Homemade Naan Bread is DELICIOUS!!!
I love it with Chicken Tikka 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 have it turn out is the method by which you cook it. Don’t be intimidated. Just follow these step-by-step instructions, and you will be a pro!
For best results, 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!
Step-by-Step Instructions for How to Make Naan Bread
Step 1: (Oops, I forgot to take a picture of this one, but 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 the sides. Try not to exceed 4 1/4 cups flour. Dough will become smooth and elastic. If using a mixer, it 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 on to 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 the 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 and cook for 3-4 minutes (it will puff up), 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 and serve with your favorite Indian food.
Tips for Making Naan Bread
- 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.
- To shorten the rise of the dough, preheat the oven to 190-200°. Put the dough in a greased glass bowl and cover it. Place it in the oven, turn the oven off, and let the dough sit in the warm oven for approx. 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Roll the dough into an oval shape to fit two pieces on the baking stone.
- For best results, cook the Naan dough 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!
- If you have more than one baking stone, you can bake four pieces at a time (see photos above).
- I like to add 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and a few shakes of salt to my melted butter.
Chef’s Tools for Naan Bread:
Serve Naan Bread with...
- 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)
- Whisk the warm milk, sugar, and yeast together in the stand mixer with the dough hook. Let stand 3-5 minutes.
- Next, add the salt and 3½ cups flour to milk mixture. Mix 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 flour.
- Cover and allow to rise for 2 hours, or do the quick-oven-rising method as described above in Step 3.
- Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal pieces and form them into balls.
- Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and let them rest for 30 minutes.
- Next, place the baking stone(s) in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
- Roll out dough balls to desired thickness with a rolling pin (about the size of a small tortilla).
- Bake the rolled-out dough on the stone for 2-4 minutes.
- Stack the cooked Naan on top of each other and brush each side with melted butter. (If you desire, you can add ¼ tsp garlic powder and a couple shakes of salt to your melted butter.)
- Enjoy!
YAY! Can I just say that I’m SO excited that you can make 4 at a time? I have 5 kids, and they have a bread obsession, so I need to pump out bread quickly! Looks easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing!
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!
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..
I would love to have a home made tortillas recipe. As far as I am concerned nothing tastes better!
Here is my recipe for whole wheat tortillas https://reallifedinner.com/how-to-make-whole-wheat-tortillas-step-by-step-pictures-and-instructions/
Hi – Can you do this with non dairy milk, such as almond/ soy milk?
Thank you!
Hi Adelina,
I have never tried it with anything but cows milk, but It should still rise normally it may just have a slightly different flavor, but I bet it would still be delicious!
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!
This recipe is so easy and so delicious ! Very authentic naan! Thank you for this recipe!,
Thank You Grace! I love this recipe so much, so easy and comes out as good or better then Naan from the restaurant. Every time I make it I feel like a rock star! 🙂 Thanks for taking time to leave a comment! I am so glad you like it too!
Maria
Do you mean fresh yeast of dry yeast?
Hi Christel, Dry yeast.
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.
Yummy! I haven’t ever tried it on the grill. I am glad to know it works. Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment! 🙂
Maria
Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it! I was in India years ago and we ate naan for breakfast, warm with a little butter and orange marmalade. Yum!
Yummy! I like to use the leftover the next day and make a panini out of it. Naan is the BEST!!!!
Hi dear
This recipe looks scrumptious but can u please tell me if unit of oven temperature is Fahrenheit or Celsius
fahrenheit! I am actually making some right now for our dinner tonight. 🙂
Thanks dear…..and one more thing, gas oven or electric oven does that make any difference.
either one, my oven is electric. People have even had great success cooking this directly on their outdoor gas grills.
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!
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. 🙂
Just tried this recipe., absolutely superb, thanks
You are so welcome! Thanks for taking time to come back and let me know you made it and liked it.
Maria
I try this and it was amazing but I had a question for you can you tell me where you got the stones for the oven I think that would make it more better. Thank you
Hi Blanca, I am glad you tried it and liked it. I got my stone pans from thepamperedchef.com. Cast Iron pans also work great in the oven if you have one.
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.
Maria, the recipe worked perfect! thank you.
I loved this recipe!! I tried this recipe tonight was so lovely! My only issue is I have so much dough left as it was just for two! Do you have any ideas what I can so with left overs?
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!
Wow great recipe! I’ve made this several times already. It is so easy and quick! No more store bought naan.
