Naan Bread
Soft pan-fried flatbread with bubbles, charred spots, and melted garlic butter.
- Preparation
- 20 min
- Cook/bake time
- 15 min
- Total
- 1 hr 35 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 370 kcal
- Servings
- 6
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cooking & baking
- 15 min
- Resting
- 1 hr
Only 35 min of that is hands-on – the rest takes care of itself.
Soft pan-fried flatbread with bubbles, charred spots, and melted garlic butter. Yogurt in the dough makes it particularly tender and moist, and a very hot, dry pan replaces the tandoor surprisingly well. In forty minutes you will have fresh bread for any curry.
Why this works
The very hot dry pan suddenly evaporates the moisture right under the surface of the dough. The steam cannot escape downwards and lifts the dough into a bubble, which is the same principle as in the tandoor. If there is too little heat, the water escapes slowly, no bubble forms, and the naan dries out into a flat cracker. The yogurt in the dough helps with this because its acidity loosens the gluten network and makes it more stretchy.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Prepare the dough
Mix the flour, dry yeast, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Add the yogurt, lukewarm milk, and oil, and knead everything for about eight minutes into a soft, slightly sticky dough. It should be significantly softer than a bread dough, because only then will the naan become fluffy instead of firm later.
- 2
Let it rise
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about one hour until it has visibly increased in size. The additional baking powder alongside the yeast is not a mistake, but rather ensures the characteristic large bubbles in the hot pan.
- 3
Portion and roll out
Divide the dough into six equally sized pieces and shape them into balls. Roll each one out on a lightly floured surface into an oval flatbread about 3 mm thick. Pull one end slightly longer while rolling out, which gives the typical teardrop shape. Cover the finished flatbreads with a cloth.
- 4
Bake in the pan
Heat a cast-iron or heavy non-stick pan without fat on the highest setting until it is visibly hot. Place a flatbread in it and bake it for about 90 seconds until large bubbles form and the underside has dark spots. Turn it over and bake it for another minute.
- 5
Brush
Mix the melted butter with the grated garlic and the cilantro. Brush each finished naan with it immediately while it is still hot, then the butter will soak in and the bread will stay soft. Stack the flatbreads in a cloth so they keep each other warm and pliable.
Our best tips
- The pan must be really hot. If there is too little heat, the naan will dry out instead of bubbling.
- No fat in the pan. Naan is baked dry, and the butter is only added afterwards.
- Stack finished flatbreads immediately and cover them with a cloth, as their own steam keeps them soft.
Tasty variations
Cheese Naan
Before rolling out, fold a spoonful of cream cheese into the dough ball and then carefully press it flat.
Vegan
Replace the yogurt with soy yogurt and the milk with oat milk, and use olive oil with garlic for brushing.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 370 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| – of which sugar | 3 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Fiber | 3 g |
Where the 370 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I not getting any bubbles?
Usually the pan is too cold or the dough is rolled out too thinly. Full heat and about 3 mm thickness are the right values.
Can I freeze naan?
Yes, fully baked and cooled for up to two months. To refresh, warm briefly in a dry pan or in the toaster.
Does it work without yeast?
Yes, with double the amount of baking powder and no rising time. The result is slightly less airy, but ready in twenty minutes.
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