Quick Oven Baked Naan Bread
Soft Garlic Naan baked in oven. Easy to serve a large family homemade naan for dinner bread with your favorite side of curry.
Oven Naan bread and Indian curry for dinner!! It's Friday!!
Garlic Naan or Butter Naan or Naan Bread, no matter what you call it, a naan is quintessential bread side to an Indian-style meal and it taste delicious!
This naan recipe was my mission to share with you. A homemade oven baked naan which stays soft and does not get hard when cooked in everyday household oven. Score!
So, for anyone looking for authentic, soft fluffy naan bread recipe which can be baked in oven, in a big batch, for a big family?! I would say, you landed on the right post! You will be surprised, how a simple ingredient from refrigerator, with an old-school cooking trick can help bake world's best baked soft naan bread! I'm talking about better-than-restaurant-naans and forget-store-bought-naans kinda soft!
Also baking naans shortens the prep work to almost one third. You tell me? How long will it take to roll a dough flat and cut out small rounds say with a cookie cutter? I would say - 5 mins! Isn't it? These naans are that quick to prepare!!
Honestly, this recipe is evolution of my earlier garlic naan recipe. I thought, it would be nice to give an exclusive naan recipe which can be baked in oven and will not harden like rocks. Just so you know, modern home ovens can harden oven baked naan breads very quickly.
Until today, I shared with you naans which I make straight on the stove top. In case you don't have oven or just because you want to, jump to the Stove Top Garlic Naan recipe Or if you keen to learn more about baking soft naans in oven and may be bake a batch this weekend?! :) then, my friends, please read on...
I love to cook naans in oven in a big batch when some guests or more family members are around. You know, less perching on stove and every one happy, asking for one more naan or few demanding naan recipe too. ;)
Until now, often my oven-baked naans were getting too crisp and crusty than I like.... so I have been testing this recipe. With this batch, I was so satisfied, I have to share it! Intent was not to share this batch and make one some other day with pretty pictures.... Yet, naans were so soft that I could not resist sharing the recipe.
Okay, now first, let me share, what makes naan hard in oven?
1. Home ovens don't have that high heat which traditional Indian tandoor (clay oven) provides. So, in less heat, naan looses it's moisture very quickly.
2. Indian tandoor (clay oven) does not bake naan, it broils it with high flames which is way quicker than baking.
Then, how to bake soft butter naans in oven?
First time, I baked no-yeast naans. No-yeast naans had eggs in it and they came out way better, soft and lite with crusty exterior than my earlier tries. Then it clicked me, I have to compensate for the lose of moisture from naans. I tried one single trusty ingredient and a basic technique and it worked!
I was like: Why didn't it click me before?!
Honestly, my baked naans have started coming out so good and soft that I don't plan to perch on kitchen stove for cooking naan this whole summer! My apartment gets too hot to stand in kitchen anyways, so I'm so loving'em.
Plus, baked naans are so so quick to cook! I mean, really, after I mix the dough and set aside for rising. No lengthy rising, just 1 hour that too without any kneading.... just a few strokes to make dough soft... covered and left on kitchen counter.
Once dough has risen, I roll dough on a flour dusted board into a big large sheet as if getting ready to make doughnuts/cookies. No kidding! then I use 3.5" cookie cutter or large bowl and cut out rounds from the rolled dough. I slightly stretch the cut out naan with hand and place on baking sheet.
Now, old-school trick of baking soft naan in home oven is: piercing the naan with fork a few times.
What will this do?
Good question! Actually, naans have tendency to puff up in heat which separates the naan into two thin layers that become crisp like chips in heat... more like baked naan chips We certainly not serving those with curry! :) Isn't it? piercing the naan with fork does not let naan puff-up and keeps the moisture sealed-in which results in soft naans.
Oh, it stills can be used for naan pockets. Two layers separate easily even after piercing with fork.
I bet, you wondering what was the secret ingredient. Well, that ingredient is so so handy that it is already used in cooking naans. I just added it in a different way. Okay, no more guesses!
