There really are fewer things in life that are more satisfying than tearing fresh made Garlic Butter Naan with your hands and sharing it with friends and family. If making your own bread is an intimidating thought, this is a perfect place to start. It is a very easy and forgiving dough to work with and it cooks up quickly. All that is really needed is to set aside some time to let it rise.
Pairing this with Chicken Tikka Masala, Fresh Paneer Tikka Masala, butter chicken, or even using this for pizza crust will not leave you disappointed! (P.S. Don’t forget the Refreshing Mango Lassi!)
Garlic Butter Naan Ingredients
The ingredients for this naan bread include:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Water
- Whole-Milk Plain Yogurt
- Kosher Salt
- Active Dry Yeast
- Melted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
Instructions
Making this homemade naan is a fairly straightforward process with simple ingredients. The real magic happens with two proofing stages. This provides a sturdy, extensible dough that is easy to work with, and produces a fantastically soft, fluffy texture after it’s cooked.
- Step 1 – Bulk Proofing: After the dough has been combined and kneaded, cover and let rise in a warm spot for the one hour bulk proof until doubled in size.
- Step 2 – Pre-Shaping: After the bulk proofing, punch down the dough. Lightly knead back into a ball, and divide into 8 even pieces. Working one by one, stretch the dough into a rough ball and pinch the seams together on the bottoms. Using the friction from a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece into a tight ball. I use a gentle scooping or cupping, circular motion to bring the balls together on the countertop. The surface of the dough balls should be fairly taught, and spring back when pressed with your fingertip.
- Step 3 – Second Proofing: Place the rolled dough balls onto a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, a damp kitchen towel, or an inverted second baking sheet. Let rest in a warm spot for an additional 30 minutes. The dough balls will roughly double in size.
- Step 4 – Final Shaping: Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into an approximate 9-inch by 5-inch oval on a lightly floured countertop. The dough should be no thinner than ⅛th of an inch, and no thicker than ¼ of an inch at this stage (about . Make heavy dimples in the surface of the dough using your fingertips, taking care not to go all the way through. You can end up with thin spots if you press too hard, which can burn easily. Dimpling the dough helps create the signature small air bubbles and charred spots once cooked. If you skip this, it can cause the dough to completely puff (like pita bread), which we want to avoid.
Proofing Pictures
The Second Step: Dividing and shaping the dough.
Cooking Methods
Much like my Chicken Tikka Masala recipe, naan is traditionally cooked in a tandoor oven. These can reach temperatures over 900°F. Mimicking this in a home kitchen is nearly impossible. However, there are several options that can get us close:
- Grilling – I have found that preheating a charcoal or gas grill to the highest heat manageable yields the best results. Cooking over direct heat allows steam to quickly generate the signature blisters and charred spots you see on naan. As long as you stay close to the grill, you should be fine. The high heat can burn things if you’re not watching carefully.
- Pizza Stone/Steel – I have found the second best option to use is a pizza stone or steel preheated to 500°F. This does two things: (1) provides a decent amount of puffing/blistering and (2) you can cook more than one at a time.
- Skillet/Griddle/Grill Pan– The last and final method I recommend is to use a large skillet, griddle, or grill pan on the stovetop. You can get decent color on your naan with this method, but it can take a good bit of time with eight individual dough balls. Additionally, using a large griddle or grill pan can help speed things up, but can be difficult to manage with two separate heat zones/burners.
Garlic Butter Ingredients
Brush the finished naan with gently melted butter, a pinch of salt, finely minced parsley and cilantro. The brightness from the herbs complements the richness of the garlic butter to make a perfectly balanced side-dish! This naan also lets you forego using a fork when you serve this with any Indian or curry dish – like my Chicken Tikka Masala or my Handmade Paneer Tikka Masala recipes (both are linked below – seriously, go check them out!). It’s the perfect vessel to get a bite of rice and curry.
Did you make this recipe for Garlic Butter Naan?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don’t forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Garlic Butter Naan
Equipment
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Pizza Steel Optional
- 1 Pizza Peel Optional
- 1 Stand Mixer and Dough Hook Optional
Ingredients
Naan
- 2 ½ Cup All Purpose Flour (388g) Plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon 6g kosher salt (6g)
- 2 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast (11g) or 1 Packet
- ½ Cup 90°F Water (135g)
- 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar (5g)
- 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter or Ghee (25g) Melted
- ½ Cup Full Fat Plain Yogurt (120g)
Garlic Butter
- 4 tablespoon Unsalted Butter or Ghee
- 2 Cloves Garlic Finely Minced
- 2 teaspoon Cilantro Finley Minced
- 2 teaspoon Parsley Finley Minced
- Pinch Kosher Salt To Taste
Instructions
Naan
- In the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine four and salt. Mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Let bloom 5 – 10 min.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in yogurt and melted butter or ghee. Knead until dough is smooth, approximately 5 minutes.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise until doubled, approximately 1 hr.
- Preheat oven and pizza steel to 500°F for 1 hr. (Alternatively – preheat your gas grill on high 10-15 min. before you plan to cook.)
- While oven is preheating, punch down and divide dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Form the dough in to balls, and pinch the seams at the bottom. Use a lightly floured work surface to roll the dough into balls (see pictures in the blog post for more details). The outer surface should be slightly taught once done.
- Cover and let rest for an additional 30 min for the second proof.
- Working one at a time, roll the individual dough balls into an approx. 9-inch by 5-inch oval (no thicker than ¼” thick) on a lightly floured work surface. Dimple the dough heavily with fingertips and set aside.
- Using a floured pizza peel, or non-rimmed baking sheet, transfer dough to the preheated pizza steel and bake for approx. 5 min. Flip and bake an additional 4-5 min until blistered. If grilling, use tongs and place on preheated grill and cook over direct heat for 2 – 3 minutes. Flip and cook the remaining side for an additional 2 – 3 minutes.
Garlic Butter
- While the dough is resting for the second proof, add the butter or ghee to a small sauce pan and gently melt over medium heat.
- Add the garlic, cilantro, parsley, and salt. Stir. Butter can be kept warm on the stove until naan is finished.
- Brush the cooked naan with garlic butter and serve warm.
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