Warm. Chewy. Savoury.
A triple threat.
Naan’s got it all.
Naan is a leavened flat bread.
Sounds like an oxymoron, but I swear it’s both flat and light as air all at once.
It’s typically known to accompany curries, soups and stews in Indian cuisine where it can be used in lieu of pesky utensils to scoop food right into a hungry mouth.
Sure, you can find naan prepackaged in a variety of supermarkets these days. But just as we’ve shown you with no-knead bread, homemade stuff is basically the bomb (do people even say ‘the bomb’ anymore?).
We’ve also shown you how easy pizza dough can be, so if you’re a loyal follower, you should be a dough expert!
Kidding. Even if you’ve never made your own dough before you can totally do this. I promise, you will impress yourself.
I used white flour for 3/4 of this dough, but you can use up to half whole wheat flour if you’d like. It won’t give you too much extra fibre, but I love the subtle flavour of a little whole wheat.
It’s safe to say most people know eating whole grains are a better option than refined ones. I would say if you’re eating whole grains most of the time (ie. if you buy whole grain breads when you grocery shop) and saving the refined stuff for when you make dough yourself, you’re probably hitting a good whole grain: refined grain ratio.
Canola oil is a good option for brushing the naan because it’s got a high smoke point compared to butter or olive oil and you need a nice hot pan for this recipe.
Bubbly goodness.
Once you get going, each naan only take about 2 minutes.
When you’re done, you’ve got this big pile that you’ll want to shove in your face.
Fred feels the same way.
I served mine with this delicious chana masala recipe from the Smitten Kitchen blog. We’ve got a similar (and much simpler option) right here if you would like something similar. Though the naan would be delicious with any soup/stew/curry concoction you can dream up.
So enjoy,
Erin
If you're struggling to find a warm place to let your dough rise, try preheating your oven to 200F, turning it off and using the residual oven heat for your warm spot.
Naan
Serves
8 naan
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
1 hour, 30 minutes
Total time
1 hour, 45 minutes
Website
Adapted from Half-Baked Harvest
Ingredients
Note
Directions
1.
In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, add sugar and yeast to warm water and whisk lightly until combined. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2.
In a separate large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3.
Add milk and yogurt to yeast mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Add wet mix to flour bowl, mix with a spoon until it appears rough and straggly. Continue mixing with floured hands and forming the dough into a rough ball.
4.
Cover bowl with a dish towel and let it sit somewhere warm for about 1 hour until the dough has approximately doubled in size.
5.
Turn the dough out on to a floured surface. Form it in to a smooth ball by tucking the bottom edges under the dough and rotating it as you go. Cut dough in to eight equal pieces.
6.
Form each piece into a small ball by again, pulling the edges under while rotating it. Sprinkle a little flour on each ball and roll them out to about 6-8" in diameter and about 1/4" thick.
7.
Preheat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. One at a time, brush one side of the rolled naan dough with canola oil. Place oil side down in hot pan, brush the side up in the pan with addition oil, cover with a lid and cook for 1 minute until the dough is bubbled and starts to brown. Remove lid, flip naan with tongs, and cook for another 1-2 minutes until it is fluffy and the bubbly parts are browned.
8.
Remove from pan, sprinkle with herbs and/or other seasoning. Best if served warm on the same day, but freeze well too.
esther says
cool!!
Erin says
indeed Esther.
Kelsi says
Just made this tonight! I was a bit worried at first as they didn’t seem to rise but it all worked out! Delicious!
Jenny | The Baking Skillet says
Definitely gona try this one Dara!
howt1653 says
Fantastic!! Let us know how you like it Jenny!