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Naan Bread
Naan is an Indian recipe; it’s a type of flat bread.
Traditionally they are baked inside a very hot clay tandoor oven, with charcoal or wood fire.
The naan bread are stuck to the inside of the oven just like the picture below.
The tandoor oven retains very high heat, up to 900°F and hence fills the inside of the flat bread with air pockets and bakes them to perfection.
In a modern day kitchen, we do not have a tandoor oven, but you can make naan at home with a hot cast-iron skillet on the stove stop, or bake in the oven.
My naan recipe is made on a stove top, using a very hot cast-iron skillet.
The naan turn out extremely delicious, soft, puffy, airy, with the beautiful golden brown spots on the surface.
They taste just like the best Indian buffet restaurants!
Frequently Asked Questions about Naan:
Is Naan Bread Healthy?
Yes, it is super healthy. My recipe is quick and easy, fail-proof and cooked on a skillet. You do not need a tandoor oven!
Does It Have Eggs?
There is no eggs in the recipe. Vegan can’t eat them as this recipe calls for yogurt, which is not vegan-friendly.
The Origin of Naan
It originated from Iranian. However, different countries have its own version of the bread.
It’s a staple in Iran, many middle eastern countries, the Indian subcontinent countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc.
The Difference between Naan and Roti
They are both flat breads but different because of the ingredients used. Roti, for example, chapati is made with whole wheat flour and there is no yeast.
Naan is made with all purpose flour and you will need yeast to make the dough.
Tips on How to Make Naan
- First, you want to make the dough by combining the yeast and flour together. Knead the dough with hand or using a stand mixer and then rest to double the dough in size.
- Divide the dough into 8 balls. Heat up a cast-iron skillet on high heat to make naan.
- The high heat makes the dough rises and fills the middle part of the bread with an air pocket. It’s done when burnt brown “blisters” or spots appear, just like my pictures.
- Brush the fresh-off-the-skillet naan with some melted salted butter and top them with cilantro leaves.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 295 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with Naan?
They are great with Indian curries with sauce, for example: chicken tikka masala or butter chicken.
For a wholesome Indian dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
How to Make Naan Bread?
Please refer to the recipe card below for detailed step-by-step method on how to make naan at home.
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Naan Bread (The Best Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 oz. (10g) active dry yeast ((2 1/4 teaspoons) )
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- some oil (for greasing the skillet)
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the sugar, warm water, and yeast together. Stir to combine well. The yeast should be activated when it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Transfer the flour to a flat surface and make a well in the middle.
- Add the yeast mixture, yogurt, salt and oil, knead the dough until the surface becomes smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place (for example: beside the stove top or warm oven). The dough should double in size, about 1 hour.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll the dough to a 8” (230g) circle using a rolling spin.
- Heat up a skillet (cast-iron preferred) over high heat and lightly grease the surface with some oil to avoid the dough from sticking to the skillet. Place the dough on the skillet. When it puffs up and bubbles and burnt spots appear, flip it over and cook the other side. Repeat the same until all dough are done.
- Brush the naan with the melted butter, serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Absolutely fantastic recipe. I didn’t have regular yeast on hand, so used bread machine yeast and skipped the proofing of the yeast. Just mixed and let it rise. More than double in bulk in under an hour. Unfortunately, the very hot cast iron pan ended up triggering the smoke detector. By the time I deactivated the alarm the fire department was at my house. “Smoke alarm? I thought that was the signal that lunch was ready!” Anyway, thanks for a fabulous and easy recipe. This will be on my must make again list.
Thanks! 😊👍
Wanted to let you know, I just printed out the recipe to test it and it doesn’t have any identification of your website on it. I’m sure that you want to have that available.
Thanks for letting me know!
I’m hoping to make this with Chicken Tikka Masala tonight and am wondering about the yogurt. Can I use plain Greek yogurt?
Yes
I used 10.2 oz of flour (based on baking industry standards of 4.5 oz per cup). I did medium high heat (#7 on electric stove). First batch I divided into 8. Second batch I divided into 10 and rolled out about 7” round. I prefer the slightly smaller size. Cooked on each side for about 20 seconds. Easy and very good.
😊👍
Oh my! My wife and I enjoyed the most delicious Butter Chicken with loads of Naan bread last night. Our dinner (my Birthday Dinner) was spectacular, thanks to your recipes and inspiration. I am so glad that I found this site, and this recipe.
Last week she and I went to a local East Indian restaurant and we were sorely disappointed in the quality of the Naan bread especially at $2 a slice! We expected soft, stretchy, tasty Naan fresh from a Tandoori oven, but the texture was all wrong, and it felt and tasted like store bought Naan that had been heated in a microwave with melted butter added to keep it soft. I seriously doubt that it was made in a Tandoori oven.
I was quite certain that I could make it better myself. I looked up several recipes online, and decided that I couldn’t go wrong with a name like Rasa Malaysia! It was the perfect choice! I felt like I had hit the jackpot!
FYI, I didn’t have any yeast but I had some sourdough starter that needed to be used, so I used a couple of tablespoons of that instead and it worked spectacularly.
Nice!😊👍
Can you freeze them, or are the best eaten on the day of making them??
Just eat fresh.
this naan (and bread in general) freezes really well! i separate with parchment paper and reheat in oven briefly from freezer. once out i brush with butter and coarse salt.
I purposefully did not pre-treat the yeast and did a double rise in the fridge, but this came together so fast!
I balled the portions at 5 ounces with carmalized ghee for the 2nd rise and used ghee to work the dough. I cooked them on a cast iron pan at low heat and they were amazing!
Awesome!😊
I’ve made this recipe several times successfully it’s simple and really good. The only problem that I encountered was putting the water in the middle of the well. It ran out and onto the floor so I was kind of changed up that method a little bit. I used the baking steel this last time, and it was so much easier. Preheated the oven to 545 on confection tried it both ways baking it directly on the stone or the steel I should say, and on parchment paper cooking it on parchment paper made it so it didn’t cook quite as fast and char as deeply , so much easier for me because I could do two at a time and the flavor was good as well. Wonderful recipe highly recommend trying.
Awesome thanks for your suggestions!!!
Made a few times now and love the recipe.
Can you freeze them once you have made them and cooled down.
Yes you can freeze cooked naan.
Mine was good. I let the dough alone overnight and when I rolled one out and made it the bubbles rose and it looked and tasted like it should. The main problem was that it was dry and kind of crackery especially around the outside. What should I do to fix that? Did I not knead enough or is there another issue?
Add a bit water.
See my comment above. I reduced the flour for a much better result.