Naan — fluffy, soft leavened Indian bread that can be paired with just about any curry dish. You can make it with egg or without. Watch this video and try this easy to follow recipe that is sure to please your family.
Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour/Maida – 2 cups (275 g)
Salt – 1 tsp
Oil – 4 tsp
Warm Water – 1/2 cup
Rapid Rise Yeast – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Egg – 1, medium, well beaten (or 1 Tbsp Flax seed powder mixed with 3 Tbsp of water can be used as a substitute for egg)
Yogurt – 2 Tbsp
Additional All Purpose Flour for rolling and dusting
Method:
1. Add Yeast and Sugar to warm Water and mix well. Cover and keep it aside for 5-7 minutes (until foamy).
2. In a large bowl, mix Flour and Salt well.
3. Add Oil and mix until there are no lumps.
4. Once Yeast and Water mixture becomes foamy, add Yogurt and Egg. Whisk until mixed well.
5. Add the mixture to the Flour a little at a time and knead into a soft dough ball.
6. Drizzle a few drops of Oil on the dough and cover to that a “skin” does not form.
7. Cover and keep in a warm place for 1 hour. You can preheat the oven to 170 degrees F and turn the oven off and keep dough inside.
8. Preheat Oven to highest temperature possible (approx 550 degrees F/ 288 degrees C) with Pizza Stone inside. Once dough has risen, lightly oil hands and punch down the dough and knead. Dust with additional flour if needed.
9. Divide dough into small portions and roll it out on a floured surface. Keep rolled naan aside on a tray.
10. Place 3-4 rolled naan onto hot Pizza Stone and place stone on the highest oven rack.
11. Bake for 3-5 minutes until naan are light golden brown.
12. Remove from oven and smear on butter (optional).
13. Keep naan in an insulated container until ready to serve. Best served fresh and hot.
Makes – 8 avg size naans.
Tips:
1. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can use a regular baking sheet or pan. You will need to flip the naan half way through.
2. Different topping can be used (minced garlic, kalonji, chat masala, etc.)
3. One tablespoon Flax seed powder mixed with 3 tablespoons of water can be used as a substitute for egg. You will be able to see tiny flax seed flecks but there is no taste difference.
4. You can use regular yeast instead of rapid rise yeast. Allow dough to rise for one hour, punch the dough down and allow to rise again for an additional hour.
5. Once the first lot of naan are in the oven, start rolling second lot and get a process in place to save time.
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How to make homemade naan bread, eggless naan recipe, can you make naan without eggs, flaxseed egg replacer, can you make naan in the oven, butter naan recipe.
hiii..
m having a very silly question..
can i make it in a gas tandoor????
Hi Vinni,
I’m not sure what you mean by a gas tandoor. Is it a gas oven? or a stove?
Hey again,
I just finished the recipe and the naan is delicious! BUT, it’s not quite as sweet and stretchy as I had thought it would be (it doesn’t quite duplicate what I’ve goten in restaurants — naan that is so good I’m satisfied eating it by itself). My roommate asked me if I had used chickpea flour — he indicated it’s a key ingredient. What do you guys think? Are there other flours I should experiment with?
Matt
Hi Matthew,
Restaurants use a tandoor (a big clay oven) to bake the naan and it is difficult to replicate the texture exactly. We have not heard of using chickpea flour in naan but would think it would make it more dense. Any idea where he heard of it?
Hey Hetal,
Thanks for your responses! In between now and when I made my last post, I scoured the web looking for recipes that call for chickpea flour and haven’t found any — he said he found a recipe somewhere online but who knows.
Thanks for the extra info. Definitely watched a couple youtube videos of people making naan in a tandoori oven — I get that it’s scorching hot and the naan hangs vertically — but I feel that there MUST be difference in the dough, right? My naan turns out more like pizza crust (delicious pizza crust) than it does flaky, stretchy, croissant-like, naan. How do you feel about kneading the naan dough? Or using baking powder instead of yeast? Or using cream instead of water?
Hi Matthew,
Everyone has a different recipe (even different restaurants will have different recipes) so you are probably right about the dough. We had tried many different versions of dough, some with baking powder, but it did not work well for us. We have not tried using cream.
Hey Ladies,
Would it be possible for me to make the dough ahead of time and then freeze it? And if so, at what point should I freeze the dough… after it rises? After it’s rolled out thin, into naan? Thanks for your help!