It is, just and just... 2 tablespoons of sliced cold butter! drum-rolls!!!!
This simple humble ingredient when mixed into the naan dough will provide soft moisture to naan bread making it lite like air when it comes out of everyday home oven. And kitchen!! It will smell like an Indian takeout is just ready to devour!
Let me quickly sum-up what makes this Naan Bread so special:
1. Quick cooking in batch. No long perching on stove or rolling one naan at a time.
2. Soft baked naans, homemade and much fresher than store-bought.
3. Worth mention, pennies for a batch of 8-10 naans instead of spending 10+ dollars in take out.
4. Petite size of these naans also make'em perfect to make sandwiches or veggie burgers, if you please! Or how about Naan Pizza!? yum!
5. Gosh! You guys, these naan breads taste so so addictive!! Please bake a bigger batch! :-)
:) So, don't wait, make a batch this weekend and impress your family with Indian-takeout aroma coming from your own kitchen!
PS: I didn't plan to take just these pictures to share baked naans. So, I will definitely add more photos whenever I'm baking some more naans. You know what, may be I will bake a few this weekend! How about you?
This week was Indian food week. I hope you enjoyed it!
Quick Oven Baked Naan Bread
(10 reviews)
Ingredients
Oven Naan DoughDirections
- 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
-
2.
Lukewarm 1/2 cup of water, add sugar and mix well. Sprinkle yeast over top. Let it sit until foamy. (about 10 minutes.)
-
3.
Add lukewarm milk, garlic, 2 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour, oil, salt over bloomed yeast and mix it together. Add 1 tbsp more flour at a time until dough comes together.
4.
Now, add pieces of cold butter and knead the dough briefly, just for 1-2 minutes in the bowl. Dough will be little wet. If feels too wet or sticky, add 1/2 tbsp flour more at a time. Dough should not be very dry.
Additional Notes:
Don't worry if butter is not fully mixed in dough. Little chunks are good.
-
5.
Coat the bowl with 1 tsp oil, add dough and coat in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and then with clean kitchen towel. Leave to rise at warm place until double in size. (1-2 hrs)
6.
This is how it looks after about 1 hr. Punch down the dough and transfer to work surface (flour dusted board)
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7.
Roll the dough to a big large 1/4 inch thick, 10-12 inch wide circle. No need to be precise, a rough circle will work.
8.
Cut out pieces of dough with 3.5 inch large cookie cutter or a bowl and stretch each piece with hand slightly, then place on the baking sheet, one inch apart. Repeat step 7 and 8 with any remaining trimmings. Prick naans with fork to make tiny wholes in naan.
Additional Notes:
I cut about 7 of these naans from this dough. They are small when cut from dough sheet, then I slightly stretch each with hand.
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9.
Preheat oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure oven is proper preheated. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. After first 9 minutes, switch on broiler for 1 minute. Remove from oven, brush hot naans with butter and let cool slightly.
Additional Notes:
No more than 10 minutes, please! Keep an eye after 8 minutes, if naan look cooked, just broil and take out. Longer in oven, harder the naan or any flat bread.
10.
Sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top and serve.
