Stovetop Homemade Naan - Indian Bread

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This stovetop naan is a classic Indian bread served with many Indian meals. This simple and easy recipe makes a deliciously soft and chewy homemade naan on the stovetop or the oven. Serve it with your favorite Indian meal or enjoy it as a sandwich wrap and a pizza base too.

If you love Indian food, then you probably have eaten naan. And, if not, the next time you visit an Indian restaurant, make sure you order naan. Yep! Absolutely amazing Indian bread. Tastes delicious and is perfect for any Indian dish.

Table of Content

• What is naan?
• Stovetop vs. oven cooking
• Naan variety
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Overnight naan bread
• Step by step instructions  
• Frequently asked questions
• You may also like
• Recipe

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What is naan?

Indian flatbread!! Naan is actually a Persian word for bread and it's pronounced as 'NAHN'. And, the traditional naan is baked in a tandoor oven, which is why you don't often get it made at home. We at home don't own tandoor ovens. So, we usually make other Indian bread like chapati, roti, paratha, kulcha, etc.

Of course, the bread is so delicious that it's a pity if you have to wait to go to a restaurant every time you craved for naan. Right? So, often we make naan at home despite the lack of a tandoor oven.

In addition, the recipe itself is simple and easy. And, it's the process and time needed to ferment and add that depth of flavor that makes a huge difference. If you asked my mom, to make naan you have to make the dough the night before. Also, it needs to be kept in the fridge until it has time to ferment. So, the yeast has time to make do its thing.

Stovetop vs. oven cooking

I have tried making naan in my oven, as well as on the stovetop just like my chapati. The difference - the oven has to be at 220 C, or 440 F, kinda hot!! Hence, you have to make sure you take it off just at the right moment. And, if not, it can dry out making it really tough. Sometimes, it can even get hard due to overcooking.

I have given you both methods below because I have tried both. So, you can choose which one you prefer. In fact, over the years I have found that making the naan on the stovetop, just as I do my chapati, works the best for me.

Naan variety

The naan has come a long way over the years with many creative ways to serve it.

• For example, brush the naan with butter to make a butter naan.
• Or, add a few crushed garlic cloves in the butter before you brush it over a hot naan to make garlic naan.
• Also, brush some butter over hot naan and sprinkle with nigella seeds or caraways seeds.

This is my nigella garlic butter naan, one of my absolute favorite. And, I will be sharing this with you very soon. I think you will love this.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Flour - Naan is traditionally made with all-purpose flour. And yet, go ahead and substitute some of that with whole wheat flour. It tastes delicious. I know because I've tried it. And, I will also share it with you soon.
• Yogurt - Apart from adding softness and flavor this really helps with over-night fermenting. Also, it adds a unique special flavor. Try not to substitute.
  And yet, if you must, try non-dairy yogurt like coconut yogurt. I have not tried yet. And, if you try, please let us know in the comments below.
• Egg - Helps keep the naan soft and flaky. And, if you need to make it eggless, you can also replace the egg with ¼ cup more yogurt.
• Warm water - The water MUST be warm, not hot or cold. In fact, hot water will kill the yeast, while cold water will not revive the yeast. So, it has to be around 110 F.
• Instant dry yeast – I like to use instant dry because I’ve always had great success with it. If you have to use active dry yeast you will need 2 ¼ tsp or one packet. And, if you use fresh yeast you will need about 21 grams. Also, it’s not necessary to activate the yeast, but I like to take the guesswork out and make sure my dough will rise.

Overnight naan bread

I don't think I ever saw my mom make instant naan. She always made the dough the night before. In fact, she proved most of her bread doughs overnight. So, if you plan your naan bread ahead of time, I highly recommend you prepare the dough the night before and let it rise in the fridge overnight. The overnight resting adds a unique fermented flavor that's very authentic and delicious with that strong bread smell you get at a bread bakery.

Just make sure you thaw the bread for a good two to three hours before you plan to roll it out. And, when thawed, the dough be a pleasure to work with and you will find yourself making naan more often than you think.

Step by step instructions  

Prepare yeast mixture

• In a measuring cup - add warm water, yeast, sugar, and oil.
• Let rest for a while until foamy (about 5 minutes).

Prepare dough

• Next, place flour in a bowl - add salt. Mix well.
• Then, add the yeast mixture - and start mixing in.
• Followed by the yogurt and the egg.
• The dough should be soft and sticky.
• Continue to knead in a mixer for 3 minutes on medium or by hand on a floured surface for about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Once the dough is soft and springy, your dough is ready.

Proofing the dough

• Place in an oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap.
• Rest it out for an hour or two until doubled in volume.
• During the resting stage if the dough does rise more than double in volume - just punch down and let rest again until you are ready.

Let's make naan

• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface again.
• Divide the dough into 16 portions - first in half and then half again, until you have 16 shapes.
• Roll each into a ball and let rest for 5 to 7 minutes (resting helps the gluten relax and makes working with dough easy).

How do you make that naan shape? it's easy!

• Roll each ball into a round circle shape.
• Then pull/stretch the circle from one end and you have an oval shape.
• That's it!! This oval shape is usually quite characteristic of the naan bread.

Stovetop cooking - Here's how to keep it soft and supple

• Heat a skillet pan on high.
• Place the naan on - let cook for 30 secs on the first side - you see some bubbles.
• The first flip - flip the naan, let cook on the second side for another 30 secs.
• then the second flip -  cook on the first side again for another 30 secs.
• Third flip - back to the first side again - 30 secs.
• So you flip three times cooking the naan for 30 secs on each side.

Oven cooking

• Preheat the oven to 220 C/ 440 F  for at least 20 minutes before you put the first naan in.
• Dust the try with some cornmeal or flour - place the naan on the try.
• Place the tray in the preheated oven on the top shelf closer to the grill for about 2 to 3 minutes turning once or twice.
• Until you see it's puffed up and has dark spots.
• Alternatively, place them on a hot pizza stone at 250C / 500 F - for 2 to 3 minutes.
• The time of 2 to 3 minutes will vary depending on how HOT your oven is. So keep a close watch.

Keep it soft

• As soon as you take the naan off the heat, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth.
• This retains moisture back into the naan keeping it soft.

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Frequently asked questions

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You may also like

• Stovetop Nigella Garlic Butter Naan Recipe
• No-Knead flatbread recipe
• Potato Flatbread Recipe
• How to make Indian Chapati or Whole Wheat Tortilla

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Recipe

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