Sourdough Naan

I love flatbreads — with bean or lentil based stews and curries, with Za’atar and olive oil, and used in place of flour tortillas for soft tacos. (Unfortunately most store bought flour tortillas have hydrogenated oil.)

I came across this recipe on Instagram and modified it very little. No baking powder needed in my opinion, but yes a dash of salt, and I like a little butter brushed on the bread before flipping. Here is a short YouTube video of naan being flipped on the fry pan.

I’ve used sourdough starter in all states of growth and dormancy, and the naan has come out great. I’ve also experimented with mixing the dough and leaving it in the fridge for days and days. The resulting naan was delicious and this gives you flexibility to make something fresh and special at the last minute.

While I almost have the recipe memorized, I wanted to write it up so I don’t forget the details or have to keep referring to my notebook scribbles.

This makes 8-10 naan (total uncooked dough weight ~670g).

You’ll need a 10-12 inch cast iron fry pan (this leaves plenty of space at the edges for amateur flipping skills).  Also, a bowl, plastic wrap to cover the dough, a rolling pin, basting brush, and a metal or stiff spatula.

INGREDIENTS

275g (2 cups) flour, all purpose and/or some whole grain

200g (1 cup) sourdough starter (any state of activity)

120g (1/2 cup) warm milk

75g (1/4 cup) plain yogurt

pinch of salt

little bowl of water (to brush on one side of dough before frying)

little bowl of 2 Tbsp melted butter (to brush on other side of dough before flipping)

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all the dough ingredients in a bowl until they are incorporated.

If using that day, cover and set aside for 1-2 hours in a warm place, such as the oven with light on.

If using in the future, cover and put in the refrigerator. I’ve left the dough as many as four days.

COOKING TIME

When ready to cook, scrape the dough on a lightly floured counter, roll it into a tube and cut it in 8-10 pieces.

Start warming up a cast iron fry pan on your stove at medium heat.

Roll out a dough piece into a circle (ish) shape about 1/4 inch thick. Flour your rolling pin and counter if needed.

Brush the top of the rolled out dough with water.

Place in the hot frying pan, water side down.

When the naan has bubbles all over the top and is starting to curl under at the edges, lightly brush it with butter and then flip it over.

Cook until both sides have dark golden brown areas.

Cool on a rack.

TIPS

You can roll out each naan while cooking the previous naan and be done in about 20 minutes.

Your first naan might be a little unattractive as you gauge how hot you want your pan to be and when to flip.