Traditional Naan Bread
Servings: 12 naan
These naan bread are soft, fluffy and totally delicious on their own or filled with grilled meats or vegetables. Perfect for soaking up sauces and only need a handful of simple ingredients.
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 500 g white bread flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 260 ml water or milk
- 100 g natural yoghurt or unsweetened non-dairy yoghurt (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Garlic butter
- 50 g butter (vegan butter)
- 2-3 cloves garlic (crushed )
- 1 tbsp coriander (chopped)
- 1 tbsp flaky or rock salt
Preparation
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- In a measuring jug, whisk the water, sugar, yoghurt and 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and pour in the wet ingredients, stirring with a fork until the dough comes together.Turn out the dough onto a lightly oiled worktop. Start kneading the dough with your hands, oiling your hands several times as you go. The dough will be very sticky during the first few minutes, but as you continue kneading, it will stop sticking and become smooth, soft and pliable. The kneading process should take 4 to 5 minutes.
- Resting: Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest in a warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes, so the gluten in the flour can start developing.
- After the dough has rested, divide the dough into 12 equal portions. I usually weigh mine to around 74g each but you can also do it visually.
- Shape 1 piece into a ball on a lightly floured work surface. Then using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into an oval shape about 3-5mm thick.
- Once formed, leave it on the side under a tea towel while you repeat the process for the remaining dough pieces.
- Garlic butter: Make the garlic butter by melting the butter and adding the crushed garlic and coriander together in a bowl or small saucepan.
- Cooking: Place a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium-high heat. (You may want to turn on your extractor fan or open a window, as it may get smoky.)
- Lay a naan into the hot skillet without any oil. Leave for approximately a minute until it starts to dry out around the edges. Flip the naan over and leave for another 30-60 seconds. You can check, every now and then to see if the base is charred.
- If your skillet is large enough, you can add more than one naan bread at a time, as long as they are not overlapping.
- Transfer the naan to a plate and brush with the garlic butter and sprinkle with a small pinch of flaky salt.
- Repeat the process with the remaining naan, adjusting the heat as necessary.
- Serve and eat while still fresh and hot!
- They can be kept warm in a low oven if needed.