Matt
Hi Matthew,
You can freeze the dough after it has risen. To use it, just thaw it on the counter at room temp until the dough is soft. This may take several hours. You can then roll it out and bake.
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
thanks for the recipe. could you please suggest me the substitute for egg and flaxseeds powder, b’coz we are vegetarian and i don’t get flaxseeds powder here in UAE.
please suggest.
Hi Reena,
We came up with this recipe after many trials and errors. If you don’t use the egg or the flaxseed powder, the whole recipe will probably have to be changed. If you get whole flaxseed, you can try to grind it yourself.
thanks Hetal for your suggestion i will try with flaxseeds and revert.
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
I tried your recipe here twice but each time, my yeast/yogurt/egg mixture makes my dough watery so I had to add more flour so my dough will hold. I followed the measurement you have here though. what seems to be the problem.
Bing
The naan looks so soft & yummmy. Can we omit the step of yogurt as I want to make them vegan naan.
Thanks for the wonderful veg recipes.
Hi Neha,
We have not tried it without the yogurt or with vegan yogurt. Let us know if you do, would love to hear your experience.
Perfect everytime!!! Thanks so much!
I tried with eggs and with flexseed powder, both versions were awesome!
great job .. thanks for all yr receipes . i just hv a question where can i get food warmer ?
Anuja & Hetal:
Authentic naan is not prepared from flour leavened with yeast. It takes a lot of skill to prepare naan from unleavened flour, which the two of you absolutely do not have. Authentic naan tastes wonderful, not like the shit you cooked up.
McAdemia
Do you guys know if I can use my granite chopping board as pizza stone? It is about 1.5 inches thick & pretty sturdy.
Wonderful recipe and so easy. You ladies are wonderful teachers. Thank you so much for all your great tips.
Hi Anjua and Hetal,
You both are doing a fantastic job.. I have tried many of your recipes and they turn out perfect.. The highest temperature in my oven is 500F, but I have a question regarding placement of the oven rack, whether I have to keep it in the lowest rack or the highest because the lower element is on at 500F..
Want to mention the one thing i forgot to write in the last message. I made many of your curry/subzi recipes for previous potlucks which were great hit. Thanks to Anuja n Hetal. Please, guide me through the Naan recipe as i am planning on making this for the next potluck.
I exactly followed the recipe and made naan yesterday with a brand new pizza stone. The naan become very dense and hard, (more like crackers) at the end. I couldn’t figure out what i am missing here. Are they need to be rolled out very thin?
Can anyone give me a tip to make a better Naan that we use to have in typical Indian restaurants?
Hi Anuja and Hetal
First of all I love your website and have tried a couple of recipes and that has turned out good. I had a question regarding this recipe. Can I use the same recipe for my bread machine on dough cycle. Also Just wanted to share that I am a vegetarian and always replace 1cup of bisquick pancake mix for 2 eggs in every recipe and its worked well for me.
Thanks.
Hi Pooja,
Honestly, we have never tried this recipe in a bread machine so would be afraid to guide you with that – maybe a viewer who has tried it may pitch in an help.
Also, thanks for sharing the tip – sounds really interesting, we will try it out soon.
🙂
Hi anuja/hetal.
Did u ppl hear about egg replacer ( it can be found in new Seasons Store ) its a wonderful replacement of egg for vegan/vegetarian.I tried making cookies with that, it really came out well.
can u tell me is White flour avaialbe in U.S Stores same as the Maida?? Can we use that..???
Hi…I’m planning to make naan with chicken curry today..I don’t have yeast..can I use baking powder/ soda or Eno(fruit salt- for acidity)….please suggest..I’m waiting!!
Hi Endotwitter,
The yeast is a very important part of this recipe. There are many other recipes available that use baking powder/soda but we were not able to get the proper results without the yeast. Sorry.
My boss asked us desis at work for a naan recipe. While others told her not to bother making them at home, I passed on the SMTC link to her. This is how much I have come to trust your measurements and procedure.
Anyways, that got me thinking that I should try making the naans using this recipe myself too – just to check how they turn out. Coupled with my previous experiences and goof ups, I tweaked the baking process a bit. This is what I did:
1. I made sure the dough was still warm when I started rolling the naans. This ensures the dough doesn’t shrink.
2. I put the pizza stone on the lowest shelf of the oven and set the over at 550 F, the highest possible temp for my oven.
3. While the oven was heating with stone inside it, I rolled out the first batch of four naans – one stuffed with chopped onions, garlic and cilantro, one topped with just garlic, one with kalaunji and saunf and one plain.
