What is Naan Bread?
Naan is a traditional Indian flat bread that is one of my favorite parts of any Indian meal (which incidentally is one of my favorite cuisines). Naan is a soft, tender and pliable bread that is perfect to sop up all the delicious sauce in any curry or Indian dish, but it’s also fantastic as a crust for pizza or flatbread, or as a wrap around your favorite ingredients to make a sandwich. Traditionally, naan is made on the side of a super hot tandoori oven, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make delicious homemade naan bread in your very own kitchen.
Naan Bread vs. Pita Bread vs. Lavash
There are several varieties of flat bread in the world. The first distinction between naan and many other flat breads is that it is leavened (in other words, it uses yeast or sometimes baking powder to give it rise), which makes it soft and airy. Unleavened flat breads like lavash and tortillas are do not include yeast, baking powder or baking soda and remain very flat when cooked. The other distinct quality of naan bread is that it includes yogurt which gives it flavor and keeps it soft. Middle Eastern pita bread is a leavened flat bread, but it is made of flour, salt, yeast and water (sometimes a little olive oil) and is a little tougher to tear.
How to Make Naan Bread by Hand
You can definitely use a stand mixer to make homemade naan, but you don’t have to. Generally, you won’t make more than one batch of dough at a time (8 individual breads) and it takes just a little arm strength to stir everything together and knead the dough. Grab a good wooden spoon and get to work.
Knead Dough?
Don’t be intimidated by the fact that you have to knead the dough. It’s not hard. Just push the dough away from you, fold it over on itself and repeat. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… kneading dough is therapeutic. It’s relaxing and repetitive and a perfect way to spend 5 or 10 minutes meditating or thinking something out. Who couldn’t use 5 or 10 minutes of therapy, after all? When you’re done, the dough will have a smooth feeling to it. If you stroke the dough, it should feel like a horse’s nose.
Let it Rise
Naan only needs one rise and that rise time will depend on how warm your environment is. One to two hours is plenty of time. You’ll know when the time is up because the dough will have doubled in volume. The next step is the most fun – give it a slap or light punch and the dough will drop. Gather it up in your hands, dump it onto a lightly floured surface and move on to the next step.
Roll it Thin
Divide the dough into 8 portions (or 6 portions if you want really big naan) and roll out one portion until it is about ¼-inch thick. It doesn’t matter what shape you roll it into as long as it isn’t bigger than the diameter of your pan. Some naan breads are round, others are oval, so just make it whatever shape (or shapes) you like.
Naan Bread in Cast Iron
Cast iron is the best substitute for a tandoori oven when making homemade naan breads. Pre-heat the cast iron pan over medium to medium-high heat for several minutes. Sprinkle a little water in the pan to test to see if it is ready – the water should evaporate immediately with a quick sizzle. Then, slap the rolled out dough into the hot pan – no butter or oil needed. In a minute or two, the dough will bubble up as it browns on the bottom side.
Flip and Finish 2 Ways
Then, there are two different ways to cook the second side. You could flip the dough over and let it brown in the pan (as above), or you could toast the second side over an open gas burner flame (as below) until it gets the distinctive brown speckles that naan is known for. I tend to do a mixture of the two methods and even toast the first side of the naan too to get a little charring of the surface. If you don’t have a gas burner, don’t worry – just cook the second side in the hot pan on the stovetop. Whichever method you use, brush both sides of the warm naan with melted butter and season with any of the optional seasonings – sea salt, chopped fresh cilantro, sesame seeds, nigella seeds, or even poppy seeds if you like. Keep the naan warm in a 170ºF oven until you are ready to serve.
What to Serve with Naan
Naan is traditionally Indian, so it pairs perfectly with Indian dishes of all kinds like this butter chicken, or my sous vide chicken with red curry and coconut recipe. It’s far too delicious, however, to only serve it with Indian food. It’s the perfect bread for chicken shawarma and is a super quick way to make a pizza like this peach, prosciutto and burrata flatbread. These are just a few options – you will come up with many more.
