Homemade Naan Bread- Easy and Delicious!
My brother lived in India for 2 years on a service mission. As I’m sure you can imagine, he came with lots of stories, and definitely some new tastes!
One of his favorite things is naan bread. Naan is similar to pita, but not quite as healthy ;). It’s denser and chewier, and higher calorie, making it a filling meal, which makes sense since many in India use this bread as a high-calorie way to start the day.
With that said- it still is pretty tasty, and it doesn’t hurt to indulge every once in awhile ;). If you make them with wheat flour, you can add a little extra nutrition in there, and at the end of the day- bread is bread. It’s not any better or worse for you than any other slice of bread- but it sure is beautiful, chewy, and tasty!
Naan is quite easy to make. The particular recipe I use calls for greek yogurt and eggs, but other than that, it’s your typical bread recipe. You mix it all up, knead it by hand, and then let it rise until doubled.
The fun part is actually cooking the naan. You won’t use your oven- you’ll be using your stove! I use two pans to make the process go a little faster (especially if doubling the recipe!). Separate your dough into little pieces and roll them all up in balls.
You’ll keep them rolled until it’s time to cook each one. When you’re ready to cook a particular piece of dough, simply roll it out (or stretch it out by hand- this was actually my preference!) and let it cook on one side until you start to see bubbles forming.
Flip it over and let it cook a couple minutes on the other side and voila! You’ve got beautiful, delicious naan!
The other fun thing about naan is that you can get pretty creative with it! Typically, it’s served warm with butter, and that’s definitely not a bad way to go. But you can definitely think outside the box with naan!
- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top for dessert
- Add green onions and dip in teriyaki sauce
- Add garlic and Italian seasonings and top with parmesan
- Add cumin and chili powder and serve with your favorite taco fixings
- Top with your favorite pizza toppings, or create several mini varieties of pizzas! (Barbecue chicken, margarita, buffalo chicken, etc).
- Top with scrambled eggs and avocado
- Dip in your favorite dipping sauce
- Use it to make your favorite panini
- Serve it as a side for all your favorite rice dishes- we love it with chicken curry!
Naan
Chewy, Easy, Tasty!
Yield: 8
Serving size: 8
Calories per serving: 226
Ingredients:
Serving size: 8
Calories per serving: 226
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup water
3 cups flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. Once frothy, whisk in the oil, yogurt, and egg until evenly combined.
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, pour the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time, until you can no longer stir it with a spoon.
3. At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding small amounts of flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. You'll end up using between 2.5 to 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky. Avoid adding excessive amounts of flour as you knead, as this can make the dough too dry and stiff.
4. Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 1 hour). After it rises, gently flatten the dough into a disc and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball.
5. Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the bottom is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Stack the cooked flat bread on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm as you cook the remaining pieces. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs.
Tips: For the most bubbles, don't roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet.
*I like to make the balls a little smaller to spread it farther! I can easily get at least 10 from this recipe.
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, pour the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time, until you can no longer stir it with a spoon.
3. At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding small amounts of flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. You'll end up using between 2.5 to 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky. Avoid adding excessive amounts of flour as you knead, as this can make the dough too dry and stiff.
4. Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 1 hour). After it rises, gently flatten the dough into a disc and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball.
5. Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the bottom is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Stack the cooked flat bread on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm as you cook the remaining pieces. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs.
Tips: For the most bubbles, don't roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet.
*I like to make the balls a little smaller to spread it farther! I can easily get at least 10 from this recipe.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Source:
- https://mytrustydiet.com/naan-bread-nutrition-and-benefits/
- https://www.pexels.com/photo/naan-bread-sweet-naan-958517/
Camille Hoffmann
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! camille@dvo.com
