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How to Make Naan Bread {Step by Step Instructions and Pictures}

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Naan Bread is DELICIOUS!!! I love it with Chicken Tikki Masala, The warm chewy bread is perfect for scraping up every drop of the fabulous sauce. YUM! It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

I am super happy because I finally found a recipe that I love for making Naan Bread at home. Naan Bread is made from very simple ingredients, but the trick to having it turn out is the method in which you cook it. Don’t be intimidated. Just follow these step by step instructions and you will be a pro!

For best results you need to cook Naan on a stone in your oven. You can also get fairly successful results cooking it on a grill, but in my experience the stone in the oven method is the BEST! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2-4 cups all-purposte flour
4-5 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)
salt (optional)

Step 1: (Oops, I forgot to take a picture of this one, but just picture a small bowl of warm milk with a 1/2 tsp of yeast sprinkled on top of it.)

Add yeast and sugar to warm milk. (Milk should be about 100-110° it will feel like the temperature of bath water for an infant.) Let that mixture sit for about 3-5 minutes.

Step 2:

Add in 3 1/2 cups flour and mix in your mixer with a dough hook or hand mix. Sprinkle in more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to sides. Try not to exceed 4 1/4 flour. Dough will become smooth and Elastic. If using a mixer this will take approx. 3-5 minutes. If hand mixing you will need to mix and knead for approx 8-10 minutes.

Step 3:

Let dough rise, covered, for 2 hours. If you are in a hurry you can put it in a greased glass bowl, covered,  in a warm oven. To get your oven the right temp turn it onto 190-200° and let it preheat while you make the dough. Turn it off and let dough sit in warm oven for approx 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Step 4:

Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and make each one into a smooth ball.Let dough balls rest, covered with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, for 30 minutes.

Step 5:

Put stone or stones in oven while your oven preheats to 500°

Step 6:

 Roll out each piece of dough, I roll mine in a bit of an oval shape so I can fit two on each stone in the oven

Step 7:

Place dough on stone (I do four at a time) and cook (it will puff up) for 3-4 minutes or until top is starting to get small light brown spots. After 4 minutes if there are still no light brown spots on the top, don’t worry there will be spots on the bottom and it will still taste delicious!

Step 8:

Remove each piece carefully, and stack on top of each other so they will go flat. Brush each side with butter (I like to add 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and a few shakes of salt to my melted butter) and serve with your favorite Indian food.

Serve with

Green Curry with Chicken and PotatoesGreen Curry with Chicken and PotatoesBasmati Rice with Turmeric and PeasBasmati Rice with Turmeric and PeasChicken Tikka MasalaChicken Tikka Masala {TMH}

4.8 from 21 reviews
How to Make Naan Bread {Step by Step Instructions and Pictures}
 
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Perfect Naan Bread. Tastes like it is from an Indian Restaurant. Simple and fun to make. I like to use reconstituted powdered milk in this recipe because I can just add the powdered milk to warm water and not have to worry about heating the milk.
Author:
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups warm milk
  • ½ tsp yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3½-4 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 4-5 tbsp melted butter
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder (optional)
  • salt (optional)
Instructions
  1. add yeast and sugar to warm milk, let stand 3-5 minutes
  2. add salt and 3½ cups flour to milk mixture and mix in mixer with dough hook for 3-5 minutes or about 8-10 minutes if mixing by hand, Sprinkle additional flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to the sides. Do not exceed 4¼ cups.
  3. Let rise for 2 hours or do the quick oven rising method described above in step 3
  4. Punch dough down and divide into 12 equal pieces.
  5. Form pieces into balls and let rest for 30 minutes (cover with plastic wrap or clean dish towel)
  6. Put your stone(s) in oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees
  7. Roll out dough balls to desired thickness (about the size of a small tortilla)
  8. Cook rolled out dough on stone for 2-4 minutes
  9. Stack cooked Naan on top of each other and brush each side with butter
  10. (If you desire you can add ¼ tsp garlic powder and a couple shakes of salt to your melted butter)

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107 Comments

    • I know, right! I am glad I am not he only one who gets excited about things like that. Your kids are going to LOVE this naan bread. My little family is crazy about bread too, and we finish off a whole batch at one meal. Thanks for taking time to leave a comment, Aubri. I just hoped over and looked at your blog. Those peanut butter bars look FABULOUS!

      reply to this comment

      • If anyone is interested in making home made flour tortillias,,I’d be happy to share my grandmothers recipe.
        Like all flat breads from Middle East, flour tortillias should be included into the Flat Bread hall if fame.Although from.south of our borders, they’re Easy to make, similar ingredients, bake on top of your stove with a cast iron griddle, large cast iron pan or outside your grill.

        Easy to store, if your family leave any after they taste them. Roll um,sruff um,dip or just plain, these have similar attributes, warm chewy yumminess!!!!

        To add to Naan ideas, buttermilk or plain yogurt and sea salt adds to the authenticity for this Middle Eastern jewel of a flat bread.

