Easy Homemade Naan Bread Recipe - Creations by Kara (2024)

FAQs

Why is my naan bread not fluffy? ›

Rolling Vs stretching dough: Naan is always hand stretched and not rolled with a rolling pin. Sometimes rolling toughens the dough and suppresses the bubbles making dense flatbreads. Hand stretched naan have a lovely fluffy & light texture.

Yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt holds the naan dough together and ensures a tender texture. Make sure you get authentic Greek yogurt and not Greek-style yogurt.

If you roll out your naan too thinly, it can fully cook through or dry out before bubbles start appearing. Make sure that you don't roll it any thinner than about ⅛ inch (4mm). It's too thick. If your naan is too thick, it won't puff up and it can also end up underbaked in the centre.

My favorite homemade naan recipe is made with basic bread ingredients (flour, water and yeast) plus a generous dollop of yogurt, egg and baking powder to make the bread extra soft and chewy.

Other variations do exist which may utilise self raising flour or baking powder/baking soda. However I strongly stand by yeast when it comes to making a good quality naan. It's the best raising agent for flavour development, especially when cold proving is involved.

Add Sugar

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

you put it on naans to keep them soft.

If you're looking to eat more naan, but you have health concerns, consider how it stacks up against other breads and pita, another popular flatbread dish. First, 1 white naan (90 grams) has approximately 70% more carbs, protein, and fiber than 2 slices of white bread (54 grams).

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet preheated over high heat, but not until the skillet is smoking. Cook naan for around 1 1/2 minutes on the first side until golden – it will puff up! Turn and cook the other side for around 45 seconds.

You can also speed up fermentation with temperature, by allowing your dough or batter to rise in a warmer environment (near the pre-heating oven, for example); the closer the temperature is to 95° F, the more efficiently the yeast is feeding and producing carbon dioxide.

Why does naan go bad so fast? ›

It may be attributed that about 20% moisture content in naan still can accelerate the microbial spoilage or the oil is oxidized.

Firstly, Moisture is essential in the resurrection of our naan, as it helps to relax the gluten molecules, making the bread soft and pliable once more. Reintroducing moisture is a crucial step in reheating methods for fluffy texture.

One of the most popular Indian delicacies that we know of; curries are creamy with the right amount of spicy, curries pair perfectly with warm, fluffy naan. Naan bread also serves as the perfect companion to soups and stews, absorbing their rich flavors and adding a delightful textural contrast.

Naan is found in the cuisines mainly of Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Caribbean. Primarily composed of white or wheat flour combined with a leavening agent, typically yeast, naan dough develops air pockets that contribute to its fluffy and soft texture.

Afghan naan is different in shape, texture, and taste from Indian varieties. While the main ingredient – wheat flour – is the same, Afghan bakers hand-shape the dough, rather than rolling it out, and their use of a tandoor results in large, pillowy rounds.

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

Overworking the dough can cause the gluten strands to break down, resulting in a tough and dense bread. To ensure a light and fluffy texture, knead the dough just until it becomes smooth and elastic. This usually takes about 7-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer.

Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake and will make your naan bread dense. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.