Homemade Naan

Naan Bread is basically just an Indian style flat bread..

It is soft, pillowy, full of lovely bubbles and so extremely versatile. .You can eat this along side of a meal to sop up gravies and Sauces, you can make flat bread sandwiches with it, top it with tomato sauce and cheese for a quick personal pizza, use it in place of tortillas for quesadillas…& so many possibilities!!

Ingredients:

   2     Teaspoon dry active yeast

    1    Teaspoon sugar

    1/2  cup water

    2 &1/2 or 3 cups flour

    1/2  Teaspoon salt

    1/4  cup vegetable oil  or Olive Oil

    1/3  cup plain greek yogurt

    1 large egg 

Steps:

1- In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.

2-  In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).

3-  At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.

4- Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.

5- Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface . Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter.

Enjoy!

Barbari Bread

this was actually a very interesting type of Bread , That i had to try when i saw it online, it's called Barbari Bread..a type of Persian flatbread .." Barbari" means "of or related to Barbars" in Persian & the Barbars are a group of people living in Khorasan  near eastern borders of Iran & this bread was baked by them  before it was brought to Tehran, it was popular during the Qajar period.. it's very delicious!

Ingredients:

for the Dough:

2& 1/2 Cup of All-purpose Flour 

1          Teaspoon Baking Powder

1           Teaspoon Salt 

1           TBS Yeast

Whole Wheat Flour or Corn Meal 

Sesame Seeds

For the Glaze:

1   Teaspoon all purpose Flour 

1   Teaspoon Baking Soda

2/3 Cup Water 

(Bring those Glaze Ingredients to Boil , then turn off the Heat and let cool aside)

Steps:

1- Dissolve the yeast with Pinch of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water, let sit a few minutes to proof (foam).

2- Mix bread flour (i used the Mixer with the Bread Hooks) , baking powder and salt together. Make a well in the flour, and slowly incorporate the yeast mixture, and then Mix and add Warm water Gradually till you form a Sticky Dough.

3- Knead 15 minutes  until smooth and elastic.

4- Sprinkle a large baking sheet with Wheat Flour, transfer the dough to it. Lightly cover and place in a warm place until doubled in bulk for 1 Hour.

5- Brush lightly the Glaze Mixture over the dough, Dip your fingers into the glaze Again , and lightly punch the dough down with the edges of your hands to form several long parallel ridges along the dough.

6- Preheat oven to 375°F

7- Brush the dough with the glaze again, sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

8- Carefully stretch the dough lengthwise, better to not make your Bread too Thin! as you see i stretch it little bit more than i had to.

9- Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden. The bread should be slightly flexible when done.. careful to not over cook it .

Italian Bread Focaccia Dough (La festa del pane italiano Focaccia)

Focaccia Bread, pronounced as "FOKATCHA".  It is an Italian light flat-bread, made from a soft and sticky dough enriched with good and strong olive oil. Traditionally, the oil is sprinkled over the dough before baking and in generous quantities.

Ingredients:

2 Cups all-purpose Flour 

3 TBS olive oil 

1 TBS sugar 

7 gr dried yeast 

1 Teaspoon Salt

Some warm water enough to form a wet and sticky dough 

Steps:

1- I used a mixer with a bread hook to make this bread.  Combine the flour, salt and yeast and knead everything together,  adding gradually water.

2- Knead for at least 5 minutes, then add sugar and oil and keep kneading for another 10 minutes.

3- Adjust the dough's consistency with additional water as needed. 

The dough should be wet and sticky.

4- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise For 1 Hour , at room temperature, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.

5- After it rise Put some Olive oil in your Hand & Gently deflate the dough and you can feel how the dough can be easily stretched, and becomes elastic and smooth.

6- Preheat the oven to 395 F

7- Shape the dough into a ball and slap it onto a greased baking sheet, then roll it out (or push it out with your hands) into a rectangle.  Dip your fingers into olive oil and press into the dough to make deep dents all over the top.

