Na’an bread becomes a crispy, warm chip that is perfect for dips or soups- and you will be coming back for more and more.
Not to be too dramatic, but we have all been missing these Na’an chips from our lives, and we didn’t even know it. But once you try these you will see what I’m talking about.
I use my Bosch mixer to make and knead the dough for this Na’an bread. The dough comes together so quickly and saves me from lots of work by hand. Once the dough is made I simply divide it into about 16-20 equal-sized pieces. I roll each piece into a ball- doesn’t need to be perfect, then I cover them with a tea-towel and let them rest for about 20 minutes. That resting period allows the dough to become soft and stretchy so it rolls out more easily.
Once rested I roll each ball out into about an 8 inch circle- depending on how many dough pieces you have. Fewer pieces makes for larger circles, more pieces gives you smaller circles. Roll each piece about 1/4 of an inch thick.
Heat a medium-sized pan over medium heat, you can adjust the heat as needed when you start cooking the bread. I usually turn the temperature down to medium-low. Add some butter to your hot pan, place a dough circle on top of the butter and cover with a lid. Let the dough cook about 1 minute, then flip with a pair of tongs and cook the other side. No need to add more butter, but cover with a lid again and cook 45-60 seconds. You are going to a golden brown on the side with the butter, and the other side will have some golden brown spots, but won’t be as evenly colored as the first side.
After the na’an has been cooked, I slice it into wedges, just like cutting a pizza, and I fry the wedges in hot oil. Because the na’an is already cooked, it fries up very quickly. Don’t walk away from the stove while these are frying! Just a few seconds (like 10) on each side should be enough. Again, golden brown is the goal. The temperature of your oil will affect the frying time. Adjust your temp and your times as needed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 Tbs yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 4 1/2- 5 cups flour
- butter
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add your warm water, yeast, sugar, salt and oil. Give those a quick mx just to incorporate, then let rest for about 5 minutes for yeast to activate.
- Once the yeast mixture is bubbly and active, start adding your flour. Add about 2 cups then turn on the mixer and add the remaining flour while the mixer is running on low. Once mixed you should be able to touch the dough without it sticking too much to your finger.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Using a bench scraper, or a large knife, cut the dough in half. Cut each half into halves. From there cut each piece into 4 or 5 pieces- depending on how many chips you want. More pieces will yield more chips.
- Roughly form each piece into a ball and let them sit on the counter covered with a tea-towel for about 15-20 minutes to rest.
- Once the dough has rested, roll each piece into a dish about 6-8 inches wide, and roughly 1/4 inch thick.
- Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat. Add about 1/2 a tsp of butter to the center of the pan and place one dough disc on top of the butter. Cover pan with a lid and cook for about a minute. Flip the dough with some tongs and cover to cook again.
- Once all the dough discs have been cooked, cut them into wedges, just like cutting a pizza. Heat your oil in a large, heavy bottom pot until it reaches 190 degrees C, or about 375 degrees F. Fry about 5 chips at a time, turning them over half way through. The chips will fry quickly, in about 15- 20 seconds. Remove the chips with a slotted spoon, or wire scoop, and let them dry on a paper towel covered pan or plate. Continue frying until the chips are all cooked.
- Serve warm. Store left overs in an air-tight container on the counter, or in the freezer.
If I know I don’t need a full batch of chips right away, I will fry half of them and store the other half in the freezer- unfried- but ready to fry when I want to serve them again.
These go perfectly with my Whipped Feta Dip! They would also be good with spaghetti sauce as a dip, with hummus, or just about any other dip you can think of. They are just delicious. You could also serve them with soup!
My favorite mixer for this recipe, and any other bread/ cookie/ cake recipe is my Bosch! I’m not sponsored by them, but I highly recommend their product.
