Turn out perfectly textured naan every time with our basic step-by-step version.
Ingredients
- 450g (3 cups) bread flour
- 7g sachet (2 teaspoons) dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 185ml (3/4 cup) warm water
- 90g (1/3 cup) Tamar Valley Greek Style Yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 30g ghee, melted
- Sesame seeds, toasted
Method
- Step 1Combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix in water, yoghurt and oil. Knead dough for 5 minutes or until smooth.
- Step 2Place dough in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Step 3Meanwhile, preheat oven to 250°C. Preheat pizza stone for 40 minutes. Punch down dough then divide it into 6 portions.
- Step 4Roll out each portion of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12 x 20cm oval shape.
- Step 5Spray both sides of the dough with oil. Bake on pizza stone for 5 minutes or until puffed and light golden.
- Step 6Brush with ghee and top with sesame seeds. Wrap in foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Notes
Tricks: Baking naan on a pizza stone gives a similar result to a tandoor oven – the way it’s cooked in India. If you don’t have one, use a greased baking tray and preheat it for just 10-15 minutes. The flour mixture is quite thick, so in step one use a flat-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until the dough just comes together. Cook naan until it’s light golden. Overcooking it turns it crispy and hard.
Spice it up: To make sweet or savoury filled naan, roll each dough portion into a 15cm disc. Divide the filling (recipes below) among centres. Fold in the sides and pinch in the centres to enclose the filling. Roll each portion into 12 x 20cm oval shapes. Place, seam-side down, on pizza stone. Bake, 1 at a time, for 5 minutes or until puffed and light golden.
Aloo naan: Combine 2 mashed Golden Delight potatoes, 1 seeded thinly sliced fresh long green chilli, 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp garam masala. Sprinkle with toasted cumin seeds instead of sesame seeds.
Peshwari naan: Combine 3/4 cup finely chopped raisins, 1/2 cup finely chopped flaked almonds, 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachio kernels and 3 tsp raw sugar. Dust with icing sugar instead of sesame seeds.
Garlic and cheese naan: Combine 1 1/2 cups grated paneer or cheddar, 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander and 5 crushed garlic cloves. Sprinkle with shredded fresh coriander instead of sesame seeds.
- Author: Michelle Southan
- Image credit: Jeremy Simons
- Publication: Australian Good Taste