This pillowy soft, fluffy naan recipe is made with simple 8 ingredients. This can be made 2 ways: on stovetop or in oven. Once you try this homemade naan bread, you’ll never buy a store-bought packet.
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❤️ You’ll Love This Naan Recipe
Texture:
- Bubbly & fluffy like a pillow.
- Perfectly charred & crisp edges of those bubbles.
- Super soft.
- Not chewy (it has a light signature chewy texture but is not rubbery chewy).
- Stays soft even after cooling down (unlike other restaurant or store-bought naan that gets chewy after a few hours)
Super easy to make: The dough is made in a stand mixer (can be done by hand as well). Then the dough is proofed, rolled, and cooked. Super simple steps and you’ll have perfect homemade naan ready.
This naan is a basic Indian bread that pairs well with many Indian veg or non-veg gravies or lentil curries. Leftovers can be stored for later or used to make other dishes (see details in the serving suggestion section below).
Two Methods For Cooking Naan At Home:
- On StoveTop: Use a cast iron pan (or skillet)
- In Oven: Use a cast iron griddle or pizza stone with a broiler setting ON.
🧾 Ingredient Notes
You’ll need 8 easy-to-find ingredients to make this naan recipe (Indian bread).
- Flour: I always use unbleached all purpose flour aka maida (in Hindi).
- Yeast: Instant yeast is used here so I have added it directly into the dough.
- If using active dry yeast then dissolve it in warm water with salt and sugar. Let it bloom for 10 minutes. Use this frothy mixture to knead the dough.
- Yogurt: It helps to make naan soft and pillowy. Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature. Cold yogurt may kill the yeast.
- Ghee or Butter: It is used to brush on cooked naan.
👩🍳 How To Make Naan On StoveTop? (Stepwise)
Make Naan Bread Dough:
1) Take all purpose flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and instant yeast in a stand mixer bowl. Mix lightly.
2) Add yogurt and oil. Attach a dough hook. Start running the mixer on low and gradually add warm water from the side.
3,4) Gradually increase the speed and knead until the dough becomes smooth and comes together.
5, 6) Grease the bowl with oil and also, apply oil on the dough to prevent it from sticking and drying.
7, 8)Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it proof for around 1 ½ -2 hours in a warm place or until gets double in size.
Rolling Naan:
9) Deflate the dough and divide it into 6 or 8 equal portions (6 for thick naan and 8 for medium thick naan).
10) Make smooth balls.
Before you start rolling, heat the cast iron skillet on medium-high heat.
11) Sprinkle some flour on a rolling surface and the dough ball.
12) Roll into an 8-inch oval shape.
Cooking Naan On Stovetop:
13, 14) Now the skillet is hot (just starting to smoke). Now place the rolled naan and within a few seconds, it starts to bubble up.
14) Cook the first side for around a minute and then flip it using a spatula or a pair of tongs.
15) Cook another side for around 45 seconds. If some part of the naan is not touching the skillet because it is puffed up then press lightly using a spatula and cook until cooked and charred.
17) Remove it to a plate and brush melted butter or ghee right away. Repeat the same for the rest of the naan.
👩🍳 Cooking Naan In Oven
- Place a cast iron griddle or pizza stone on the top rack of the oven.
- Preheat the oven to the maximum temperature available (around 400-450 F) for around 20 minutes.
- Let the pan or pizza stone get nice and hot.
- You can roll all naan, arrange them on a tray in a single layer and cover them with a clean kitchen towel.
1) Once the cast iron pan or pizza stone is hot, carefully slide the pan out with a rack and place rolled naan (2-3 at a time). As the pan is super hot, it will bubble up right away. Slide back the pan and close the oven door.
2) Turn on the broiler mode (on high) and cook for 2-3 minutes (depending on the thickness of your naan). You can check and see it should be puffed up partially and browned up (charred) nicely.
Remove the cooked ones using a pair of tongs and apply butter.
NOTE: If cooking more quantities and the pan or pizza stone cools down then preheat the oven again to maximum heat and let the pan get hot again for 5-10 minutes and repeat cooking the rest of the naans.
💭 Expert Tips To Make Perfect Naan
- Always use warm water when working with yeast. Hot water will kill yeast and cold water will not activate them.
- Using active dry yeast: Dissolve it in warm water along with salt and sugar. Let it froth up and use this water to knead the dough.
- Using instant yeast: No need to bloom them. Just add to dry flour and knead the dough.
- Highly recommend using a cast iron skillet. The heat conduction of the cast iron skillet helps to make large bubbles that result in a soft and fluffy texture with a few charred and crisp spots.
- Yogurt has to be at room temperature (not directly from the fridge) otherwise dough won’t rise properly.
- How to promote the dough rising? Keep the bowl of dough in a warm place. If you are cooking on a stovetop and you have a microwave on top then keep it in the microwave as it will be slightly warmer. Or keep it in the oven or in the cabinet.
