Naan Bread

My favorite utilitarian flatbread, Naan.

I have been making this naan bread for years and really love it.  The dough is so wonderful and soft and easy to work with.  Like this peasant bread, I think it is a great beginner (and more advanced!) bread that yields fantastic results in just one afternoon.

I will tell you a secret too.  I use this bread pretty interchangeably with both Indian food, as it was intended, and with Middle Eastern and Greek Food.  Not because it is probably the most authentic, but I really like it in place of most pita.  Naan has the addition of a little milk and egg and turns out a bit softer and less tough than pita–just what I am after when what I want to scoop up creamy fluffy hummus or wrap around falafels, or shwarma, or dip in a curry, or…you get the picture.

The other thing I like about this naan bread is that I can cook it in the kitchen in a cast iron pan, or outside on the grill.  So when it is horribly hot outside, we put it in the grill so we don’t have to heat up the whole house.  I find we tend to grill more on those days too, so it works out really well as a great accompaniment to lots of grilled meat and veggies.

Finally, the last thing I love about these is that it makes quite a few and I can store any uneaten in a sealed bag in the fridge and they work great for wraps in lunches, as well as just reheated for a delicious snack.  If you make them, I am sure you will soon discover all the things that you can scoop, wrap, or dip into with them.

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Naan Bread

This is a fantastic flatbread that can be used to accompany Indian, Middle Eastern or Greek food.  You also have the option to grill it outdoors or indoors in a large cast iron skillet. 

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 5 1/2- 7 cups bread flour you likely will not need it all
  • 1/4 cup butter melted

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook, dissolve yeast in the warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes or until the yeast is proofed and it is creamy or foamy. Add the sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough, with the mixer on low.  Add the flour in, a cup at a time, and let it fully incorporate into the wet mixture before adding the next cup.  After 5 cups, add additional flour a 1/2 cup at a time.  When the dough leaves the side of the bowl and feels soft, but not overly sticky, it has enough flour.  

  2. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes in the mixer, or on a lightly floured surface, until the dough is smooth and supple.  I like to start mine in the mixer, but as the dough gets worked and gets tougher to knead, I feel the need to protect the motor in my mixer and move it to a board to hand knead.  This dough has a lovely feel and is a great dough to hand knead.  Shape into a ball and place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

  3. Press the dough down gently (no punching needed!) and divide the dough into small balls, about the size of a golf ball.  I generally try to end up with 12-15 naans with this recipe and for me, that size weighs around 3.5 oz.  And yes, I do like to weigh them so they can all be roughly the same size.  Roll or turn into balls (tucking the rough and smooth edges under until you have a smooth round shape), and place on a tray or cookie sheet. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

  4. During the second rising, get your coals ready if you will be grilling the bread.

  5. Roll out the balls into thin rounds.  I find a french rolling pin with tapered sides to be the most generally useful rolling pin, but anyway you can get it equally thin, go for it, leaving them about the 6-7 inches across.  No need to fuss about the shape, round, oblong, whatever works.  Stack the naan, but make sure they don't stick to each other by separating them with waxed or parchment paper, or by very lightly dusting the naan with flour before adding another.

  6. To Grill: Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned, flip. Brush cooked side with butter and let it cook another 2-4 minutes. The bread should have dark grill marks and bubbled spots. Remove from the grill and brush the unbuttered side with butter. Continue cooking, brushing with butter and stacking untill all are cooked. If any large bubbles pop up, you can poke a hole in them with your tongs.

  7. To Bake indoors: Preheat your dry* (well seasoned) cast iron pan on medium-high to high heat and cook the first side for about 2-3 minutes until the naan has browned spots and is puffy.  You may need to adjust your heat if you find that your naan is darkening too quickly, or, conversely, if you are not getting any good color. If any large bubbles pop up, you can poke a hole in them with your tongs. Flip the naan and continue cooking for 2-4 minutes. Brush the cooked side with butter, and when cooked through, brush the other side with butter and stack on a plate. Repeat until all are finished.  

Recipe Notes

*If you find a naan sticks to your cast iron, you can lightly oil it.  However, the pan is going to get very very hot, so run your fan so that when it starts smoking you don't set off your smoke detector.  Does that sound like experience?  Yep, it is.