SUPER SOFT INDIAN NAAN BREAD
The naan is a very soft bread of Indian origin that is served with spicy meat or vegetable dishes. The recipe is extremely simple, it is made by hand and after resting for two hours, it is rolled out and cooked on a hot plate or skillet, while the original version is baked in a Tandoor, a clay oven used throughout the Middle East.
The naan bread is soft and delicious, and can be paired with many dishes like chicken curry, chickpea hummus or chickpea and potato curry, extraordinary preparations rich in spices.
The dough is very easy, its softness is due to one particular ingredient, yogurt. The original recipe calls for the use of a fairly thick milk curd, very similar to Greek yogurt, an ingredient I used for my soft buns. Naan is a bread prepared in almost all of the Middle East, so you’ll definitely find many different recipes as every family enhances the recipe according to their taste, I am offering you the basic version.
The thickness of the bread before cooking should be 1/6 inch and the size varies from 4 inches for the smaller breads to 6-7 inches for the larger ones.
The cooking, as mentioned, is traditionally done in the Tandoor oven; to achieve a similar texture for your naans, you should cook them on a skillet or a heavy-bottomed non-stick pan, allowing it to maintain even heat to let the dough rise perfectly and create characteristic bubbles.
Do you often bake bread at home? Here are some recipes that will surprise you:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Indian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 279.72 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 41.60 (g) of which sugars 3.37 (g)
- Proteins 8.58 (g)
- Fat 9.81 (g) of which saturated 4.60 (g)of which unsaturated 2.64 (g)
- Fibers 1.96 (g)
- Sodium 443.97 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 7 oz whole milk
- 5.3 oz plain natural yogurt (I used Greek yogurt with 5% fat)
- 0.35 oz fresh yeast
- 0.35 oz salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the original recipe uses coconut oil)
- 1.75 oz clarified butter (or extra virgin olive oil)
- to taste aromatic herbs (fresh or chopped garlic – optional)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Work surface
- 1 Scraper
- 1 Crepe pan
Procedure
Put the room temperature milk and crumbled yeast in the bowl, dissolve it by mixing with a fork, add the yogurt, oil, and mix again.
Add the flour, salt, and knead everything until you get a well-blended and smooth dough.
Lightly oil the bowl, place the dough inside, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size (it will take about 2 hours).
Turn the dough out onto the lightly floured work surface, divide it into 12 evenly weighted balls (about 3.5 oz each), and shape them into balls.
Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Roll out the balls with a rolling pin on the lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1/6 inch. Let them rest for 10 minutes and start cooking.
Heat the non-stick pan over medium heat and cook each naan for a couple of minutes on each side. If you’ve done well, the typical bubbles will form. Be sure to adjust the flame so the bread cooks without burning.
Transfer the bread to a plate and brush the surface with melted butter (or with extra virgin olive oil as I did), if you like you can add chopped garlic or fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, or the chopped stem of fresh scallions to the butter.
Continue in the same way with all the buns and stack them on top of each other so they will absorb the flavors and remain warm and soft.
The Indian naan bread is ready, serve it immediately with a meat or vegetable stew or fill it as you prefer.
Tips
Storage
Let the breads you don’t use cool completely and store them at room temperature for two or three days, I prefer to store them in the refrigerator. When I need to serve them, I heat them in the microwave and they return soft and light as if just made.
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FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I freeze the naan after cooking?
Absolutely, they can be stored in freezer bags or appropriate containers and kept for 2 or 3 months.
You can then defrost them and heat them in the microwave or in an oven at 160°F
