feeling better and that you enjoyed your trip to NYS!

  10. Your naan looks great. I made half the recipe too, it seemed like a lot of bread :)

  11. I love your opening photo of the naan. It looks so soft and pretty. Great job!

  12. I did mine by hand, too… love the loaded toppings!

  13. Your naan is beautiful! I found I like my naan rolled a bit thinner, I also cooked mine a little longer. Day old naan was dropped it the toaster and butter–yummy!

  14. have you ever tried using parchment paper? You can lay it down on the baking sheet, toss a bit of flour on it (if the recipe calls for it,… too much and it will burn and smoke your oven out) and then place the bread on that and it bakes as effectively as a “naked” baking sheet …! :) your bread looks great though!

  15. Kudos for hand-kneading. I definitely went with the mixer’s dough hook.

  16. Ooh, your naan is really pretty with the scallions and seeds. You’re pretty impressive getting up before work to mix the dough. I totally waited until a Saturday afternoon to make mine, but you’ve inspired me to try to get up and do a little prep work the next time!

  17. I think your naan looks great! I had similar issues with the back of the baking pan and my naan puffing up. Good to know I wasn’t the only one ha ha!! :)

  18. Your naan is just beautiful! I didn’t make this recipe because John doesn’t care for naan and I didn’t want to eat all of it by myself. I have the sponge going for the semolina bread right now and keeping my fingers crossed that it turns out okay because I don’t know what to expect for the look and the flavor of this. I hate it when a cookbook doesn’t have a picture of the end result, so I guess I will have to google it. ;)

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