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Close up of cooked easy naan bread with coriander and garlic butter.
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5 from 9 votes

Easy Naan Bread Without Yeast

This Easy Naan Bread made without yeast is soft, fluffy & really easy to make. Perfect homemade accompaniment to any Indian curry and so handy for mopping up your plate clean. You’ve got to try it!
Course Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Bread, Easy, flatbread, Naan, yeast free
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 8 naans
Calories 164kcal
Author Jo Allison

Ingredients

  • 250 g self-raising flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon nigella seeds (black onion seeds) lightly toasted if desired
  • 3 heaped Tbsp full fat natural yogurt see notes
  • 115 ml lukewarm water see notes

Coriander & Garlic Butter

  • 50 g unsalted butter (melted) see notes
  • 1 clove garlic minced, grated of finely chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoon fresh coriander (cilantro) finely chopped

Instructions

  • Put flour, salt and nigella seeds in a bowl and give them a bit of a whisk with a fork or balloon whisk.
  • Add yogurt and start mixing it into the flour mixture with your hand adding some lukewarm water bit by bit as you mix. Only add enough water to make your dough come together. You might not need the entire 115ml / ½ cup. It will depend a lot on the flour you are using too.  
  • You will get nice and flexible dough that is slightly rough and sticky. You will not need to knead it for a long time only to bring it together to shape a ball. Put the dough ball back in a bowl and cover with clean tea towel and leave to rest for anything between 30-60 minutes (however much time you’ve got). The dough will not raise during this time as there is no yeast. 
  • Take the dough ball out of the bowl and put on a kitchen counter dusted lightly with flour. Divide the dough into 8 equal size balls. Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand and stretch it lightly into the oval shape 15-18 cm long.
  • Cook your naans under the hot grill for about 2 minutes on each side, until they puff up and start to brown slightly. Timings might differ depending on your grill and the size of your individual naans. Feel free to cook them in a frying pan instead (see tips above).
  • Keep cooked naan bread wrapped in a clean kitchen towel as you cook the remaining ones. This will keep them soft until you’re ready to eat them.
  • Prepare Coriander & Garlic Butter by gently melting the butter in the microwave or in a small pan on the hob. Once melted add chopped coriander and minced garlic and mix well. Brush the mixture over hot naans. 
  • Enjoy with your favourite curry!

Notes

  • Nutritional information is approximate, per 1 naan bread and should be treated as a guideline only.
  • This naan bread recipe is easy to adapt to plant based diet by substituting dairy yogurt with your favourite plant based one and regular butter with your favourite vegan block butter. 
  • Naan breads are best eaten on a day but can also be reheated if need be. They freeze really well (without coriander and garlic butter) for up to 3 months. For more see paragraph above. 
Tips:
  • Original recipe suggests one hour of resting time for the dough. I’ve tried one hour and slightly less than thirty minutes without any difference in the final product.  I suggest that you leave it to rest for anything between 30-60 min depending on the time you’ve got available.
  • You can toast nigella seeds in a dry frying pan to make their flavour more intense but it’s not necessary. You can also substitute them with cumin seeds which go really well in naan bread. 
  • Feel free to make your naan bread either under the grill or if you prefer in a frying pan or a skillet just like my Easy Flatbreads.
    Simply pour 1 teaspoon of oil onto a hot frying pan and cook your naans until they puff up and start browning at which point you simply flip them and cook the other side.
  • Make sure you don’t leave your naan bread unattended under the grill as the timing between undercooked and burnt might be literally a blink of an eye. When they puff up and start getting brown, they are ready.
  • Keep naan bread wrapped in a clean tea towel as you grill/fry some more. This will keep them nice and soft and prevent from drying out. 
  •  

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 0g | Vitamin A: 165IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.3mg