Many years ago I came across a recipe for whole wheat bread rolls and the ingredients seemed similar to a Naan recipe I had also discovered.  This recipe seemed so simple that I adapted it to making an easy and quick version of Naan which so many of my friends have asked me for over the years.

I have used this simple recipe to teach my 12 year old grand daughter to measure out the ingredients- both dry and liquid- as this recipe does not have to be very precise. In fact she was home early from school today and I asked her to help me make the Naan – it was a good way to teach her to roll out the balls and roll them into rounds.

A healthy variation to the naan is to add chopped spinach to the ingredients.

Whole Wheat Naan

1 tablespoon yeast, added to 3 tablespoon warm water, set aside for 5 minutes

2 tablespoon sugar

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups whole wheat flour ( I use King Arthur white whole wheat flour )

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2  cup oil

2 cups buttermilk

Preparation

Note: If you do not have buttermilk on hand a good substitution is adding 2 tablespoon white vinegar to the 2 cups milk. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven under broil placing the rack one shelf below the top.  I use a pizza stone so it can be preheated in the oven, but feel free to use a baking sheet.

Mix all of the above ingredients in a large bowl with a spoon. If the dough is too soft and sticky add a little of both flours until you get a soft dough. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Make into small balls (the size of a lemon) and roll into 1/8 thick  rounds.

Place rounds on the pizza stone or baking sheet and place under the broiler.

Check after 1-2 minutes, when starting to puff up, turn the Naan around and let the other side start to brown.

Remove and cover with a kitchen towel, and repeat with the remaining rounds.

This naan freezes well and it is so convenient to have.  To reheat, sprinkle with a little water and place in hot oven for a minute.

Variation:  Add 2 cups of chopped spinach to the dry ingredients , and follow the same method as above.  You may need to add more flour to the dough as the spinach gives out a little water after it is chopped.  To make the chopping easier, I pulse the spinach in the food processor till it is coarsely chopped.