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I first had naan when I was developing a naan pizza recipe as an Assistant Editor at Cuisine at Home magazine. At that time, I had only had packaged naan, which I have to admit still blew my mind. Soon after that, I had fresh naan from a local Indian restaurant and fell even more in love with the flatbread.
The insane chewiness of fresh naan is impossible to beat, so I devoted the next few weeks to developing my own recipe for the bread. This is it, and I hope you enjoy it!
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Naan
There’s nothing like warm, chewy naan. And while there’s great pre-made products on the market, homemade bread just can’t be beat. This recipe is easy to master, requires very little equipment, and is endlessly versatile with how you can flavor and serve it.
Naan Bread Recipe Ingredients
- Greek yogurt: use full-fat plain for the best results.
- Olive oil: I use extra-virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Egg yolk: adds fat and protein, but no water, to the dough which creates a chewier bread.
- Honey: activates the yeast; you can also use sugar.
- Flour: all you need is all-purpose flour for this bread. No specialty flours.
- Yeast: use instant or rapid-rise yeast.
- Oil: you’ll need some vegetable oil for cooking. Don’t be tempted to use olive oil here, you need a high-heat cooking oil for pan-frying the bread.
How to Make Naan Bread
- Make the dough by first whisking together the water, yogurt, olive oil, egg yolk and honey. Then, in a food processor, blend together the flour and yeast. With the processor running, slowly stream in the wet ingredients. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Add the salt to the dough and processing until a sticky, satiny dough forms and clears the sides of the bowl.
- Knead the dough by hand until the dough it smooth, this will take about 1 minute.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and let it rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Fold the dough up and over itself a few times, then cover and allow it to rise again for about 30 minutes. Repeat the folding and rising once more.
- Divide dough into four even pieces, then shape each into a smooth tight ball and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Roll each dough ball out then prick all over with a fork. Mist the top of the dough with water then transfer, misted side down, to a preheated cast-iron skillet.
- Mist the top of the dough with water and cover; cook until browned spots form on the bottom side of the dough. Flip and continue cooking until second side also has golden brown spots.
Homemade Naan Recipe Tips
It’s imperative that you preheat the cast-iron skillet. If it’s not adequately heated, you risk the dough sticking to the pan.
If you don’t have the time for the entire rising process in one day, you can make the dough and let it slow rise overnight in the fridge. To do this, follow recipe through kneading and placing in large oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 16–24 hours. Then follow recipe instructions beginning with forming into four equal dough balls.
How to Serve Homemade Naan
Freshly cooked naan is wonderful with Chana Masala, Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, and all kinds of soups or stews, especially curries.
Storing Homemade Naan
Store homemade naan at room temperature either wrapped in foil or in a resealable zipper-lock bag for up to one day. For a bit longer, place it in the fridge for up to four days.
Can You Freeze Naan?
Absolutely, this is a great way to store homemade naan. Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap then place it in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Naan Bread Recipe FAQs
Very! Making naan at home is a cinch. The biggest things to keep in mind are making sure your yeast is fresh (don’t want to use expired stuff or your dough won’t rise) and having a bit of patience. The process of making naan is inherently simple, you’ve just got to be patient with the rising process.
If you aren’t into the three separate 30-minute rises, you can prep the dough a day in advance and do a slow rise in the refrigerator, so simple and so hands-off! You can find make ahead instructions in the notes section of the recipe card.
Tandoori refers to a type of Indian cooking that utilizes a tandoor oven. A tandoor oven is most often made of clay with mud or concrete packed around the external sides as insulation. Circular in shape, tandoor ovens often resemble a bottle, slightly tapering at the top to concentrate heat.
To prepare a tandoori oven, a fire is started at the base then allowed to die down before cooking. Letting the fire die down and relying on the hot coals ensures an even cooking temperature for hours.
Naan is often cooked in tandoor ovens by slapping the dough against the sides of the clay oven. Long skewers of marinated meats are also cooked in tandoor ovens.
Easy Naan Recipe
Description
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Ingredients
For the naan:
- ½ cup ice-cold water
- ⅓ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 10 ounces
- ½ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
For the honey-garlic butter (optional):
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- For the naan, combine water, yogurt, oil, yolk, and honey in a liquid measuring cup.
- Process flour and yeast in a food processor to combine. With processor running, slowly stream in water mixture until just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds. Let dough rest 10 minutes.
- Add salt to dough and process until a satiny, sticky dough ball forms and clears the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 1 minute. Shape dough into a tight ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, fold partially risen dough over itself 8 times by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle, rotating bowl 90-degrees after each fold. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes more. Repeat folding, then cover tightly and let rise one last time for 30 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, tight ball and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet, spacing two inches apart. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200°F with a baking sheet set inside.
- Transfer 1 ball to lightly floured surface and sprinkle with flour. Roll piece of dough into an 8–8½-inch round of even thickness, sprinkling with more flour as needed. Using a fork, poke entire surface of dough 30 times.
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium until shimmering, wipe oil out of skillet with paper towels.
- Mist top of dough with water, then transfer to skillet, moist-side down; mist top surface of dough with water and cover. Cook dough until bottom is brown in spots across surface, about 2 minutes. Flip naan, cover and cook until golden brown in spots across surface, about 2 minutes. Transfer naan to baking sheet in oven to keep warm.
- Repeat rolling and cooking with 1 more dough ball. Add last teaspoon of oil to cast-iron skillet, wipe out oil, then repeat rolling and cooking remaining 2 dough balls.
- For the honey-garlic butter, combine butter, honey, and garlic in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30–45 seconds on high until butter is melted; whisk to combine then season with salt and pepper. Brush butter mixture over top of cooked naan and serve.
Notes
Make ahead tips
Don’t want to make this recipe all in one day? You can prep the dough 1 day ahead and let it slow rise overnight. Follow recipe through kneading and placing in large oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 16–24 hours. Then follow recipe instructions beginning with forming into four equal dough balls.What you’ll need to make homemade naan
Equipment
- Food processor
- Liquid measuring cups
- Dry measuring cups
- Whisk
- Baking sheet
- Rolling pin
- Ruler
Ingredients
- Instant or rapid-rise yeast
- Greek yogurt
- Egg yolk
- All-purpose flour
- Olive oil
It’s not “naan bread,” that’s redundant. It’s just “naan.”
Had a sweet craving and a few leftover naan. I took the idea of topping with honey and butter, added a little cinnamon and warmed up the naan.
So yummy!