4. When 550 F temperature was attained, I put the naans on pizza stone, closed the oven door, canceled the baking and put the oven on broil – please note that pizza stone remains on the lowest shelf.
Naans baked beautifully and was all puffed up in approx. three minutes. I took them out, put the oven on bake at 550 F once again and rolled out the second batch. Repeated from step #4 above.
Hetal & Anuja, thanks for giving out the perfect measurements for the ingredients. That made all the difference. These were clearly the best naans I ever baked at home. I served them with malai kofta my husband made – using your recipe:)
Hi Arpana,
Glad you enjoyed the naan. Thanks for sharing your experience as we’re sure it will help other viewers.
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
Tried this recipe.It came out very good .Thanks.My husband was also very happy.
Aish.
Hi Hetal/Anuja,
I need to buy flour, I have 2 options – regular and unbleached.
Can you please tell me the difference and which one shall I buy in order to use in cakes as well as naan.
Thank You
Hi Pia,
We always buy the bleached version. Please note that some cakes require cake flour which is milled more finely than regular all purpose flour.
What kind of yogurt shall I use to make the naan?
Hi Monica,
Any type of plain, unflavored yogurt will work.
If someone is still looking for buying a pizza stone – try Target these days. It’s on sale. I just got done picking mine for $6.67:)
Can we use melted ghee in place of the oil in this recipe? I feel that the taste would be better.
Hi Kym,
Yes, melted ghee will work fine.
Hi Hetal & Anuja ,
Both of u r doing a gr8 help by trying out the recipes together & letting us know about it ,so that even we can enjoy those.
** I am planning to buy a pizza stone for this recipe.I have question regarding prehheating.I read in a website that if we preheat the oven & then later place pizzastone for cooking the naan ,the stone will get a crack & it is safe to heat the oven & pizzastone together.But in ur recipe u have asked to preheat oven for 550 F degree & then place the naan on top of the stone.Can u please clarify this?
** My oven has only temperature settings till 500 F .Do i have to keep it for little longer?How longer do u think?
Answering these questions would be a gr8 help to me.Thank u.
Hi Aish,
Normally, you should heat the oven with the pizza stone in it. This way, the stone gets hot along with oven. Pizza stones do not usually crack if you put them in a hot oven…this happens if the stone is wet and you put it in the hot oven. So bottom line…heat the stone, pull it out just long enough to put the naan on it (or you can just slide the oven rack out and place the naan on the stone without removing it). If you oven goes only to 500 degrees, it may take just a minute or so longer (but keep a close eye on it).
Thank u for the reply.It will help me a lot .
Hi Hetal,
Many thanks for that. I tried th spicy chicken curry last night and everyone thought it was fantastic. You are so clever. I’m really looking forward to working my way through the others. Wales loves SMTC. Doilch as we say here …thanks
Many thanks to you for this fab site. I live in Wales UK and love curry as do most Brits. Yours is the best site available. I do have a problem ,however, what is ‘all purpose flour’? Could I use bread flour, plain flour or self raising for my naan bread?
Thanks again,
Clive
Hi Clive,
So glad you are enjoying SMTC! All purpose flour is plain white flour. It does not have anything added.
Hi,Hetal and Anuja,
I love watching your cooking video’s and have tried quite a few recipes which have come out great and tasty. I wanted to know where can I buy the oil bottle that you have used in this video. I love kitchen gadgets.
Thanks.
Hi Daksha,
I’m with you on your love for kitchen gadgets! 🙂 We got the oil bottle from Sur la Table.
I checked online and they have a different one with vinegar and oil together. Could you please tell me if you bought it from the store and the city.
Thanks.
Hi Daksha,
We bought it from the Plano, TX Sur La Table.
hi,i would like to know if i could a food processor to knead or to even to make the dough for naan..help..
Hi Pia,
Honestly, we have not tried using the food processor for naan dough. If you try it, be sure you mix the flour, salt and oil in the food processor first before adding the wet ingredients. Let us know if it works for you.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I have a quick question ” Where can I find flaxseed powder?”,
I couldn’t find it in Albertsons’s and Ralphs here in Southern California; if you can tell me where exactly I can find it that will be really great.
Thank you
Hello, I was wondering if there is a subsitute for the yogurt in the recipe, some of my friends do not eat dairy. will soy yogurt or milk work (maybe soy milk mixed with a little vinegar to make it thicker? [like buttermilk])? sorry if someone already asked this :S and thank you!