Amen Brenda! It is soooo yummy, we like it even better then the Naan from our local Indian Restaurant. 🙂 So glad you like it and thanks for coming back to let me know!
can i use oven dish only not stone
I have only tired stone and cast iron….you could give it a try and see what happens. I wouldn’t use porcelain or glass though. Maybe try a cookie sheet or metal pan.
Hi, Any idea where we can get the stones in Australia??
Can you order them on line from Pamperedchef.com?
I got Pizza stone in one store in Brisbane. Will that work??
Yes, that should work perfectly. Just remember to put it in the oven while it is preheating. Sometimes stones can crack and break if they go from one extreme temp to another to quickly.
Thanks Maria for sharing this wonderful naan recipe. …I just tried this and this is awesome. My kids and husband loved it.
Yeah! I am so glad. We can’t get enough of it around here.
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.
Awesome! I have totally used powdered milk too. I can’t tell a difference. So glad your family loves this recipe! Thanks for taking time to come back and let me know!
Maria
Mine did not poof up like the picture and the texture was really dense like a doughy tortilla. I followed the directions. Any suggestions?
You may need to let it rise longer, make sure it doubles in size….also check your yeast it sounds like it may not have activated very well or at all.
So there is no need to fold the dough before cooking? Seems like naan breads tend to be hollow on inside? (like they’re two flat parts put together)
Yes, no need to fold, it puffs up in the oven making it kind of like pita bread. so if you want to you can pull the two layers apart when you are eating it.
Hi Maria, your recipe is damn easy, the easy steps made my work comfortable, I just used some rubbed mint and garlic and it taste great!!Thanks again!!:)
Thanx for this beautiful recipe can i use self raising flour instead of using plain flour and yeast ????
You could give it a try! I have never used it so I can’t say for sure. Let me know if you try it and it works.
Great recipe. I added tasty cheese, minced garlic and herbs to the dough. I also cooked it on the BBQ. Absolute winner. Thanks for the recipe can’t wait to cook it again.
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know. I love the idea of adding cheese and minced garlic!
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
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
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.
Awesome! I am in love with this recipe too. Glad your husband was impressed. 🙂
I don’t have stone, could you use cookie sheet instead?
I have heard the cookie sheet doesn’t work well, but I have never tried it. I have used cast iron and had great success though.
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?
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
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?
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.
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.
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.
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!
Have made this a couple of times soooo easy and soooo good. Added some Caraway seeds last time – absolutely delicious!’
So, does the baking instructions translate to the average cookie sheet? If so, would the temperature change too? Or would there be a whole nother recipe?
Regular metal cooking sheets will not cook the naan correctly. The best things to use are stone, cast iron or you can try grilling it.
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. :))
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.
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..
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!
I finally found a great and easy way to make naan bread. Thank you!
Hi, I’ve just tried this recipe and it was amazing. Simple and very tasty. Would it work with gluten free flour?
Hi Sarah,
I haven’t had much experience with gluten free flour, so I can’t really say, but it would be worth a shot. If you try it let me know how it turns out.
Maria
This was my first time to make naan and it was really REALLY good i have to confess i had my doubts because every time i try making bread it fails horribly.
Yeah Ruby!
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!
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!!
Oops….I meant “overdosed”…
Hi Maria,
Your recipe looks easy enough for me to try
You can totally do it and you’re going to love it! 🙂
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!
Hey Maria. Thanks so much for this recipe! Turned out perfectly!!! Legend!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking time to come back and tell me.
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?
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!
Thank you for that Maria – unfortunately my naan stuck to the stone, I used the pizza stone to make it. I followed everything exactly (just half the quantity), the only difference was my oven temperature by 10 degrees, since my oven only goes to 250 degrees Celsius ???? 🙁
That is strange, try seasoning the pan first next time.
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.
Awesome! I will have to try that sometime. Thanks for letting me know!
The naan what I did it will be chewy and hard little bit next day any advise to solve this problem.
Thanx
It is best the day of. I reheat mine in my toaster oven and use it for a personal pizza or sandwich on the second day.
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
Awww, thanks Ally! I just love this recipe too. It has seriously improved my quality of life. 🙂
Woohoo
first time maker and am making for lunch now. Am very excited
just saw a food show on tv and they use naan bread instead of hotdogs bun and all their customers loved it.
Can keep the rest of the dough in d freezer? N how to do it? Thanks
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.
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 🙂
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!
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.?
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
Thank you for the naan bread recipe, will be trying it soon.
you are welcome! 🙂
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 🙂
I’ve never heard of a salt stone. Do you have one you like best? I’d love a link to one.
I did the recipe and the bread come out perfect, delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Awesome! So glad you gave it a try. It’s one of our very favorites!