Naan in a tandoor oven

[Bitu]

I recently had the pleasure of exploring a vibrant Turkish restaurant in New Jersey, where I encountered an intriguing approach to tandoori cooking. The chefs utilized gas-fired tandoor ovens to craft delicious naans. They skillfully patted out dough balls into pizza-like bases and affixed them to the side of the blazing tandoor oven. After a brief one-minute bake, they expertly removed the naan, revealing a delightful combination of a charred side and a golden brown finish on the other. The tandoor oven, boasting temperatures exceeding 1100°F, could accommodate up to 16 naans simultaneously. This experience has sparked my enthusiasm to experiment with tandoori cooking at home, allowing me to incorporate this unique method into my naan recipes and dive into the fascinating world of tandoori cuisine.

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Bitu
New Jersey, USA

[Sdogg]

The padded mitt thing you are referring to is called a naan gaddi (means cushion in english).

The way it works is that you put the naan dough onto one side of the naan gaddi
and grab it by the other side and stick the naan dough onto the wall of the tandoor

Make sure the tandoor walls are hot tho, otherwise the naan dough wont stick and it will drip off.

Once the naan is done it will puff up and get some brown spots on the surface.

Then you can use two naan hook skewers to gently take the naan off the side.

Brush some butter or ghee on it and voila you have some tandoori naan to serve.

[trools]

I've had good success just throwing the Naan breads on the hearth and cooking them like baby pizzas.

If I recall correctly there are some utube videos on guys using that padded mitt thing to wack them on the sides of the tandoori oven.

[AndrewT]

Hey,

I have been experimenting with Naan for a few weeks now.

Searching on Google for Naan recipes hasn't worked too well for me. Most recipes are the same old ones copied and pasted all over the net for the purpose of click baiting. The ones with the most fake reviews come up first.

My wife is from Pakistan and many times we have been eating at Indian restaurants and I will say something like, "This is truly great Naan", and my wife will say something like, "Yeah, but you haven't tried the Naan in Pakistan."

Well now I have made the naan that she says reminds her of the naan from her country.

I cook them in my wood fired oven, one at a time (my oven is quite small). Our conventional oven doesn't get hot enough.

Recipe for 5 naans (just over 200g each - I make them 220mm diameter)

Dough hydration about 80%
Plain Flour: 583g (55%)
Salt: 9g (0.85%)
Instant Yeast: 6g (0.56%)

Plain Yoghurt: 30g (about two tablespoons) (2.8%)
Milk: 200g (19%)
Water: 237g (22%)

Hopefully my hydration calculation is right. Using milk instead of water makes the dough look less hydrated.

I mix everything in my stand mixer until just mixed and do a 30 minute autolyse. Then I mix for a few more minutes and leave it for 90 minutes.

Then I divide up into 5 balls.

Then roll them out (stretching doesn't seem to make much difference, rolling is easier and more even).

Then I put them on my pizza peel.

In Pakistan (at least where my wife is from) apparently they usually use sesame seeds (black or white) instead of black onion or black cumin seeds. They have a more subtle flavor. To get the seeds to stick I spray the dough with water first. I spray with water even if I am not adding seeds and it makes the bread look and cook better.

Then I slide them into the wood fired oven at full pizza temperature and rotate them 180 degrees one time after they have puffed up, and take them out once the top has started to brown.

Then I stack them on a cooling rack, brushing each one with butter as I stack them.

Plain flour definitely works better than bread flour. It is less chewy.

[GrahamG]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

Just sent you 2 options

[v12spirit]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

We are looking at adding a tandoor oven to our outdoor kitchen along with the WFO and the Big Green Egg.

Graham,

I am about to start building a tandoor oven too. Interested to share experience if you care. I've just started a thread for my planned build here.

[GrahamG]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

We are looking at adding a tandoor oven to our outdoor kitchen along with the WFO and the Big Green Egg.

[azpizzanut]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

Hi All,

Look at the information in post #16.

There are lots of interesting naan recipes earlier in the posts. The process is fairly simple....slap a piece of dough against a hot clay pot and watch it cook. Eventually you will learn the technique and success will follow.

Search for "gaddi" online so you can see what they are, or improvise. The technique is to "roll" the dough onto the clay as you slap it into place with the gaddi. I suppose you have to practice a little before the technique becomes natural. View YouTube videos of naan bread being made. Soon you will get the idea.

Cheers,

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

They use a pillow with a tea towel as the final layer to slap it at my Indian Restaurant

http://www.mha-net.org/graphics/wild...r/DSC_3689.JPG

[azpizzanut]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

Hi Tandoornewbie,

Just dampen the dough with a little water, not too much though. The side of the tandoor should be very hot. You may find that a long sleeve cotton shirt will protect you from the heat. The naan should be slapped firmly to the side about midway. Keep your hooked tool handy. Best of luck,

[tandoornewbie]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

Hello guys,

I am a newbie to the whole tandoor thing, I need some advice on how to get the Naan to stick to the wall of the tandoor. such as what do you brush on the side where you slap it on to the tandoor and things of that nature if anyone can give me some advice that would be very helpful

[azpizzanut]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

Hi Ebbro,

We got the Puri SS2 Ultima.

We considered the economy model that has a painted steel drum. Lucky for us we had a little windfall $ and used it for the stainless steel model. We'd have been happy with either. The staff was professional and made the experience a good one. Mr. Puri sent a personal "thank you" email.

Cheers,

[ebbro]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

azpizzanut,
Did you buy the Puri tandoor or Golden? Which model?

[azpizzanut]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

Hi John,

Yes, ordered it on Monday and it arrived on Thursday, all the way from a distributor in Nottingham, England. It was just too easy to buy one than contemplate a build around a clay pot. The clay pots are expensive and shipping is nearly the same as for a finished oven, and it has a nicely crafted stainless steel barrel around it, and wheels, and a nifty set of tools, and a shiny brass handle on the lid, and a weatherproof cover, etc, etc, etc.

Cheers,

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Naan in a tandoor oven

Congrats, Bob! Did you get your clay pot tandoor-ready already?