        Those of you who don’t have buttermilk, take a cup of which ever milks on hand, add lemon juice or fresh squeezed and about a tablespoon, you’ll watch it turn into buttermilk, tadda! Oven baked, griddle or outdoor grill, cooking Naan is in the tastebuds of the maker..Naan is yummy however its cooked..

        reply to this comment

    • I am allergic to dairy (but very bad about avoiding it) and we’ve been making this recipe with soy milk or almond milk. It’s delicious and causes no problems with the recipe. Just make sure to get the unsweetened and not vanilla flavored milks if you are doing savory naan!

      reply to this comment

  4. Hi,

    Thanks for this great basic recipe. I ran out of rice here today and needed something quick to go with the curry.

    I just made it on the BBQ outside as its too hot here today (we are in Australia) to turn on the oven. It had a delicious smoky taste from the hotplate. Now to explore some other websites to get ideas for herbs to add! Oh and I used Multigrain flour as I was all out of plain and it was nice.

    reply to this comment

  7. Thank you soooo much for this! I have never made naan bread before but you just can’t have a curry without it – my husband normally does a run to the local Indian takeaway just to pick it up! But today I decided I would do it myself….what a success! My two boys (5 and 3) gobbled up their korma, rice and naan bread. Apparently it was better than pizza!

    reply to this comment

    • It sounds like your boys like it as much as mine. They gobble it up with the meal and then any leftovers there may have been are gone by breakfast time the next day. I am so glad you gave the recipe a try. It is easier to make your own then you think. I am starting to prefer the homemade over our local Indian Restaurant now. 🙂

      reply to this comment

          • I’m concerned with the stones at 500 degrees. I thought the pampered chef stones say not to exceed 400?? I may be wrong. Apparently yours hv not broke.

          • I have never had one break and I also cook my pizza on that high of temp. It might be because I start the pans out in the hot oven so they warm as the oven warms and I also leave them in when I turn the oven off and take them out when they are cooled. The concern with stones breaking (I think) is when they have extreme temperature change.

    • I cook it all up and then use it for panini’s or grilled cheese sandwiches. You could freeze the cooked naan, but the uncooked dough may not last too long in the fridge. I am so glad you loved the recipe. It is one of our families all time favorites!

      reply to this comment

  14. My family loves it! My husband had just polished off the last of the milk in the fridge when I realized I needed milk for this recipe, so I used powdered milk out of the pantry and it turned out just fine.

    reply to this comment

  19. Thanks for the recipe Maria, I’ll never buy naan from the supermarket ever again !!! I followed your recipe (I made a half amount and had to convert “cups” to ounces but it worked perfectly) and finished the naans off by brushing them with warmed butter infused with garlic and coriander leaf.
    They were deliciously light and tasty and went perfectly with my curry… FANTASTIC !!! <3

    reply to this comment

    • Yeah Darren! I am in love with this recipe too. I am so glad you like it and were able to convert it to fit your needs and taste. What kind of curry did you make? I love curry and would love to try your recipe!

      Maria

      reply to this comment

  20. This was delicious and so easy to make. My husband is from India and was impressed with me making homemade naan. Normally we have to buy it from an Indian Restaurant or grocery store, now I can make my own. Thank you.

    reply to this comment

  22. I cannot wait to make this naan bread. If I prepare the bread say two days prior to an intended Indian meal, I assume that I place them in the fridge. How do you suggest that I warm these up prior to dinner without losing any of the wonderful texture?

    reply to this comment

    • Emanual,

      The bread is really best fresh. I suggest making it as close to serving as possible. If you have to make it a couple days in advance, freeze or refrigerate it. If you freeze it let it set out and defrost and then warm in oven or toaster oven. Same re-heat method for refrigerated bread.

      Good Luck,

      Maria

      reply to this comment

  23. This looks so fabulous and delicious! I love naan! I have a question though, does this bread turn out bendable? Like if I were to use it almost like a taco shell and bend it in half would it break apart or keep its shape?

    reply to this comment

    • It does turn out bendable. Every once in a while I get a piece that is a little cruncher then the others but I think that is caused from over cooking it a little. I like to use leftovers the next day for paninni’s and I just bend a big piece in half. It works great.

      reply to this comment

  24. I’ve got a question about the proofing that you suggest (preheating oven to shorten rising time). Will this method work with other breads as well? I work late and when I come home I like to make pita bread for my wife. I don’t always have the time to let the dough rise for over and hour. Some websites suggest heating your oven to about 120*F but my oven won’t go that low.

    reply to this comment

    • I use the oven method for rising often, I haven’t ever made pita bread so I can’t say for sure, but it has worked for all other breads and rolls I have tried it with. I heat my oven to about 180-200 degrees and then turn it off when I put the dough in.

      reply to this comment

  25. Thanks for the recipe, my kids and I loved it. We made it with just plain butter to go with butter chicken but we had so much dough left I chopped up some chocolate and mixed it in and then cooked the regular way. Yum!

