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Flatbreadbeginner

NaanRecipe

Yogurt-enriched flatbread from a hot skillet.

hand stretchedhot skilletyogurt

Last updated

About this ratio

Naan is the soft, chewy, blister-spotted flatbread of Indian and Central Asian cooking — pillowy and pliable, built to scoop up curry or wrap a kebab. It is leavened (unlike a roti or a tortilla), so it puffs and bubbles, and it is enriched with yogurt and a little fat, which is what keeps it tender and gives it that faint tang rather than the plain wheat flavor of a lean flatbread.

The defining ingredient is the yogurt. Between the yogurt and the water the total liquid lands around 75%, a high hydration that keeps the crumb soft and slightly stretchy. The acidity and fat in yogurt tenderize the dough and add flavor you cannot get from water alone; recipes vary the yogurt-to-water split widely, and the more you lean on yogurt the softer and tangier the naan. A little oil (8%) and a touch of sugar (1.5%) round it out, with 1.2% yeast for a moderate rise.

Technique is all about heat. Traditional naan is slapped onto the wall of a blazing tandoor; at home, the closest approximation is a cast-iron skillet or heavy pan preheated until it is genuinely screaming hot, dry, with the lid on to trap heat and steam. The dough hits the pan, bubbles within seconds, and chars in spots within a minute or two — that fast, fierce heat is what gives naan its leopard spots and keeps the inside soft instead of drying it into a cracker.

Brush with melted butter or ghee the moment it comes off the heat, and add garlic, cilantro, or nigella seeds before cooking if you want a flavored version. Best eaten hot, within minutes — like most flatbreads it stales fast.

At a glance

At its default setting, this Naan recipe makes 6 pieces at about 100g each — about 600g of dough in total. In baker's percentage that breaks down to 320g Bread or all-purpose flour (100%), 128g Yogurt (40%), 112g Water (35%), 6.4g Salt (2%), 3.8g Instant yeast (1.2%), 4.8g Sugar (1.5%), and 26g Neutral oil or ghee (8%). Change the pieces or enter a target dough weight in the calculator and every amount rescales to match, in grams or ounces.

Recommended hydration

60–85%

Gluten-free adaptation

GF naan works with a , 5% , and yogurt for tenderness. Skip the optional egg or replace with extra yogurt. Roll between two sheets of parchment to avoid tearing — GF flatbread dough is sticky and fragile. Griddle technique is identical to wheat naan.

View as

Switch to scale a tested gluten-free version of this recipe. The calculator, ingredients, and nutrition all swap to the adapted formula; the underlying method tweaks appear above the wheat instructions.

Calorie-conscious

Switch to scale a leaner version of this recipe — the same bread with fats and sugar pulled to their lowest sensible amounts. The calculator, ingredients, and nutrition all update to the lean formula.

Make

6flatbreads

Display unit

Total dough

600g

  • 320gBread or all-purpose flour100% baker's
  • 128gYogurt40% baker's
  • 112gWater35% baker's
  • 6.4gSalt2% baker's
  • 3.8gInstant yeast1.2% baker's
  • 4.8gSugar1.5% baker's
  • 26gNeutral oil or ghee8% baker's

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Step-by-step method

How to bake this Naan

Yogurt makes the dough tender; a screaming-hot skillet does the work of a tandoor. These come out blistered and slightly chewy, ready in about 2 hours start to finish. Brush with melted butter or ghee right off the heat and don't skip the garlic if you have any handy.

01

Mix

8 minutesroom temperature
  1. 1.Combine flour, yogurt, warm water (~80°F / 27°C), oil, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl or stand-mixer bowl. Warm water (not hot) keeps the yeast happy without curdling the yogurt.
  2. 2.Mix on low for 2 minutes, then medium with a dough hook for 5 minutes. By hand: knead 7 minutes on a lightly oiled counter.
  3. 3.The dough should be smooth, slightly tacky, and have some bounce.
02

Bulk fermentation

60–75 minutes78°F / 25.5°C
  1. 1.Cover in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise until nearly doubled.
03

Shape

15 minutes (5 + 10 rest)room temperature
  1. 1.Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (~100g each). Roll each into a tight ball.
  2. 2.Cover and rest 10 minutes. This lets the gluten relax so the dough stretches without springing back.
  3. 3.When ready to cook, stretch each ball gently with your hands into an oblong about ¼-inch thick. A rolling pin works but loses some character.
04

Griddle

3 minutes per piece500°F / 260°C cast-iron (very hot)
  1. 1.Heat a heavy cast-iron pan over medium-high for at least 5 minutes. You want it ripping hot, just shy of smoking.
  2. 2.Lay one stretched naan in the dry pan. After ~30 seconds, large bubbles will start to rise. Cook 60–90 seconds until the underside is blistered with dark brown spots.
  3. 3.Flip and cook the second side 45–60 seconds. It browns faster.
  4. 4.Transfer to a plate, brush with melted butter or ghee, and stack covered with a towel to keep them soft while you cook the rest.
  5. 5.BROILER METHOD (closer to a tandoor): preheat a cast-iron skillet under your oven's broiler on high for at least 10 minutes. Slap one stretched naan onto the screaming-hot skillet, slide back under the broiler for 60–90 seconds until it puffs and chars. The radiant heat from above mimics the tandoor wall — bigger blisters, more char, more puff than stovetop. Use oven mitts; the skillet is dangerously hot. (Kenji López-Alt / Serious Eats documented this method as the closest home-oven substitute for tandoor cooking.)

Cook one at a time and don't crowd the pan. The dramatic puffing and blistering only happens when the pan is hot enough.

Frequently asked

Questions about this recipe.

  • How do I scale this Naan recipe to make more or fewer loaves?

    Use the calculator on this page. Adjust the output count or per-loaf weight; every ingredient amount updates automatically. You can also enter a total dough weight and the calculator works backwards. The Naan recipe is written in baker's percentages, so it scales proportionally without changing the bread's character.

  • Can Naan be made gluten-free?

    Yes — see the "Gluten-free adaptation" section on this page for specific ingredient swaps and method changes. The bread won't be identical to the wheat version, but a workable gluten-free version is possible.

More general questions about ratios, hydration, and the calculator on the FAQ page.

Background concepts

More Flatbread breads