How to Store
Naan, as with most flat breads, is always best eaten fresh, but it will keep wrapped well at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. You can pop it into a zipper sealable plastic bag and keep it refrigerated for up to 5 days and you can also freeze the cooked naan. In order to freeze naan, make sure you let it cool completely first and then put it into a bag, removing as much of the air as possible. Then, freeze and keep it up to a month or two. It defrosts very quickly and is nice to have at a moment’s notice. Re-heat the naan by frying it in a little oil in a hot pan for a minute or two, popping it into your air fryer for a couple minutes or wrapping in parchment paper and foil and warming it in the oven for 10 minutes at 350ºF.
can you substitute greek non fat yogurt. thank you
Yes. That would be fine. If the dough feels too dry, you might need to add a little more water.
If all you usually have is salted butter, how much would you reduce the added salt. I cook for me so it’s difficult to have both types and keep them fresh. Thanks
Hi Mary,
If you’re making a small quantity (like a 1x recipe), then I wouldn’t worry about swapping out salted butter instead of unsalted butter. It really only makes a difference when butter is a primary ingredient and you are using a lot of it.
ML
Hi Chef, longtime follower of your down to earth and delicious recipes. My vegan daughter made Naan last week with coconut milk (or coconut cream )instead of yogurt. The recipe had melted vegan butter, flour, yeast, salt and baking powder. I just showed her your recipe and she said, ‘I wonder why hers doesn’t have baking powder in it?’. Now I’m curious, too! Thanks so much, I am going to try this recipe tomorrow- maybe with a little crushed garlic pressed into it? Mmmm
Hi Dacia. Some recipes use yeast and some use baking powder to give the naan a rise. My recipe is a yeast-based recipe because I prefer the flavor of yeast doughs to baking powder doughs. Garlic naan would be delicious!
Chef I made the Naan today! So fluffy. I’m becoming one of your loyal followers. I had to use regular yeast but all worked out great 👍
I don’t have any cast iron skillets. What would be the next best option?
Hi Jan. I would use the heaviest stainless steel skillet you have to cook the Naan bread.
Hello chef can I use brown flour for this recipe..thank u..
You can substitute 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups wheat flour for the all-purpose flour.
Love you recipes and have all your cookbooks. We are empty nesters and need to cut down on cooking large amounts of food.
This recipe makes a lot for two people. We are not interested in freezing leftovers.
1. How do we cut down this recipe to only making two (2) nanas at a time?
2. Any suggestions on gluten free flour if we decide to take that option?
Thanks.
Hi. I know you don’t want to freeze leftovers, but… you could make all 8 dough balls and freeze the dough balls (in individual oiled plastic freezer bags). Then, you could just defrost two at a time and make them to order. If you really don’t want to use your freezer at all, then you could just quarter the recipe to make 2 naans (use a heaping ¼ tsp of yeast, ½ tsp sugar, ¼ cup water, 2 Tbsp yogurt, 1 Tbsp butter, ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp flour and ¼ tsp salt). I’m afraid I don’t have any suggestions for gluten free flour, other than to give it a whirl. I haven’t tried incorporating gf flour into this recipe.
How do you make with a electric instead of gas? Thx you
You don’t need an open flame. You can cook the naan bread on a cast iron or heavy skillet over any heat source.
The recipe was wonderful and the Naan tasted great. We had a bit of burning stuff in the pan, maybe flour stuck to dough… Using electric stove and non stick skillet in our vacation place!
I just dived into the homemade Naan bread recipe on Blue Jean Chef, and it has left me utterly captivated! The step-by-step instructions, accompanied by the enticing visuals, make it seem so effortless to recreate this beloved Indian classic in the comfort of our own kitchens. The soft and pillowy texture, the aromatic flavors, and that perfect golden-brown char — it’s a true culinary masterpiece! I can already imagine savoring a warm piece of freshly baked Naan, paired with a fragrant curry or enjoyed on its own. A heartfelt thank you to Blue Jean Chef for sharing this incredible recipe that brings the flavors of India into our homes with such finesse and authenticity!
Question: I’m curious to know if there are any variations or additional flavorings that can be incorporated into the homemade Naan bread recipe to add a unique twist or cater to different palates?
A popular variation on naan bread is to brush it with garlic butter at the end. You could also try making it with different flours or adding fresh herbs to the dough. Or you could try Paneer Naan bread, which is stuffed with grated paneer cheese, coriander, onions, masala spices, and cumin.