We made these basic flatbreads on the stone floor of our Rofco oven
Naans are traditionally baked in a Tandoor or earthen oven. But making them yourself, using your own oven can also lead to very satisfying results. It’s so much fun seeing them puff up after you ‘trow’ them on a hot stone or wired rack. 5 minutes later and you are already enjoying your homemade flatbread! Try this basic naan recipe and see how it works for you. After that, you can try adding other ingredients, spices like cumin and coriander seeds, fillings with almonds and raisins and so on. I really love this style of bread making, also because it gives instant gratification, to counter balance lot’s of other breads we make that take 2 to 3 days to make.
Don’t forget to brush them with butter or ghee as soon as they come out
Ingredients for the Naan
420g wheat flour (bread flour)
7g salt
2g instant yeast
115ml lukewarm milk (you can also use yogurt)
175-200ml water (depending on how much moisture your flour absorbs)
25 grams of melted butter or ghee for brushing
Making the Naan
We make this dough 4 hours in advance to preferment because this adds extra flavor. And this way you use less yeast to begin with. If you do not have the time to do this you can use more yeast (e.g 7g yeast and approx 1 hour of resting before you go to the next stage). The dough is made by mixing the ingredients (except for the butter, which is used for brushing on later) for 4-5 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rest for 4 hours or approx 1 hour depending on the amount of yeast used.
For the next step you divide the dough in 4 or 6 equal parts (depending on the size you want) and shape it into balls. Brush the balls with the butter or ghee. Cover and leave to rest for another 15-20 minutes while you preheat your oven as hot as possible, some go to 250°C / 480°F, but if yours goes to 300°C / 570°F, that’s even better. Make sure the stone or rack is also in the oven while you preheat it, because you want your bread baked directly on a hot surface. Now take a ball of dough and gently stretch it to an oblong shape (see pictures) and throw it in the hot oven..please be careful! See how it puffs up and take it out after 4 to 5 minutes. Brush again with melted butter or ghee and wrap in a cloth to keep soft and warm. Repeat the process with other dough balls. Enjoy!
Tip: Also lovely from time to time is a Peshwari naan, filled with a mixture of ground pistachios or almonds, raisins and sugar.
waah thanks for this recipe, it looks so easy, i made naan once with yoghurt instead of milk that was nice aswell
Hi Ilse,
You often see this choice between milk and yoghurt in recipes for Naan, sometimes even just with water. The best thing I learned more recently was keeping the bread soft and warm between cloth (tea towel). It’s amazing how long it stays warm.
We also love to make our own ‘paneer’ (fresh Indian cheese made with milk and). It’s a wonderful substitute for chicken in curry’s.
Have fun with the baking!
Marieke
Naan bread is a favorite of mine. But I always thought that I need a pizza stone to make it or a special oven. I’ll try this for sure!
Magda