Simple Garlic Naan Recipe (Traditional Indian Bread) (2024)

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3.82 from 148 votes

This Simple Garlic Naan is so quick to make and this Indian bread takes no baking. You can make this garlic naan in a skillet or griddle pan on the stove top.

Whilst the dough does have yeast in it I promise this is super easy to make and even if you have never made a yeast dough before you can learn how to make delicious Indian style bread at home.

What is better than serving your curries with a homemade Indian bread recipe?

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Simple Garlic Naan Recipe (Traditional Indian Bread) (1)

Naan Bread using a yeast dough recipe.

This simple garlic naan bread uses a really easy yeast dough. Please don't worry if you haven't cooked with yeast before. It is fun stuff and really isn't as scary as people think.

The recipe uses just a handful of ingredients.

AP flour (see notes below)
Dried instant yeast or Dried active yeast
Salt
Sugar
Oil
Warm water

Once you have the ingredients measured out, the mixer creates the dough and then you let the yeast do its magic.

It really is fabulous to watch.
Unlike most yeast dough recipes, this one doesn't need to prove for hours. Just 20 minutes is enough to let the yeast start to work.

Once the dough is ready to use, you can use your hands or a rolling pin to shape it into naan breads. I like to create the traditional teardrop shape, but as long as your bread fits in your skillet or griddle then the shape doesn't matter.

Simple Garlic Naan Recipe (Traditional Indian Bread) (2)

Measuring the flour

The recipe calls for 1 ½ to 2 cups of flour. This is to account for the difference in the way we all use cups to measure flour. You want the dough to be very soft and almost sticky, this will give you the softest naan breads.

When you roll it out you will add extra flour to the board so don't worry if when you leave it to prove if it is still a little sticky.

I had a couple of comments that the dough was really very sticky, so I did some extra testing. I found that of the 4 sets of US measuring cups that I own each 1 cup measure gives me a different weight of flour!

I have a favorite cup set (they fit in my dishwasher without turning upside down during a wash!) and when using them I need 1 ½ cups. When using a set of ceramic measuring cups I needed almost 2 cups of flour!

So whilst I would love to give you an exact flour measurement in cups, I can't 🙁

Add 1 ½ cups of flour to the mixer, let the dough mix and if you need to add extra flour add up to ½ cup more to get a soft slightly sticky dough.

What is the difference between Dry instant yeast and dry active yeast

Dried instant yeast and dried active yeast can be used interchangeably in recipes, but if you have dry active yeast then it needs to be dissolved in the water, before you add the other ingredients.

I always use dry instant yeast as it is a little faster and gives me great results. The recipe in the card is written for instant yeast, but in the notes section there are directions for if you have dry active yeast.

Simple Garlic Naan Recipe (Traditional Indian Bread) (3)

Can you freeze yeast dough?

You sure can.
You can either freeze it as soon as you have mixed it or freeze a portion after it has risen.
The yeast will lay dormant in the freezer and as you defrost the dough it will start to come back to life and make you naan bread puff again.

How to cook naan bread in a skillet/griddle

The dough should be soft, so lightly flour your board or work surface to stop it sticking.

Roughly divide the dough into 3 pieces and then roll each piece out until it is a little thicker than ¼ inch thick. Don't be too worried about it, just roll it out so it will fit in the skillet or griddle, if some bits are thicker than others it won't matter, just try and get it anywhere between ¼" and a ½" thick. (6mm-9mm)

Once the dough has been rolled out, you want to get the skillet/griddle super hot, so the dough cooks instantly.

Place the dough on the skillet and let it cook for 1-2 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. It should puff in places and get some good color on the bubbles.

Remove the bread to a plate and drizzles with the garlic butter (or eat plain). Cover with foil whilst you cook the next naan bread.

Simple Garlic Naan Recipe (Traditional Indian Bread) (4)

What to serve with these Garlic Naan breads?

These simple garlic naan breads are perfect with curry, but don't just stop there, they are also great with stews and soups!

Chicken Rogan Josh
Indian Rice Pilau
Kachumber
Lamb Dopiaza
Chicken Jalfrazi
Red Lentil Dhal
Spiced Coconut Potato Soup

Simple Garlic Naan Recipe (Traditional Indian Bread) (5)

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Simple Garlic Naan Recipe (Traditional Indian Bread)

Claire | Sprinkle and Sprouts

This Simple Garlic Naan is so quick to make and this Indian bread takes no baking. You can make this in a skillet or griddle on the stove top. Whilst the dough does have yeast in it I promise this is super easy to make and even if you have never made a yeast dough before you can learn how to make delicious Indian style bread at home. What is better than serving your curries with a homemade bread recipe.

3.82 from 148 votes

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Ingredients

For the naan breads

1 ½ - 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (see note 1)
1 teaspoon dried instant yeast (see note 2)
½ teaspoon table salt
pinch sugar
¾ cup warm water
3 tablespoon oil (see note 3)

For the Garlic Butter

½ cup salted butter
2 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
2 teaspoon dried cilantro

Instructions

To make the dough (STAND MIXER METHOD)

Set your stand mixer up with a dough hook.
Place the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low to combine.
Pour in the water and oil and mix on low for 10 minutes until you have an elastic dough.
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave it to rise for 20 minutes.

To make dough (BY HAND METHOD)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
Add the water and oil, then use a fork or butter knife to combine all the ingredients, once you have a raggy looking dough, start using your hands to bring the dough together, until the sides of the bowl are clean.
Empty the dough on a floured board and knead the dough for 15 minutes.
Place in a bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave for 20 minutes.

To form and cook the dough

Once the dough has sat for 20 minutes, punch it back down and then divide the dough into three roughly equal balls.
Place one ball on a floured board and use your hands or a rolling pin to form the naan breads into oval/teardrop shapes (ensure they will fit in your skillet/griddle). (see note 4)
Put a heavy skillet/griddle over a high heat and allow it to get searingly hot.
Place the dough onto the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes, it should start to puff up and charr lightly.
Flip the bread and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
Remove to a plate and drizzle with the garlic butter.
Cover with foil and keep in a low oven whilst you prepare the other breads.

To make the Garlic Butter

Place the butter in a small microwavable bowl and microwave for 45-60 seconds or until just melted.
Stir in the garlic flakes and dried cilantro.

Notes

Not all cup measures are created equal, I have found that my 4 different sets all give me a different amount of flour! And then depending on how you fill your cup, the quantity of flour will vary quite significantly as well!
I lightly pack my cups and then level them off. Start by adding 1 ½ cups of flour and mixing it, if you find the dough is too wet, add up to ½ cup more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
If you have scales in the house, then this is the perfect time to use them.By weight you need 10.5oz/300g of flour.
The recipe calls for dry instant yeast, I use either, Red Star Quick-Rise, Fleischmann's RapidRise or Lowan Instant Dried Yeast.
If you have dry active yeast, then you can use that but you will need to adapt the recipe as follows:
Measure the water into the mixing bowl first and dissolve the yeast. To do this just sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the water and leave for 5 minutes. You can then add the remaining ingredients and proceed with the recipe.
3 tablespoon of oil = 45ml of oil. (The recipe uses US/UK 15ml tablespoons rather than the AU/NZ 20ml tablespoons)
The dough should be soft, so lightly flour your board or work surface to stop it sticking. Roughly divide the dough into 3 pieces and then roll each piece out until it is a little thicker than ¼ inch thick. Don't be too worried about it, just roll it out so it will fit in the skillet or griddle, if some bits are thicker than others it won't matter, just try and get it anywhere between ¼" and a ½" thick. (6mm-9mm)

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Nutrition

Nutrition is per serving

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