    reply to this comment

  27. Hi,
    I tried this recipe and it was very nice.
    My nann didn’t all puff up and when
    Eating it it was a bit doughy
    Is that because I did something wrong
    or is it normal??
    Also can I use a stone pizza try that has
    Holes in the bottom of it ????
    Cause I don’t have the one that is
    Shown in the pictures.
    Other wise what can I use???
    Thanks heaps. :))

    reply to this comment

    • Hi Hedieh,

      The Naan should not be dough.y Some pieces puff more then others during the cooking process but it should at least get a few air bubbles in it. How thick was it when you rolled it out. It needs to be quite thin to cook properly.

      reply to this comment

  28. Hi Maria,
    Thanks for ur reply that gives me a
    Better understanding.
    I think some might have been a little bit
    Thicker then others.
    I was wondering though if I can use a
    pizza stone tray or pan that has holes
    in the bottom of it,is ok to use??
    Because I only have the ordinary
    aluminium trays.
    Thank u..

    reply to this comment

  29. You can try the stone with holes in it, I cant see why it wouldn’t work. I have never used one though so I can’t guarantee the results. Good luck, I hope it turns out great!

    reply to this comment

  33. I just tried this naan recipe with your chicken tikka masala. Even with botching the flour to liquid ratio a bit at the start, these turned out SO great! Sadly, I had neither cooking stone nor cast iron pans, so the bottom side was pale as anything. They puffed up great though, and tasted awesome. I loved your idea of adding garlic to the butter, which gave them a tasty extra layer. I can easilly see many customizing ideas for different herbs and flavours!

    Both bread and chicken turned out great, and was gobbled down by my family of four. Thanks, and greetings from coastal Norway!

    reply to this comment

  34. Hi Maria,

    Your naan bread recipe is heavenly yummy and so easy to make!! I drizzled some olive oil & sea salt…..ummmmm… Im going to be overdozesed with home-made naan!!
    Thank you soooo much!!

    reply to this comment

  37. This is a recipe I’ve been searching months for. When I served in Afghanistan the locals ate naan all the time, usually in a pizza style, covered with toppings. A popular afghan style naan is garlic, butter, and honey, surprisingly good. Thanks!

    reply to this comment

  39. Hi Maria, so looking forward to trying your recipe, hope it works out for me too – for the oven temperature when cooking, wats the conversion to Celsius(Just to double check) ? & should I set that Celsius temperature to fan forced?

    reply to this comment

    • Hi Nadia, it would translate to 260 degrees celcius. I do not have a fan forced option on my oven and I am not familiar with that, so I can’t say whether or not you should use it. You are going to love this bread…it’s sooooo good!

      reply to this comment

  40. Hi, Maria:
    Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! I made a little change by adding half cup yogurt into the dough, and use only 1 cup milk, turns out very good as well. Don’t know if this yogurt is necessary but seeing the food network using it.

    reply to this comment

  41. Hi Maria! I have used this recipe many times in the past few months, my fam is just crazy abt it! Best naan recipe of all time. Worth more than 5 stars. Thank u so much for sharing it with us! You’re a rockstar!

    Making naans as I type this 🙂 xxx

    reply to this comment

    • You can roll dough into balls and freeze them on a cookie sheet, but you need to do it quickly before they start to rise again. After they are frozen put them in a freezer zip loc bag to keep them fresh. When you want to bake them take them out and let them thaw and rise before baking.

      reply to this comment

  45. I grew up in India in small town about 200 families, in the middle of the village we had two Tandoors (clay ovens) and evening time was great as kids used to play on the streets, having tea at the same time, people get together and women will make their naans turn by turn. We don’t eat naan everyday. We (my family) prefer chapattis on daily basis and naan somtimes. Since moving to Canada 1994 I never tried making naans. Love u r post. This puts me to shame. I will definitely make naans @ home this weekend. 🙂 Thank you for inspiring me to make naans 🙂

    reply to this comment

    • I can just picture your small town. I want to go make naan there with the other women….sounds so peaceful and wonderful! Thanks for taking time to read my post and leave a comment. Have a great day!

      reply to this comment

  46. Thanks for this simple and fabulous recipe! Our girls love curry with naan, your version turned out perfectly. So fluffy and lovely. We had it with a veg curry flavoured butter chicken spices, along with vanilla lassi.

    I used fresh yeast in place of dry, doubled the quantity, brushed butter on both sides and sprinkled fresh garlic ahead of baking on a cookie tray with wax paper, in an electric oven with setting on fan plus overhead and undeneath grill on. My cheapie oven doesn’t have a level for the heat suggested, so I turned the knob to the ‘max’ ending – it might be around 270 celsius. For all these variables, it was still perfect! Next round will be on the BBQ hotplate with the hood down.

    Thanks again, will reuse amply.?

    reply to this comment

    • Hi Ivy,
      I am so glad you like it! We love it too. It is so much easier to make then you would think. I am glad you figured out how to make it work in your oven. Thanks for taking time to come back and let me know you liked the recipe. 🙂 Have a nice day!

      Maria

      reply to this comment

  48. For a unique even better flavor, use a salt stone instead of a regular stone.
    It will impart more dark spots that are much more flavorful!
    A mongolian trick to making the best flat breads 🙂

    reply to this comment

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