Hands down, these were my best naan yet! I think I had to convince myself to go with the lightly oiled pan as well as brushing butter on the naan itself before putting it in the pan – but it was SO worth it.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup warm whole milk
- 1 cup full fat plain greek yogurt
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, melted and divided in half
- 2-4 cloves garlic, grated
- 3/4 cup chopped mixed herbs (such as parsley, cilantro, chives, and/or dill)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, honey, and yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture begins to bubble on top.
2. Add the milk, yogurt, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 2-4 minutes. The dough should be sticky. Dust lightly with flour and knead the dough into a ball using your hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size, or if not using right away, overnight in the fridge.
3. When ready to cook divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a large oval, about 8 inches long and about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining dough.
4. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, you want the pan screaming hot. Brush both sides of the naan with half of the melted butter. Drizzle the the skillet with a teaspoon of olive oil, then carefully use a paper towel to wipe the oil around the skillet. Place the naan on the hot skillet, immediately cover with a lid and cook for 1 minute, bubbles will form. Flip and cook, uncovered for another 1-2 minutes, until large toasted spots appear on the underside. Remove from the skillet and wrap in a clean kitchen towel. Repeat with the rest of the naan, keeping them wrapped in a towel while you work.
5. To make the garlic herb butter. Melt together the remaining half of the melted butter plus the garlic. Heat over low heat until the butter is lightly browned and the garlic golden. Remove from the heat and add the herbs. Brush the garlic herb butter over the warm naan and serve. These are best served warm, right off the skillet, but leftovers are still delicious. Keep stored in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Even from this photo you can see little air pockets waiting to puff up, and you can see how soft the dough is. With only two of us to cook for during this Covid 19 pandemic, I cooked up 4 of them, and rolled the other 4 out to put in the freezer. One busy day ahead I will have naan ready for the fry pan, and I’m pretty happy about that.
This is one of those “sometimes” recipes where you just have to go with full fat milk and full fat yogurt. Of course, if you aren’t able to do that, they will still be delicious, just not quite as delectable.
Naan is perfect for dipping in this creamy coconut shrimp curry.
Thanks for this amazing naan recipe go to http://www.halfbakedharvest.com
I love her recipes – they always seem to turn out perfectly – I didn’t change a single thing on this. If you don’t have a stand mixer, no worries, just mix by hand and then get your workout kneading the dough until it is soft and not too sticky.