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60 Responses
Rabia
I made these & they came out so perfect! Can i make the dought a night before and leave it outside or do i refrigerate it ?Savita
Overnight refrigerated dough will so down the fermentation but will make crusty naans. If temperature outside is not very hot, I recommend mix dough at night and leave at room temperature.Leslie
I made this naan recipe today to enjoy with my 4 cheese spinach dip it was perfect and delicious. Thank you for sharing.Kelsie
Rising time should always be included it “Total time”, that’s why it’s called total. I love the recipe, but rising time is supposed to be included.Linda
Can I freeze naan breadSavita
Yes, you can freeze naan.K Springer
Wow. Ive tried two naan recipes before this one and both failed. Assume it was operator error, I really dislike cast iron, but regardless I was discouraged. Went looking for baked naan, and so glad I ended up here! Wonderful naan, and so easy to make. Ive heard it freezes well so am trying that out; would love to be able to make large batches and have some available all times. (And, once cold this heats up beautifully with just a few moments in the toaster.) Thanks so much for this recipe!Jacki
I made these today they were great I made him small like crackers though cuz I had made squash soup to go with it it was awesome. thank youSavita
Thanks for letting me know.Dana
Hi, Thankyou for the recipe! I will be making your naan tonight. I had only one question. You say to put them in the oven at 500degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees Celcius). And my oven only goes to 220 degrees Celcius, is this a problem? Kind regards, DanaSavita
Hi Dana, this naan recipe needs higher temperature to cook, in range of 475 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. I think 220 Celsius will not be sufficient hot. Being a flat bread, naan needs to bake quickly like pizza. So higher temperature is required as otherwise naan may not cook well (get tough or hard)J-zel
Hello, Savita. I just made these and they are wonderful! I followed your recipe almost exactly except that I didn’t use garlic (although we do love garlic) since I thought we might eat some of them with jam or honey. The other small change I made was to shape them by hand (I got 6) instead of rolling and using a cookie cutter. They were absolutely delicious, definitely a keeper! Thanks!!!Nathan
This naan is extremely easy to make and comes out delicious every time! I usually use two cloves of garlic because I love the flavor it adds; otherwise I wouldn’t change a thing. This naan isn’t quite as good as the very best I’ve had from an Indian restaurant with a real tandoor, but it’s much better than the kind from the grocery store, and it’s much cheaper than either. Thank you for the recipe!Jp
So good, so easy. I went looking for the leftovers just to find that the boys had eaten the rest of them, arrrrgh!Savita
That is such a sweet feedback! Thank you :-)Michelle
Wow this worked beautifully! I didn’t add garlic, just Nigella seeds but I followed your recipe and we all loved it! Thank-you so much! xSavita
Thanks for feedback, Michelle. I’m glad you enjoyed. Try garlic next time, it adds delicious flavor in naan.Ava
Just took the bread from the oven! It is so good and so easy to make. I did mix by hand with no problem!Savita
Awesome! Glad to hear that. Enjoy!Ava
Do I need to use a mixer or can I mix by hand?Savita
You can easily mix by hand. Use a wide bowl so that mixing and brief kneading is convenient. Please read Step - 4 on recipe card for more details.Jonny
What I get for not reading the entire recipe before making. The total time is really higher due to the rising.Savita
Rising Time is mentioned just below the Baking time. Rising time is not active time so it does not go towards time taken to prepare the recipe.noelle
So sad! There’s an advertisement blocking Step 2 & it’s Impossible to remove it! I make this recipe all the time and wish I could read itSavita
Hi Noelle, thanks for letting me know. I'll get this fixed today. I regret the inconvenience it has caused.Nicky
Hi Savita I am cooking a dinner for 110 people and want to serve your chicken yougart curry and these naan breads. I want to prepare the day before (I am not a professional !) and was wondering what you suggest so they dont dry out. Should I undercook and warm them up before serving ? Or freeze ? Do you have any suggestions please ?Savita
Hi Nicky, I have never kept these Naan overnight. In 5-6 hours, oven baked flat breads can loose moisture. Usually, when I make'em in morning... At dinner time, I wrap naans in damp clean towel and microwave for 5-10 secs at a time. This makes naan soft like just cooked. To make a day in advance, I recommend freeze and re-heat in conventional oven before serving. (Please note, I have not tried freezing these Naan. Sharing this based on my experience of freezing other flat breads. I hope it helps.)Dottie
Hi I’m planning to make these tonight - very excited! Your other recipe uses both all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Can that combination be used here also? Thanks!Savita
Hi Dottie, I don’t recommend wheat flour for this recipe. The flat breads can dry quickly in oven. Adding wheat flour speeds this process. Happy cooking.