Naan Bread

This soft, thick and airy flat bread that is served at Indian restaurants is easy to bake at home and is incredibly delicious. It can be used as a scoop for sauces or other foods, slathered with hummus or made into a sandwich.

4.92 from 12 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 3

Additional Time: 2

Total Time: 2 13

Servings: servings

Calories: 279kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

4 cups 480 g all-purpose flour or bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup warm milk 170 grams
½ cup plain yogurt 113 grams
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter melted

Instructions

Place the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk to distribute the ingredients.
Add the milk, yogurt, egg, and butter. Stir until the dough forms a lumpy ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover and knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and satiny. You can use a stand mixer or knead it by hand.
Place the dough in a greased bowl. Oil the top of the dough ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in a warm draft-free area for 1 -2 hours until doubled in size.
Divide the dough into 8 to 10 pieces. Cover and let rest 20 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece of dough into an oval about 1/8 inch thick.

To cook on the stove-top:

Heat some oil in a skillet over high heat (do not use a non-stick skillet or the high heat will ruin the non-stick coating).
Wait until the skillet is hot and the oil just barely starts to smoke then place the naan dough in the skillet.
Cook for 60 to 90 seconds or until the bottom turns golden brown and the top has bubbles on the surface. Flip the naan and cook for 60 to 90 seconds on the other side.
Set the naan on a wire rack and brush with melted butter while still warm. Repeat with the remaining pieces of naan dough.

To cook naan in the oven

Place a pizza stone in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 500°F. Let the oven heat up for at least 30 minutes to ensure the stone has time to get hot.
Place two pieces of naan dough on the hot pizza stone and bake for 60 to 90 seconds then turn and bake for another 60 to 90 seconds on the other side.
Cool on a wire rack and brush with melted butter while still warm. Repeat with the remaining pieces of naan dough.

To cook naan in a pizza oven

Preheat the pizza oven. Get the baking stone to a temperature between 700°F and 720°F.
Place the naan bread directly on the hot stone in the oven.
Bake for 70 to 90 seconds, turning the naan every 15 to 20 seconds to get an even cook all around.
If excessively large bubbles pop up, push them down with your pizza peel or turner.
Place on a cooling rack and brush with melted butter while still warm.

Notes

Bread flour will give the naan a slightly better texture but all-purpose flour works almost as well.
If you cook the naan on a stove-top, use a heavy-bottomed skillet that retains heat. A cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan works well for this recipe. Avoid using a non-stick skillet since this recipe requires high heat that will ruin the non-stick surface.
Oil for the skillet: Use an oil that has a high smoke point like avocado oil or canola oil.
Adjust the heat of the stove-top if the skillet gets too hot. It should take 60 to 90 seconds to brown the naan bread. If it gets brown faster than that, turn the heat down.
If you bake the naan in the oven, a pizza stone or baking steel will work the best and they are large enough to bake more than one naan at a time. If you don't have a pizza stone or baking steel, you can heat up a cast-iron skillet.

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