Hi Linda,
We came up with this recipe after a lot of trials and errors :). The yogurt really does help the texture. Unfortunately, we have not tried soy yogurt but we think it will work. If you try it, please post your feedback. Thanks.
will do!
Hi Anuja&Hetal,
Thank you for your wonderful recipes.Naan is my faaavorite bread I have tried so many times from different blogs every time i ended up with some thing….last time i tried your recipe on stove top they turned out soft and delicious.
Thanks again girls,
Hi Sree,
Thanks for the feedback. We have never really tried to make the naan on the stovetop. If you don’t mind, we’d love for you to share your method with the rest of our viewers who may not have an oven. Thanks again.
Hi Hetal,
Actually first i tried in the oven but they came out little bit hard,so i just tried your phulka method ha ha.. but here i used wire rack not directly on flame(medium heat).they came out soft.
Hope it helps.
Thanks Sree!
hi hetal & anuja,
i am a vegetarian …so i don’t want to use egg in naan..and could tell me where can i find the flaxseed powder…plz reply..i am planning to make it tonight….
Hi Noopur,
We buy our flaxseed powder (ground flaxseed) from Sprouts, a health food type store. Stores such as Central Market, Whole Foods, Market Street, etc will also carry it.
hi i have tried some of ur recipes and they have always turned out perfect. just wanted to know how i can make naans using a tawa over a stove top. i live in india and dont have an oven.
hi dear,
i like your recipies a lot they are easy to follow and turn ou as wonders. thanks a lot.i have a quick question can i make these nans in pizza maker as im planing to buy one, and only invest it if it is of some other use as well. please reply soon
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I tried out your Naan Recipe. I used exactly the same recipe, but my naans turned out very hard.
I used iron skillet instead of pizza stone. IS that the reason y my naan turned out hard????
Hi Krithi,
By the sound of it, yes, the iron skillet probably got too hot and dried them up 🙁
If you don’t have a stove, it’s better to use a baking sheet and flip them so both sides gets cooked 🙂
Hey Anja,
It was awesome…we had a great dinner. I had prepared it with Kala channa..followed the recipe from your website. Both turned out to be EXCELLENT!!! My hubby loved it..:-)
Your website has helped me a lot…Thankyou!!!
Hi,
In the naan recipe u stated “…bake in oven 550F…” – can u please clarify what “bake” mode in ur oven means ?
1) heat from BOTH bottom and above ?
2) heat from bottom only
Cos Hetal reply in March 2nd 2010 says”… in the bake mode, the heat only comes from the bottom. The naan should be baked, not broiled.” Im puzzled, in tht case – how did ur naans get brown from the top??
In Australia – Bake means heating from BOTH bottom n top. Grill is heating from the top. The ovens here cannot heat only from the bottom!
Hope to hear from u soon. Cos really keen to try baking some naans. Ur naans look awesome!!
Lissa
Hi,
I am waiting for the dough to rise. Quick question..I was not able to use the enitre yeast water for mixing the dough. I was able to use only 1/4th cup..the dough was sticky so stopped it. Is it fine???
Your early response will be appreciated. Thankyou!
Hi Misha,
The dough needs to be a little sticky…so if that was the case then good you stopped. Let us know if that works 🙂
Enjoy!
What a great website! I found you both on youtube and I am a self trained “chef”. Your site has helped me more than any of the others for learning Indian Cuisine. Your recipes and instructions have always been accurate. (A fact seldom seen on web recipe sites.) Thank you both for expanding my cuisines to include Indian/Asian, and please don’t stop!
बहà¥à¤¤ अचà¥à¤›à¤¾ काम सà¥à¤‚दर लड़कियों
P/S: Anuja your smile is always soooooo cute!!! I wish I could find an Indian girl interested in marrying a French-American.
Hi Mike,
Awww, thank you (blush)!
Hi
Nice recipe. You mentioned in your recipe it is 2 cups of all purpose flour right. Just wanted to know can i do this with 50 % whole wheat flour & 50 % maidha ie about 1 cup whole wheat flour & 1 cup maidha?
