Garlic naan is completely addictive! A warm, aromatic bread that’s soft on the inside with a slight crispiness on the outside and slathered with herbed garlic butter. This beloved Indian bread is both a staple and a delicacy. In this post, we will delve into the art of making garlic naan from scratch at home! And no, you do not need a tandoor to make it.
While the traditional naan is a treat in itself, infusing it with the pungent flavor of garlic elevates it to a whole new level of deliciousness. Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or an enthusiastic beginner, this recipe will guide you through the process step by step, ensuring that you achieve that authentic restaurant-style garlic naan in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Get ready to embark on a culinary journey, where you’ll discover the key ingredients, techniques, and tips that will enable you to create fluffy and flavorful garlic naan. From kneading the dough to perfectly baking it to golden perfection, we’ll cover it all. You’ll soon find yourself embracing the process, as the aroma of freshly baked naan wafts through your home.
So, grab your apron, dust off your rolling pin, and let’s unravel the secrets of making mouthwatering garlic naan. Prepare to impress your family and friends with this irresistible bread that will add a touch of authenticity to your homemade Indian feasts. Let’s dive in and unlock the enticing world of garlic naan together!
Why I Love This Recipe
If you’ve been here at My Kitchen Escapades since our 2008 beginning, it has never been a secret that my favorite food in the whole world is bread. It doesn’t matter what form it takes. I love it all. Especially when it is hot and freshly baked. My joke on social media is that hot, crusty bread is my love language. But, it is no joke.
I’ve been cooking a lot of Indian food at home recently and knew it was time to master making my favorite garlic naan at home. My biggest concern was how to properly bake it without a clay tandoor oven but my friends at America’s Test Kitchen showed me how to recreate a similar baking experience using a cast iron skillet, a lid, and a spray bottle of water.
What is Naan Bread?
Naan bread is a traditional Indian flatbread that is widely popular both in India and internationally. It is typically made from a combination of wheat flour, yeast, yogurt, and water, resulting in a soft and slightly chewy texture. Naan bread is traditionally cooked in a tandoor, a clay oven, which gives it a distinctive charred and slightly smoky flavor. It is often served alongside curries, stews, or kebabs, and its versatility has made it a beloved accompaniment to various meals around the world.
Garlic Naan Ingredients & Tools
- Bread flour
- Granulated sugar
- Instant yeast
- Kosher salt
- Whole milk yogurt
- Vegetable oil
- Ice water
- Fresh garlic
- Egg yolk
- Butter
- Fresh herbs like flat leaf parsley or cilantro
- Food processor
- Rolling pin
- Cast iron or nonstick skillet
How to Make Garlic Naan
If you can mix together a few basic ingredients in a food processor, you can make the best garlic naan bread at home!
Time needed: 12 hours
How to Make Garlic Naan
- Prepare the naan dough
This recipe uses a food processor to make the dough because it helps quickly incorporate the ingredients, including the fresh garlic. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a stand mixer.
- Raise the dough
You have two options when it comes to raising the dough for garlic naan. The preferred method is overnight in the fridge. This helps with both the flavor of the finished naan bread, as well as the texture. However, you can also let it rise at room temperature for an hour if you are short on time.
- Roll out the pieces of naan
The key to success in rolling out the naan dough is to remember that naan is supposed to be uneven and not perfectly round like a pizza. What is most important is to be sure the thickness is even so it cooks properly.
- Cook the naan on the stovetop
While traditional naan bread is made in a tandoor oven, you can create your own knock-off using a cast iron skillet and lid. And the secret to perfectly baked naan on the stove is to spritz the dough with water right before it goes in the pan to create a bit of steam under the lid.
- Apply the garlic butter
As soon as the naan bread is finished baking on both sides, slather on the garlic herb butter. You can do just one side, or go all in and butter both.
Recipe FAQs
Pita is a Greek bread and tends to be thinner and not as soft as naan. The addition of yogurt, egg, and oil to naan dough adds to how tender the finished Indian bread ends up. Naan is also made with a large variety of flavor variations, both by additions to the dough, and what is added to the bread after baking.
Garlic naan is a yeasted flatbread that uses fresh garlic, yogurt, egg, and oil in with the flour, water, salt and yeast. Those additions are what give garlic naan its trademark fluffy and tender texture.
Can I skip the overnight rise in the fridge?
For the best texture and flavor, the slow overnight rise in the fridge is best. However, you can certainly let the dough rise on the counter at room temperature for an hour instead. The result will be a bit more tough and not quite as flavorful, but still delicious.
How to store garlic naan
Keep the baked naan wrapped in aluminum foil to keep it warm. If you are lucky enough to have leftovers after your meal, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Pop them into a toaster to warm them back up.
Print
Garlic Naan
This may not be made in a tandoor oven, but this Garlic Naan turns out perfectly cooked every time!
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 naan 1x
Ingredients
2 cups (10 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/2 cup ice water
1/3 cup whole milk plain yogurt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg yolk
2 cloves fresh garlic, very finely minced
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Garlic Butter
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Place flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your food processor.
- In a bowl, mix together the ice water, yogurt, oil, egg yolk, and garlic.
- With the food processor running, drizzle the wet mixture into the dry. Process just until the dough is combined and no dry flour remains.
- Turn off and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Turn the food processor back and add the salt. Let it run until the dough forms a sticky ball and clears the sides of the bowl. About 1 minute.
- Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge overnight. See note below for a quicker option.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured countertop and cut into 8 even pieces. Roll into tight balls, cover, and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the garlic butter by mixing all the ingredients together.
- Preheat a cast iron pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Roll the rested ball into an even 9-inch circle. Use a fork and poke the surface about 30 times.
- Use a spray bottle and generously spray the top of the dough with water. Place into the preheated skillet, wet side down. Spray the other side generously with water and cover the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the bottom side is cooked and dark brown.
- Flip over and cover again. Cook for another 2 minutes, until dark brown spots form on the bottom side.
- Remove from the pan and brush immediately with the garlic butter (See note). Cover with foil to keep it warm and ready to serve. Prepare the next dough ball while the first one cooks in the pan.
Notes
For a quicker option instead of overnight rising, you can let it rise at room temperature for an hour. The texture won’t be as soft and tender as the slow overnight rise, but will still be good.
Serve this naan with Red Lentil Dahl and Cucumber Raita
This amount of garlic butter is enough to add butter to one side of all 8 pieces of naan bread. If you want to butter both sides, you’ll need to double the recipe.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 naan
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 17 mg
Keywords: garlic naan
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Andy says
This made me nervous to try but OMG this naan is crazy good. I did the quick rise option and it still turned out great. Next time I’m going to try the overnight in the fridge and see if it makes a big difference or not.
So glad you loved it and DEFINITELY try the overnight rise! It improves both the texture and the flavor.