dad in arizona » Food For Thought

My Oasis Naan bread recipe

Scott D — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:32:53 +0000

OK! Sorry for the delay, but here is my Naan bread recipe. It’s really simple and you can have the kids help out.

2 1/2 cups tepid water (about 90 degrees)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
5-6 cups bread flour (I use King Arthur)
1 Tablespoon salt
(sesame seeds)

Put water and yeast in a large bowl and stir to blend. Add 3 cups of the flour, about a cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat for about a minute to develop the gluten. Sprinkle the salt over the mixture and slowly add more flower, a cup at a time, and stir until the dough is too stiff to work with.

Note: you may not have to use all the flour… I never really do.

Turn dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead it for about 10 minutes until it’s smooth and easy to handle.

Then put dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. (I use Pam.) Let it sit at room temp for about 2 hours. If it goes longer, its ok… you can even put it in the refrigerator for up to 18 hours.

Preheat oven to about 500 degrees. Punch down the dough, and cut it into about 4 or 5 pieces. Shape them into oval shaped balls 6×8 inches and let them sit for a few minutes to rest the gluten.

Get a bowl of water to use (this is where the kids can help.) Take one piece and flatten it out by getting your fingers very wet and pressing them into the dough and make lots of deep dimples in it. If you make small holes, its ok. (It’s actually good for the texture.) The more wet the dough gets from pushing on it, the better!

The pick the piece up and gently pull it in a long football shape 5 inches wide and about 12-18 inches long. If there are holes in the dough, its all good.

Put some cornmeal on a peel, or use parchment paper and place on a baking stone in the oven for about 5 minutes. It cooks quick, so watch it closely… it should start to brown all around the edges. You can have 2 in the oven at one time if you are comfortable with it.

Before you put these in the oven, you can put sesame seeds on top or olive oil with a few garlic cloves pressed in, or you can put cinnamon and sugar on top after it comes out.

Thats it!

Being a Dad on Vacation

Scott D — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:03:13 +0000

So, this trip has been really good. Until tonight. We arrived in San Diego after almost 7 hours of driving and the kids did great up until the last 10 miles. We found an awesome rental and moved in quickly and it is just beautiful. We ate out at a restaurant called The Field (where Shana first told me she loved me,) and then went back to sleep.

The next morning we went to Sea World and we had a blast! Saw lots of things, did lots of stuff… kids loved it. Then we went to another great restaurant for dinner and it was also wonderful… I will post pictures later. On the way to the car, Shana was holding Max’s hand and he wanted to swing from his arm, so she happily obliged and let him swing… and she also heard his arm go POP. He started crying and refused to use it. (Ah, craps.)

So, we wound up going to the hospital (the same one Madison was born in) and after waiting for a bit, some great nurses came out and cooed over Max and then popped his arm back in place. And he cried.

All in all, it was as good as a time at the hospital as you could want. Didn’t wait too long, the staff was great, and Max was playing with his sister in just a few moments after having his arm readjusted.

We, though, are tired.

Shana runs with her sister, mom, and friend, Leslie. Wish them luck. I will be cheering them on from the street with Madison and swinging sweet Max in my arms.

A visit from Sitka

Scott D — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:04:23 +0000

Kimberly Merris came to visit us from Sitka! She got a chance to go hiking in Sedona, go to Jerome, and hang out with us in Prescott. She brought her dog, Shasta, who is trained to find people lost in Alaska. Kimberly is our old doctor, too… she was the very first person to see Max! We had a great time together and we miss them already!

I also took a cool photo of the highway to Jerome and used a lens blur effect to make it look like a shot on a train model set… what do you call those? Miniatures?

Also, I added a video to the blog from our last vacation to Disneyland.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Scott D — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 06:59:47 +0000

Valentine’s Wallpaper–>

And a message from Ze Frank:

Madison’s 3rd Birthday

Scott D — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:27:57 +0000

I have been sick for a few days and I meant to get these photos up earlier. But we are all doing fine now and I am taking a class at the local college here to get myself started for prerequisites for a nursing program. Well, Madison had a great birthday party! She had friends over to help celebrate and we ate pizza and some serious Princess Cake. This is no ordinary cake, this cake she had was really detailed.

playing with notes and yeast

Scott D — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 04:46:54 +0000

I had a really great birthday and thanks to all who made it special! One of my new toys is an add-on to garage band that lets me compose music and tinker around with sounds. I also just got a new tutorial from lynda.com on how to use my new diggs… I still have quite a bit to learn still. The nice thing is that my church has 2 pianos and my neighbor has the exact same kind, that can link up to my laptop and record my tinkerings.

As far as news for us, there is nothing to report still… the kick-ass-wife got a tour of the hospital, so when she shrieks at me that the baby is on its way, I can drive in severe panic and let her point me where to go. She is uncomfortable and has trouble sleeping and she also takes up most of the bed now with all her pillows and such, so I am really ready for this kid to make an entrance.

So, here is my next little creation from my new Mac. Just for an FYI, I am reading From A Baker’s Kitchen and Baking Illustrated. I got the second one today…. great stuff!! If you like to bake at all… you need both of these… no matter if you are a novice or a master.

Good-night!

The song below was made from the program garage band.

Just another test entry

Scott D — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:46:59 +0000

I am still working out the bugs on this with my old laptop in a warm hotel room in Northwestern Florida. Not in Alaska.