Home cooked Naan bread? Any simple options?

[HangTime]

Probably my favourite bit of Indian food is Naan bread. I went to Hyderabad a couple of times for work and the naans were truly excellent, a perfect blend of fluffy and crispy and moist, I could quite happily have eaten nothing but that I reckon.
One of my annoyances is I've had with Indian ready meals is the naans are terrible, all stodgy and/or dried out and just not a patch on proper naans. Texture is really important to me with food and I've never had a good naan at home.

I'm not a particularly good / adventurous cook so the idea of trying to make them from scratch scares me. Is there anything I can do like buy a particular type of naan bread / mix, cook it in a particular way etc so I don't end up with a piece of cardboard?

 

[cheesyboy]

There was a home made naan thread on here a few years ago. Can't say I ever made time to try it, but this video was highly recommended

The thread;

Home Made Naan Bread

After playing around with pizza dough this past year and being reasonably happy with my attempts, I fancy having a go at Naan. The typical supermarket varieties are a far cry from what you get in your local restaurant and are often very "cakey", lacking the lovely taste and texture. From my...

forums.overclockers.co.uk

 

[ArcticHeron]

Any bread that requires any degree of leavening will take a bit of effort, but naan is easier then most and takes relatively little effort.

I used this recipe for years and still occasionally go back to it when I only have an hour or two to spare.

https://www.recipetineats.com/naan-recipe/

 

[aVdub]

I'm sure a while ago one of the lesser brands from an Aldi or ASDA was pretty half decent.

You can also freeze naans.

Might get a good deal on a large batch from the local take-away.

 

[jpaul]

Use the same dough I use for pizza (sourdough starter poolish, that has been made up into a dough in the bread machine, usually then refrigerated for several days until I need it)
cook them under the grill at highest temp on a oiled baking tray, one at a time, turning once about 5minutes a side, could probably paint with melted butter if feeling indulgent.

 

[iGiDK]

I did an Indian cooking class at Nick Nairns place a few years ago, amazing day I'll need to see if I've still got the printouts of the recipes.

Their recommended way to do naans at home was to use an old wok with the handle removed and put it upside down over a gas flame, and then drop the dough on top, turned out great!

Bit like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/qb5bke/just_saw_another_members_post_about_home_made/

 

[SimonRigga]

I tend to buy these. sprinkle water on them and grill or bake for a couple of mins.. then brush with melted butter or ghee, if you really want that naan experience.

They are not the same as takeaway naan's but then without a tandor, it's going to be quite hard to replicate.

 

[Martynt74]

As above, those style of naans are about as good as you'll ever get shop bought.

 

[gingergundog]

I find those Clay Oven naan not far off the takeaway versions, really good. The Waitrose efforts are great too.

If you do make one add some black onion seeds, makes a big difference.

 

[famas]

I make homemade naan's and pita breads regularly, similar method to the ones in the video posted above, however I have an induction hob so use a plumbers torch with mapp gas to charr one side.

They puff up every time and taste amazing. I sometimes add nigella seeds for a slight aniseed flavour, delicious! I've not found anything shop bought that comes close.

 

[***F1ZZY***]

I tend to buy these. sprinkle water on them and grill or bake for a couple of mins.. then brush with melted butter or ghee, if you really want that naan experience.

They are not the same as takeaway naan's but then without a tandor, it's going to be quite hard to replicate.

Those ones are pretty close to restaurant style, what you don’t get from the picture is the size. They are huge compared to many supermarket ones.

 

[***F1ZZY***]

I did an Indian cooking class at Nick Nairns place a few years ago, amazing day I'll need to see if I've still got the printouts of the recipes.

Their recommended way to do naans at home was to use an old wok with the handle removed and put it upside down over a gas flame, and then drop the dough on top, turned out great!

Bit like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/qb5bke/just_saw_another_members_post_about_home_made/

Chapati pan or tawa is pretty close to an upturned wok. Just not as deep.

 

[Personality+]

My guilty pleasure as well, happily spend 1/3rd of the budget of my takeaway on the Naan will follow the recipes as store bought doesn't come close (for me) to what I get when I order in/go out.

 

[Malevolence]

Probably my favourite bit of Indian food is Naan bread.

I know an Iranian guy who would take umbrage at that comment.

 

[seabiscuit]

We've used our electric pizza oven (see other La Cuisine threads, Ferrari G3), and cooked reasonably decent naans from dough. Is it as good as a full tandoor, no of course not. But is it better than pre-made, sat on supermarket shelves for 2-3 weeks? Maybe? I've enjoyed them at least. And adding some black onion seeds into the dough makes them a bit tastier than many supermarket ones too.

 

[BUDFORCE]

I tend to buy these. sprinkle water on them and grill or bake for a couple of mins.. then brush with melted butter or ghee, if you really want that naan experience.

They are not the same as takeaway naan's but then without a tandor, it's going to be quite hard to replicate.

Yup we get those but the garlic and coriander ones they are pretty decent.

Good enough to not make it worth the hassle of making them yourself.

 

[Capt Doufos]

Will have to try these. We are clearly doing it wrong currently.