Naan

Naan is a leavened, oven baked flat bread which is hugely popular and an integral part of the Indian Cuisine. Like most breads, naan too is made with basic ingredients like flour, yeast, water, sugar and yogurt. Mostly in western countries it is referred as Naan Bread.

Traditionally, they are baked inside a very hot clay tandoor oven, with charcoal or with wood fire.The tandoor oven,retains very high heat, and hence fills the inside of the flat bread with air pockets and bakes them to perfection with a crisp exterior, a fluffy core and it’s distinctive charred flavor.

No restaurant food is complete without the Naan. We all love Naan don’t we? As an Indian; Naan is was something which is strictly a restaurant food. Served right from the tandoor on to your plate. However sometimes if the naan is not properly made, it after sometimes becomes chewy. And then it is more of facial muscle exercise instead of enjoying the food.

I have made these naans on the stove top and I was floored….. simply in love with this soft pillowy naans. Once you make these you will surely stop getting those take out naans from the restaurants. These Naans are delicious, soft, puffy, airy, with the beautiful charred spots on the surface just like the ones you get from the tandoor.

Need more information about baking with yeast?

I have got you covered. Please do read the Bread Basics blog post. You will find the answers to your questions.

Naan

Recipe by Samrudhi MaheshCourse: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Proofing time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

Make soft and pillowy homemade naan without the tandoor

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

• 3 teaspoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast or rapid-rise yeast (see note)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt

• 2 tablespoons oil

• 3/4 cup warm water or as required

• Melted butter or ghee for brushing the naans

Directions

• IF USING INSTANT YEAST FOLLOW THIS STEP ; IF USING DRY ACTIVE YEAST REFER TO THE NOTES:
  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast. Set it aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together, the yogurt, salt,oil, and 3/4 cup warm water (about 100°F). Add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients and mix it.Start kneading the dough. If you feel that the dough is too wet to work with, add some flour to it.
• Lightly oil a clean bowl. Make sure the bowl is large enough to allow the dough to double in size. Transfer the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Let it sit in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until about doubled in size (warmer spot = the dough rises faster. I leave it in the oven with the lights on).
• Dust a work surface with some of the flour and place the dough on top. Knead it again for 1-2 minutes. Then cut (use a knife/ scrapper/ kitchen scissors) the dough into equal sized pieces. Roll each into a ball with your hands, then place on the floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large circle (or oval) until the naan is a little less than 1/4-inch thick.
• Heat a cast iron pan or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Pat the naan between your hands to get rid of any excess flour. Then place the naan on the pan and cook until you see few bubbles at the top and the bottom is golden and blackened in spots. Flip the naan and cook about 1-2 minutes more until the the bottom is lightly browned and blistered in spots. Remove the naan from the skillet/ pan and brush with melted butter.

Notes

• If you are using active dry yeast;the yeast will need to be activated in liquid before using : In a medium bowl, dissolve the active dry yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar with 3/4 cup warm water. Let it sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. Then add this to the dry ingredients. Add yogurt, salt and oil and start kneading the dough. Proceed from step 3.
• The naan can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once it’s completely cooled, wrap each piece securely in plastic wrap and put all the rounds in a seal able plastic bag prior to putting in the freezer. To reheat, wrap the naan in aluminum foil and warm in a 350°F oven until hot.

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SUGGESTED SERVING:

Pair Naan with…practically anything. Veg curry, non veg curry, dal , or use it as a wrap. Endless possibilities.

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