8- choose any topping and dot it into your dough, let rise for some other 15 min  &  bake for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Home-made Baguettes

the famous French bread means 'stick' or 'wand' in French , Very delicious and Crispy used in making several sandwiches , This recipe is very Good and Easy to realize at Home.

Ingredients:

2 Cups All purpose Flour
1 TBS Bread Yeast
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 Cup warm water to Form the Dough

Steps:

1- In Large Bowl Combine Flour and Salt , Olive oil , make a well at the center and pour the Yeast , Sugar and some warm water , cover and Let it rest for 15 min

2- when the Yeast form a foam start to mix with your finger tips and add more water little by little, till you get a smooth dough start to knead for some min ( it should not be hard dough).

3- Cover and let raise for 1 Hour 

4- After that form 5 equal Balls 

5- make a circle from each one and Follow the Pictures steps Folding to form your Baguettes 

6- Sprinkle each Stick Formed with Flour & Cover and let raise for 30min 

7- Preheat the oven at  480F for 15 min and Put a pan full of water inside 

8- make wounds on your Baguettes and spray with water, and put them in the oven to Cook for 15 min , Drop the Oven temperature to 425F and Spray your Bread again with the water and let them continue Cooking for an other 10 min .

Moroccan Stuffed Bread

This is a delightful version of Moroccan Stuffed Bread or Stuffed "Rghayef" like we say by Moroccan , i actually got the recipe from one of my friends and i really liked  the result , you can always make it with any kind of other Filling you like and Enjoy!.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

2   Cups of all purpose Flour

2   TBS Sugar

1   TBS Yeast

1   Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2Teaspoon Salt 

Warm water to gather the Dough 

 2   TBS Butter & 1/4 Cup Canola oil melted together

 1     Egg Yolk

For the Filling:

1    Cup chicken Breast cut into Cubs

2    Shredded Carrots 

1    Copped Onion

1    Garlic Minced

2    TBS Parsley

1/2 Cup vermicelli (Socked in hot water and drained)

1    Teaspoon Salt 

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1    Teaspoon Ginger

1    TBS Olive oil

Steps:

1- In Bowl Mix the Flour and Sal , and in the middle make a hole and pour the Yeast , Sugar and the Baking Powder and some water , and Cover, let it rest for some 15 Min.

2- Prepare the filling at this time , in a Pan pour Olive oil and Saute the Onion , Carrots , vermicelli , and Parsley with the Garlic and the spice together .

3- Go back to the First Mixture and pour little by little the warm water till you Obtain a Dough , Knead for some Min then Cover and let raise for 1 Hour .

4- When the Dough raise form Small balls and then stretch with the Butter and Oil into thin Circle then form a square and set aside , Following the same steps of making Mssemen.

5- start with the First formed square , stretch it and make the filling inside then gather it's Corners to the center and set aside into a non Stick Baking Dish.

6- Do the Same to all Dough squares then Lightly Press each square And  Decorate the Center with an Olive or a Preserved Jalapeno Pepper  and Brush with an Egg yolk.

7- Preheat the Oven at 350F and Cook for 30 min Or till Golden Brown on the Top.

homemade empanada dough

Making empanada dough is not  hard as it sounds, it's a pie crust Dough if you like , you can always make it on your own especially if you have a food processor, and even if you don’t it is still pretty easy because the dough should not be overworked and requires minimal kneading.

Ingredients :

(for 15 medium size or 25 small empanada discs)

3            Cups all purpose flour

1/4         Teaspoon salt

1 & 1/2  Sticks unsalted butter , cold and cut into 12 pieces

1             Egg

4 to 5     TBS Chilled water

Steps:

1- Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.

2- Add the butter, and Mix with the Flour with your hand to have crumbly mixture , then add  egg and water until a clumpy dough forms.

3- Form a ball and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes   ( i gently rub some flour on my dough to not stick) 

4- Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).

5- Use immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use later.

PS: your Discs should be really thin.

