Yeast Mode is the gift that keeps on giving. I’ve never had such a frisky sourdough starter. Tonight I made sourdough naan to go along with red lentil dal for dinner. The recipe came out of Sourdough on the Rise, by Cynthia Lair. Lair is a local cookbook author and teacher who has the YouTube channel Cookus Interruptus. There is a blog of the same name, but it’s not the same author. (I can’t see Lair reheating a Whopper, given her long tenure on the faculty at Bastyr University.)
The recipe required making a sponge with starter, water, and flour. That burbles away for several hours. I mixed it up at breakfast and started step 2 after I finished work for the day. A little bit of yeast is added with olive oil, more flour, salt, turmeric, cardamom, and yogurt. I didn’t have any yogurt in the house, so I substituted sour cream. Knead the dough and let it rise until doubled. Punch it down, roll out into 6 ovals, then bake on a baking stone in a 500° oven for 3-4 minutes, flipping about halfway through. The trickiest part of the process is flopping the ovals of dough onto a very hot baking stone. The first oval was a bit misshapen, but the others came out less mutilated.
Julian was impressed by the results. The naan was softer than what we get in Indian restaurants. Most home ovens can’t get as hot as a real tandoor can, which probably explains the difference in texture. The leftover naan and dal will make a good lunch or midnight snack.
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