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I remember waaaaay back to the days before I had children, a mere babe myself, a friend (hey April!) and I decided to whip up some naan bread from scratch. I don’t remember much (blame the mom brain?!) besides it taking hours, involving plenty of frustration, and turning out less desirably than the store-bought naans I could easily find for $0.50 a piece at the grocery store. I decided then and there that homemade naan fell in the NOT WORTH IT category.

So, for years, I bought store-bought naan thinking I wasn’t missing out on anything. But I stand corrected, I take it back, and apologize to all that I may have previously lead off course… homemade naan is 100% worth the effort. I just didn’t have the right recipe or method. (Sidenote: I do still buy store-bought naan from time to time, it is handy to have in the freezer for last minute meals!).

So, let me walk you through how to make sure you enjoy the fruits of your labours with naan.

First of all, something I’m learning with basically all yeast risen breads, is TIME makes all the difference. Cinnamon buns, pizza dough, rustic loaves, waffles…. what do these all have in common? They ALL benefit leaps and bounds in flavour from a slow overnight ferment/rise. And the same is true for naan bread. You can’t expect to have complexly flavoured naan with an hour and a half rise. It isn’t going to happen. So first things first – plan to mix up your dough the day before, or at least 6 hours ahead, just as you would for pizza. I love the added depth of flavour and health benefits of sourdough, so using my starter to make naan is a no brainer! If you don’t have a sourdough starter going yet, I would recommend Half Baked Harvest’s naan recipe using conventional yeast. When I make it, I leave the dough on the counter overnight, just as I would my sourdough, to get a similar sourdough effect. It’s delicious!

Secondly, method is key. Trying to take a shortcut, I tried stretching and shaping the naans with my hands like I do with pizza dough. Well, that was a fail. The naans were way too thick and ended up doughy in the middle and overly crispy on the outside. Rolling thin is key. You want the dough to be at least 1/4″, no thicker. I really find my french style rolling pin the easiest for the job. I like that it has a continuous long smooth surface. Dough used to get caught in the part where the handles met the pin of my conventional rolling pin, making it hard to clean and leaving uneven lines and ridges on my dough. Use whatever rolling pin works best for you, just be sure to roll your naan nice and thin (they will puff up in the pan, don’t worry!).

To curb the frustration of sticky dough, it is important to keep a well floured work surface, rolling pin, and hands. I keep a measuring cup of flour beside me to use continually as needed and the frustration I used to have rolling these out is gone. Also, learn from my mistakes and do not stack or let your rolled naan doughs touch – they will stick and you will be at square one. I lay mine on a kitchen towel, cutting board, baking tray, etc., and cover with a kitchen towel to keep moist. You can then layer more naans on that kitchen towel, top with another and keep stacking as needed, as long as there is a kitchen towel or parchment or something of the likes between the dough layers, and something to cover the top layer as well.

For the cooking part, I used to cook my naan bread in the oven and haven’t had great results from this method. I couldn’t get my oven hot enough to cook them properly so the texture was just never quite right. When I saw Half Baked Harvest‘s method of pan frying with a cast iron pan and lid, I knew she must be on to something. This replicates, as close as a home kitchen can, the moist but extremely high heat of a tandoori oven. It is important to heat your cast iron pan very hot. It should smoke and sputter furiously when you flick a drop of water in it. Keeping the pan well oiled is also key. Do not use olive oil as it doesn’t have a high smoke point. Any high smoke point oil will do. I use coconut oil and do not notice the taste of it afterwards. I add a dollop before each naan bread cooks. They only take a minute each side so the whole thing moves along quite quickly. To keep the cooked naans warm and moist, I like to line a dutch oven with a kitchen towel and throw the naan in the pot, with the lid on. The naans will stay nicely warmed this way for a couple of hours. Herb butter is the final touch. Just before serving, melt some butter and throw in a scattering of fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and brush the naans with the lovely mixture. It is phenomenal. The store-bought naans don’t even compare, you’ll see.

Now, I can’t deny that this is a fairly labour intensive recipe. It involves making a dough, rolling individual portions, and frying them individually. BUT the actual time investment really isn’t too bad. I always double the recipe when I make these. I figure if I’m going to go to the trouble of it all, I might as well have a stash to keep in the freezer for another time to show for it (it makes me sooooo happy to find these in the freezer on a rushed day!!!!). Mixing the dough takes a few minutes and then it sits by itself overnight or throughout the day, so that’s hands off. Rolling out the dough takes me about 15 minutes total (for a double recipe) and about 35 minutes to cook (again, that’s for SIXTEEN naan breads) one by one in the pan. For the end result of stunningly beautiful, deeply flavoured, chewy, crispy, perfect naan breads, again I deem this WORTH IT!!!!

I mentioned this in one of my Kitchen Basics posts – I think it’s important to the home cook’s sanity and success to only have one hands on component to a meal. So when I make this bread, I’ll serve it with some instant pot rice and a one pot curry that can be made ahead and/or easily simmering away untouched while I make these. I’ve even been known to use the Costco butter chicken sauce in a jar (gasp, shock, horror!). Guys, it’s pretty darn good! I also have a killer Dairy Free Butter Chicken recipe that goes fantastic with these naan. I’ll often make it when I have a stash of these already waiting for me in the freezer!

I wanted to clarify quickly that this recipe is somewhere between roti and naan bread (read about the differences here). I roll it quite thin and my sourdough starter is made with Rye flour, which gives the naan a hint of a whole grain look and taste. However, it is a risen bread and still quite soft, which qualifies it as naan bread. I can honestly say I prefer this recipe to the thicker, puffier, white naans (similar to Opa! style bread), but you’ll have to decide for yourself. It also happens to be a lot lower in calories and carbs due to the lesser amount of flour and longer fermentation time, which is always a bonus in my books!

Have you delved into the world of sourdough yet? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below, also feel free to leave any questions you may have about it. I’m hoping to do a complete sourdough post on here sometime in the near future. Talk to you soon 🙂

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This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!

French Rolling Pin – My brother talked me into getting one of these years ago and I like it SOOO much better than the conventional kind with handles. This way nothing gets caught in the dip between the pin and the handles and you have a longer smooth continuous surface area to roll out large dough consistently. This is my only rolling pin, I’ve had it for years!

Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Pan – My everyday go to, most used pan. I keep it on the stovetop because I use it so often there is no point in putting it away. I keep it nicely oiled and it is better than any non-stick pan I’ve ever had. It gives the best sear and I am happy knowing there are no weird chemicals or coating potentially going into our family’s food. The size is perfect for our large family. This is probably my number one staple piece of equipment in the kitchen.

Tempered Glass Lid for Lodge 12-inch Pan – It’s so handy having a lid for my cast iron pan to lock in the heat when I want to focus on steaming or cooking through foods after a good sear. Also so nice for keeping food warm if you need to let it sit for awhile. I was getting weary of ripping off sheets of tinfoil for this purpose – what a waste!