🥣 Storage Instructions
- At room temperature, naan stays fresh for 1-2 days. Store in an air-tight container. The next day warm up slightly in the oven (not microwave otherwise it will become chewy).
- In the freezer, it stays good for up to 2-3 months. Arrange them on a large cookie tray and freeze them until frozen. Transfer them to a freezer-safe ziplock bag and keep them in the freezer.
- Reheating: Preheat the oven to 400F (200C) and warm up in the oven for 2-3 minutes. You can use the air fryer as well.
- Freezing naan dough: Wrap the dough (after proofing and punching it down) into plastic wrap and freeze. Most of the time, I wrap individual naan dough balls separately and freeze them in a ziplock bag. So if I want to make only two naans, I defrost two dough balls only.
🍽 How To Serve Naan (Indian Bread)?
- Naan can be enjoyed with any gravy (curry) or lentil dishes like paneer butter masala, shahi paneer, saag paneer, chana masala, dal makhani, etc.
- Use leftover naan bread as a pizza base. (make sure to bake it until crisp, that’s the best texture).
- Cut leftoves into bite-sized pieces, brush with oil, and bake until crisp. Use these as a dipper for your dips.
- Thinly rolled and cooked naan can be used as a wrap to stuff paneer tikka, aloo tikka, veg cutlet along with some mint chutney and laccha pyaaz.
Check Out Other Indian Bread Recipes
Did you try this naan recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.
📋 Recipe Card
Naan Recipe (Indian Bread)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups All purpose flour (Maida)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 teaspoons Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 3 tablespoons Plain yogurt at room temperature
- ¾ cup Warm water
- Ghee (clarified butter) or Melted butter, to brush on cooked naans
Instructions
- Make Dough: Take all purpose flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and instant yeast in a stand mixer bowl. Mix lightly.
- Add yogurt and oil. Attach a dough hook.
- Start running the mixer on low and gradually add warm water from the side. Gradually increase the speed and knead until the dough becomes smooth and comes together.
- Proof the dough: Grease the bowl with oil and also, apply oil on the dough to prevent it from sticking and drying.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it proof for around 1 ½ -2 hours in a warm place or until gets double in size.
- Roll: Deflate the dough and divide it into 6 or 8 equal portions (6 for thick naan and 8 for medium thick naan). Make smooth balls.
- Sprinkle some flour on a rolling surface and on the dough ball. Roll into an 8-inch oval shape.
Cook On Stovetop:
- Before you start rolling, heat the cast iron skillet on medium-high heat.
- Once the skillet is hot (just starting to smoke). Now place the rolled naan and within a few seconds, it starts to bubble up.
- Cook the first side for around a minute and then flip it using a spatula or a pair of tongs.
- Cook another side for around 45 seconds. If some part of the naan is not touching the skillet because it is puffed up then press lightly using a spatula and cook until cooked and charred.
- Remove it to a plate and brush melted butter or ghee right away. Repeat the same for the rest of the naan.
Cook In Oven:
- Place a cast iron griddle or pizza stone on the top rack of the oven.
- Preheat the oven to the maximum temperature available (around 400-450 F) for around 20 minutes.
- Let the pan or pizza stone get nice and hot.
- You can roll all naan, arrange them on a tray in a single layer and cover them with a clean kitchen towel.
- Once the cast iron pan or pizza stone is hot, carefully slide the pan out with a rack and place rolled naan (2-3 at a time). As the pan is super hot, it will bubble up right away. Slide back the pan and close the oven door.
- Turn on the broiler mode (on high) and cook for 2-3 minutes (depending on the thickness of your naan). You can check and see it should be puffed up partially and browned up (charred) nicely.
- Remove the cooked ones using a pair of tongs and apply butter.
- NOTE: If cooking more quantities and the pan or pizza stone cools down then preheat the oven again to maximum heat and let the pan get hot again for 5-10 minutes and repeat cooking the rest of the naans.
Notes
- Always use warm water when working with yeast. Hot water will kill yeast and cold water will not activate them.
- Using active dry yeast: Dissolve in warm water along with salt and sugar. Let it froth up and use this water to knead the dough.
- Using instant yeast: No need to bloom them. Just add to dry flour and knead the dough.
- Yogurt has to be at room temperature (not directly from the fridge) otherwise dough won’t rise properly.
Francesca
For frozen dough, how long should it sit out to defrost before rolling it out? Does it need to rise again if it's been frozen?
I cook so many of your recipes and they are all delicious! Thank you!
Kanan Patel
The dough needs to be defrosted and softened enough to work with. It doesn't need to rise again.
Happy to hear that recipes are helpful.
John
I really liked the idea of the skillet in the oven under the broiler -- very effective! Many thanks.
Kanan Patel
glad that information was helpful