Batboot or Moroccan Pitta

This Moroccan Bread is perfect for any kind of sandwiches or dipping! it's so delicious classic and a very popular flat bread in Morocco, Thin or thick , Small or Big , you can Always choose how You like to make Them.

Ingredients:

2 To 3 Cups All purpose Flour 

1         Teaspoon Salt 

1          Teaspoon Sugar

1          Full TBS Yeast 

2         TBS Olive oil

1         Cup warm water to form the dough

Steps:

1-Put the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl , make a well in the center and add the yeast, and oil, Cover an let aside 5 min , then mix well with your hands, adding gradually warm water.

2- make your dough really wet , and knead with hands for about 10 minutes , it will be little bit sticky , add some flour and keep kneading , it shouldn't be stiff ( If it does work in additional water, small quantity at a time and keep kneading ).

3-Cover the dough and allow to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

4-Punch the dough down to release any air bubbles and divide it into equal balls with the help of additional flour to avoid that they stick . Cover and leave them to rest for another 30 minutes.

5- Roll out each ball into a thin circle about 0.2 cm or less (it depends on how Thick you like your sandwich) . Use a rolling pin to go faster.

6-Set the rolled out dough on a clean, dry Kitchen towel and cover with another DRY towel. Leave to rise for about 20  to 30 minutes.

7-Preheat a heavy non-stick frying pan over medium high heat . DON'T PUT OIL OR BUTTER ON THE PAN. Wait until the pan is very hot, then start to cook Batboot or Moroccan Pitta .  When you put it on the hot pan, wait for about 1 minute then turn it over, don't wait until it is cooked on one side to turn it.  Keep turning it several times, until it puffs up. 

Mssemen (or Melwi)

One of the  Authentic  Moroccan Foods , Mssemen is made by different ways in Morocco & and this is the basic way of them all.
Usually it's served with some butter, honey and mint Tea.

Ingredients:

( for 8 small Mssemen)

2   Full Cups all purpose Flour 

1   teaspoon Salt 

1   Cup warm water to assemble the dough 

2   TBS butter

4   TBS Canola oil

2   TBS semolina 

Steps:

1- in big bowl combine the Flour and the Salt and pour warm water little by little till you Form a dough

2-  Knead dough by hand for 15 minutes or knead using an electric mixer with dough hook attachment for 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.

3- form 8 Small balls and let them set aside for 5 min.

4- Melt the butter in the oil & prepare a Soft surface to form the Mssemen.

 5- butter and Oil your surface and put one lil ball and start working on stretching it  till it become really thin, sprinkle some semolina in it and close both sides , sprinkle some other semolina again and close the left sides to form a little square .

6- Form all the 8 squares and  heat your skillet on medium heat. 

7- stretch just lightly the first square of Mssemen you made with some butter and oil and put it in your Hot skillet flip when the face is lightly brown.

 8- conserve them in a Bread Bag , and wrap by plastic bag, put them in the freezer, you can later reheat them on the pan.

Panini Bread

A panini is a small Italian sandwich that is served on small, hearty, textured bread, It is generally Baked in very low Temperature then grilled using a Panini press.

Ingredients:

(for 5 medium Panini Bread)

2  Cups All purpose Flour

1  Teaspoon Salt 

1  Tablespoon Sugar

4  TBS Olive oil

1  Sachet quick rising yeast 

1   Cup warm water 

Step:

1- Mix the Sugar , olive oil & the quick rising yeast into big Cup add some warm water and let aside 5 min .

2- In an other boil Mix Flour and the salt.

3- Add the wet ingredients into the dry one 

add the necessary water to gather the dough ( you may need more or less keep the eye on it cos the dough should be smooth ).

4- let rise for 1 Hour .

5- after it rise make small pieces and  Flat each one into circle then joint the opposit sides 2 times and knead into a long roll shape put them into large non stick Pan and let them aside for 30 min to rise.

6- then Bake for 25 min at 250 F degrees.