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Photograph of Naan Bread

Naan Bread

Soft, fluffy naan bread with crispy, caramelised bubbles of air. Serve brushed with butter or ghee and, if you like, sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or chopped herbs. Serve with curries, stew and grilled meats or fish or slice into fingers and serve with a dip.

Course Dinner, Lunch, snacks, Supper
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Bread, indian, naan
Servings 6

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

  • 200g strong plain white bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon fast acting dried yeast
  • ¾ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Wet ingredients:

  • 110g natural plain yoghurt
  • 70ml/70g milk
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Topping:

  • 25g melted salted butter

Instructions

Stand Mixer instructions - I use my KitchenAid (For instructions by hand see Recipe Notes)

  1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

  2. Dry ingredients: weigh all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Stir to mix well

  3. Wet ingredients: add all the wet ingredients and mix for 2 - 3 minutes on speed 2. Check to see the dough is not too soft and process at speed 2 for a further 2 - 3 minutes. It is quite a sticky dough.

  4. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover in cling film and leave somewhere warm to rise until double in size. This can take from 45 minutes – 2 hours depending on the temperature. I put mine in the oven, dough setting, heat 42°C and it takes around an hour. 

  5. When ready, knock back the dough, divide it into 6 and shape each piece into an oval ball. Also preheat the oven to Fan Oven 90°C /110°C/225°F/Gas ¼. Put a plate lined with a clean drying up cloth in the oven.

  6. Roll out each dough ball until roughly 3 - 5mm thick and measures approximately 20cm/8 inches by 10cms/4inches. I roll them all out before I start cooking – they cook quickly and can burn easily so I prefer to keep my eye on them and not get distracted by rolling out the dough.

  7. Heat a cast iron frying pan or a thick based non-stick frying pan over a hot temperature. (My hob heats from 1 – 9. I heat up on 7½. You may need to reduce the heat slightly when you are cooking the naan - this will depend on your pan and how well it conducts and holds the heat.)

  8. Brush the top side of the naan with water and when the pan is hot slap the naan in the pan, water side down.

  9. Put the lid on immediately. As the bottom cooks, the top side will bubble up. When the base looks cooked (see photographs) turn the naan over and continue to cook, with the lid on, until the bubbled areas are medium to dark brown. It should take only 1-1½ minutes per side.

  10. Take the plate and drying up cloth out of the oven and then take the naan out of the pan and place on the cloth on the plate. Brush the top with butter or ghee, if you have it. You could also sprinkle on some sesame seeds or chopped herbs. 

  11. Cover with the cloth and place in the oven to keep warm whilst you make the rest of the naan.  

  12. NB – when you take one naan out of the pan do not immediately add the next. Instead, put the lid back on immediately whilst you butter the previous naan, add seeds and/or herbs and pop in the oven. This will give the pan sufficient time to heat up again before you cook the next one.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

  • freestanding electric mixer
  • kitchen scales
  • measuring spoons
  • rolling pin
  • cast iron or a thick based non-stick frying pan

Instructions by Hand:

If you do not have a stand mixer, these naan breads can be made by hand. Just follow the instructions below:

  1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, baking powder and  bicarbonate of soda in a mixing bowl and stir to mix.
  2. Pour the yoghurt, milk and oil onto the flour mixture and mix until combined. Check the texture of the dough to see if it needs any more liquid. It should feel soft and a quite sticky.
  3. Lightly flour your work surface and tip the dough onto it. Knead until the dough is in a cohesive ball and feels firmer and less sticky. This can take up to 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil. Cover with cling film and leave to rise until double in size. This can take from 45 minutes – 2 hours depending on the temperature. I put mine in the oven on dough setting, heat 42°C and it takes around an hour.
  5. Continue as above.