Thanks for your time & response in advance
Jayashree
Hi Jayashree,
Yes, you can do that but the taste is different. Give it a shot and let us know your feedback 🙂
hi Hetal/Anuja,
I am a great fan of yous and have tried several recipes of yours which all worked superbly. But today i just tried naan for dinner and it was utter flop. Dough had risen and everything was fine, but when i rolled them and put them in the oven it nevered fluffed nor became soft, they were as hard as bakri. I am very very disappointed with it. I had given importance to all the ingredients but still utter flop.
pls show us how to make undiyo/cookies.
thanks and keep up your good job going.
Hi Anuja &Hetal..
I din know that Naan was so very easy to make.i have a question ..i have a cake baking pan,can i use the same for making the naans in the oven (i know pizza stone works out well but for the time being will this work out).In this case should i have to use a aluminium foil on the pan. I would like to try the naans as soon as possilble.They look yummy!!!
Thank you!!
Hi Preetha,
Yes, you can use a baking sheet for this recipe. You will have to flip the Naan and cook on the other side as well (in case of a Pizza stone, that step can be omitted)
Enjoy your Naans 🙂
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
can we make Naan with wheat flour or atleast substitute some quantity of maida with wheat flour?
Thanks,
Jyothi
Hi Jyothi,
We have done a lot of experiments and tried to use wheat flour. Although you will be able to make it, it will not taste naan-like.
Let us know if you make it work.
Hi Anuja,
Thanks for the reply. Will surely let you know if it works. Please post kulcha recipe whenever possible.
Thanks,
Jyothi
Hi Joythi,
Will put kulchas on our list! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I found the pizza stone in round shape at target for $10. This will help all of you out there who can’t find pizza stone. I am serious about getting these naans right, so I even invested in the pizza stone. I tried cooking these naans three times, and each time the naan won’t cook from the bottom. First time, I placed the stone on the highest top rack (recommended in your video) and placed the naan dough on top once the stone was hot. The naans burned from the top (due to being too close to the flame) and didn’t cook from the bottom. It was not on broil setting but flame must have came from the top. I notice on “bake setting” my oven provides heat from both top and bottom. Second time, I moved the rack to higher than middle rack but the naans still didn’t cook from the bottom. Third time, I moved the rack to the middle rack and had to flip the naans to cook the bottom. I think pizza stone is preventing the naans from cooking evenly from the bottom. Please help.
Hi Kiran,
Sorry to hear your naan didn’t work. It looks like you heated the stone properly. It should be placed in the oven when you turn it on and heat up before placing the naan on. It works better if you don’t remove the stone from the oven…just slide out the rack and place your naan on the stone. Be sure you have all your naans rolled and ready before pulling the stone out. The problem could also be your oven. On most ovens, bake means the heat comes only from the bottom.
As kiran mentioned, i too got a pizza stone from target and i am facing the same problem…Naan is getting cooked only at the top and i need to flip it over to get it cooked on the other side…I am not sure what went wrong ????
hi anuja and hetal u both r lovly,i like naan very much … i just wan to know ,can we use dry yeast for naan? …if thr pls tell me how much should i put…….plz..plz hope u reply me…….
I am going to try this on Sunday. It seems like a lot of people are recommending the insulated container. Your recipe was definitely the softest dough! There is a Jewish holiday called Purim and we are making it a “Purim in India” theme. I lived the first 5 years of my life in Dehli but did not learn how to cook… 😉
Be sure to spread a little butter over the top after it’s finished baking and before you put it in the container. 🙂
I loved the Naan that I made, however there is a slight problem. The outside of the bread is a bit dry and hard. I used enough oil to coat it while it was rising. I’m not sure what to do about it! It just isn’t as soft and fluffy on the outside like at the restaurants!
Hi Celia,
What I usually do is put the naan in an insulated container while I’m waiting for the rest of them to finish baking. Those few minutes in an covered container really make them soft.
Can I make the Naan without yogurt and substitute soy milk instead? How come some recipes require milk while others ask for yogurt?
Hi Celia,
We came up with this recipe after experimenting with all kinds of different combinations of ingredients. So, to answer your question, we’re not sure how soy milk will react. Yogurt has some good bacteria that may be helping the texture of the naan. Maybe you can experiment on a small batch.
Hi Heetal and Anuja,
Just wanted to share this with you… today i tried Naan with whole grain flour and without eggs for vegetarian friends. It came out so wonderful and much better than those with all purpose flour. Just thru with the lunch and as i type this everyone is singing praises for the naan i served 🙂
Hi Reshma,
Thanks for your feedback. I’m sure it will help other viewers out there!
what do u mean by whole grain flour? I wonder if it is the regular whole wheat flour which we use for making chapathi..