Flatbreads - Nigella Lawson, How to be a Domestic Goddess

I had a day off, it was raining, S was at uni all day and I didnt feel like doing much so I thought Id get stuck into some things in the kitchen! I chose a curry from Madhur Jaffreys Ultimate Curry Bible, and thought that rather than going to the shops to buy naan, Id just make it myself. I had heard many good things about Nigella Lawsons flatbread recipe from How to be a Domestic Goddess, so figured Id give it a try!

They turned out really well, I made a few mistakes with them but they were very forgiving! I left them to rise way too long during the first rise, then left them for like 2 hours until I cooked them rather than 20mins... still fine! I didnt use the glaze either, rather ended up finding that putting the garlic oil on the dough before it went in the oven the best option for us!

I also used a granite stone that had been preheated in the oven for about half an hour - they were hot enough that within about 15 seconds of putting the dough on them they started to bubble up! I had the flatbreads on a piece of baking paper, on a wooden cutting board, and they slid easily into the hot oven. It also made for easy retrieval.

I apologise for the lack of pictures, I had dough and flour on my hands and I didnt want to touch my camera in that state!

FOR THE BREAD:

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 7g (1 sachet) easy-blend yeast or 15g fresh yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing (I used garlic oil)
• Approximately 300ml warm water

FOR THE GLAZE:

• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon nigella seeds
• 2 baking sheets

Method

Serves: Makes 6

1. Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl and make a well. Dollop the yoghurt and oil into a measuring jug and add warm water to come up to the 350ml mark. Give a quick beat with a fork to combine, then pour this liquid into the dry ingredients, and mix with your hands or a wooden spoon, adding more liquid as needed, to form a firm but soft dough (I used the dough hook...)
2.  Turn out onto a floured surface (or set your mixer and dough hook to work) and start kneading. Add more flour as needed until you've got a smooth, supple and elastic dough. Form the dough into a ball, grease a bowl and turn the dough in it so it's lightly oiled all over. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rise for about an hour or so, until doubled in size. 

 I accidentally left it for about 2.5 hours, it rose so much it stuck to the clingfilm! Oops! 

Punch the dough down, then leave to rest for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/gas mark 7. Tear the dough into 3, and then halve each piece. Form each of these 6 little pieces into an egg-shape and, one by one, roll them out to make a flat, elongated, if irregular oval. Place on baking sheets about 3cm apart, cover with tea towels and leave to prove for 20 minutes, until puffy. 

Using the blunt side of an ordinary kitchen knife, draw diagonal parallel lines across the loaves about 2 centimetres apart. Do the same now the other direction, so you've got a loose criss-cross.

Beat the egg with the water and yoghurt and, using a pastry brush, paint this over the breads. Sprinkle on the nigella seeds and bake in the hot oven for 8-10 minutes, by which time the loaves will be golden, puffed up in places and cooked through.

 This one didnt have the oil on it, it was a test run - it comes out pretty well if you brush it with oil afterwards too.

Remove them from the oven and drape immediately and for a few minutes with a tea towel so that these small, flat, breads don't dry up and get too crusty.

Ill definately make these again, they were pretty easy, good for an afternoon of pottering in the kitchen!