Easy Homemade Naan Bread

Warm, homemade griddle naan, made from a yeast dough. It's better than store-bought any day.

Yes, yes, I am aware that if naan is said with the proper aahh sound for the As, that title doesn’t rhyme for us Americans. Still couldn’t resist. Pretend you are Queen Elizabeth II (God bless her in her 60^th year of queenship!) and now, it rhymes.

This recipe is so easy that, time available for rising and what not, there is no reason to buy naan pre-baked in a store to reheat. You can have soft, tasty naan right in your own home. Will it taste like it was baked on a hot stone or brick oven? No, but neither does that store-bought stuff. I can promise you that it will be delicious. And, like all bread, it smells heavenly while you cook it.

Easy Homemade Naan Bread

Ingredients
1/2 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (Pop the balance in the freezer to keep fresh for next time you want to make this – or double the rest of your ingredients to use the whole thing, but still only use ONE egg.)
1 cup or 240ml warm water
1/8 cup or 30g sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
2 – 2 1/4 cups or 250-280g flour
1/8 cup or 30g butter, melted

Method
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy.

Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. You may not use all of the flour.

Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth.

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball.

Roll into balls, and place on a tray or plate. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, preheat non-stick skillet or pancake griddle to high heat. Warm your oven and put a tray inside for your naan to stay warm on after you cook them. I also add a bit of tin foil so I can fold it over the naan just a little bit.

Roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle.Lightly brush the surface with the butter.You will want to stretch this as much as you can because it tends to shrink back up when it hits the pan.

Place dough in pan, buttered side down and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned on the bottom.

Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes.

This is the first side down.

This is the second side down. I turned it back over so you could see.

Remove from pan and place on warm tray in the oven. Continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Enjoy!

These are wonderful served with potato curry, salmon tikka, Burmese curry or Tarka Dal.