Cast Iron
by: Carey Nershi
September26,2013
4.7
11 Ratings
- Prep time 1 hour 10 minutes
- Cook time 32 minutes
- Makes 16 naan
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
This naan is wonderfully easy to make, and the results are delicious. It can be made on a pizza stone or in a cast iron skillet on the stove top. I’ve found that I prefer the latter, as it still cooks up beautifully and it doesn’t require opening a hot oven every minute. You can also add your choice of flavorful ingredients to it as well, either by incorporating them into the dough or sprinkling them on right before baking. Fresh herbs and cheeses are best incorporated into the dough, but I think things like onion and garlic develop the best flavor as toppings that will come in direct contact with the hot skillet, even if it means losing a little to the pan.
This recipe makes a bit of naan, but can also easily be halved for a small family dinner. Alternatively, you can always divide the dough into pieces and freeze what won’t be used right away for later. Just let them thaw and then roll out and cook as per the recipe. Also, feel free to adjust the flour to use 100% all-purpose, or swap out an additional cup of the AP for whole wheat. —Carey Nershi
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 3 cupsall-purpose flour
- 1 cupwhole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoonbaking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoonsbaking powder
- 1 tablespoonsugar
- 3/4 teaspoonactive dry yeast
- 1/4 cupwater (room temp or slightly above)
- 3/4 cupwhole milk (room temp or slightly above)
- 1 cupplain yogurt (not Greek)
- Melted butter or ghee (for brushing)
- Optional toppings or add-ins: garlic, onion, herbs, cheese
Directions
- Combine yeast, sugar, and lukewarm water and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy. In the meantime, combine flours, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. Make a well in the center.
- Stir milk and yogurt together. Once the yeast mixture is foamy, stir it into the yogurt and milk. Pour into the well of the dry ingredients.
- Stir with a wooden spoon to combine, then knead dough until smooth. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and let rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
- When dough is ready, punch down and turn out on a well-floured surface. Divide in half, then divide each half into eight pieces of equal size. Roll each piece out into a thin oval approximately 6 inches long and 1/8 inch thick. Heat a cast iron skill over medium-high heat on the stove top.
- Once pan is hot, brush each side of the naan with melted butter/ghee. (If adding toppings like onion/garlic/spice, add them to the second side you brush with butter and gently press them into the dough.)
- Place dough into your skillet. (If you’ve adding toppings, place it topping side-up.) Let cook for around 1 minute, or until dough puffs and bubbles form on top. Flip and let cook for another minute. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
Tags:
- Bread
- Indian
- Milk/Cream
- Cast Iron
- Diwali
- Appetizer
- Side
See what other Food52ers are saying.
-
June Dickinson
-
Robin Jervey
-
juicyrebound1
-
Cynthia Gallo
-
MF Stevenson
Recipe by: Carey Nershi
Lover of simple food and co*cktails served with a single giant ice cube. Raised in the NY Schoharie Valley; currently residing in Burlington, VT. Blogger at reclaimingprovincial.com.
Popular on Food52
71 Reviews
brushjl February 12, 2024
Hubby LOVED the Naan
Yes, it was time-consuming. Next time will find a bigger pan.
June D. June 7, 2023
Is it possible to give measurements by weight also? I have gotten very used to using my scales when baking.
Robin J. February 17, 2022
Fabulous! So light and airy! I love the way they puff and bubble up. The trickiest part is trying to roll the dough into an oval/circle. It's such a loose dough; after dividing the dough ball into 8 pieces, the individual pieces weren't round, so my shapes were somewhat goofy, but cooked up fine and tasted great! I wonder if dividing the dough into individual balls right after kneading (before resting) would make it easier to achieve a more consistent round/oval shape when rolling? Has anyone tried that?
Renee R. September 20, 2021
I also want to know the temperature and cooking time if baked on a pizza stone. I noticed other requests for the same information, but have not seen a response.
Curry L. February 27, 2021
This is a great (and for the naan-inept like me - forgiving) recipe.
One note - SALT. I added one teaspoon, but I think I could have added more.
Darian January 1, 2021
I made half of the recipe for 3 of us, thinking 8 would be more than enough - WRONG! They were devoured quickly and left us wanting more. I read the reviews in advance and had every intention of adding salt, but forgot - until I was eating them and thought, these could use a little salt. Next time - and there will definitely be a next time - I will add the recommended teaspoon of salt.
juicyrebound1 May 28, 2020
I did everything wrong in making this dough. Was I even reading the directions? Mixed all the dry ingredients together, including the yeast, skipping the proofing entirely, used Greek yogurt and a mix of 2% milk with a dash of heavy cream, and the Naan was wonderful in spite of me. Rolls out easily and the cooking is foolproof in a cast iron pan. Half the recipe for tonight's North African Stew, and the other eight loaves frozen for those "we don't have any bread!" nights. Thanks, Carey.
Alamobecky April 18, 2020
Holy criminy, this was delicious! Served with homemade hummus. I added 1 t. salt as was suggested. Only had 2% milk and nonfat Greek yogurt and they worked out fine. You've unleashed a monster with this one!
highfiberhabit April 15, 2020
Such a great recipe!!!
I wasn't sure how much to knead so I worked the dough just until everything came together nicely. I didn't add much flour while kneading and the dough after resting was fluffy without being overly sticky and rolled out beautifully. I found I preferred the bread when I rolled it quite thin, and cooked it in a very hot pan for only about 30 seconds per side. I will most definitely make these again (I only made a half batch this time, next time I'll make the full recipe and freeze half).
highfiberhabit April 15, 2020
Oh, and I used greek yogurt because that's all I had on hand and it seemed to work fine?
Cynthia G. February 19, 2019
This is an incredible recipe. I added salt as per the comments that were submitted. I’ve tried various recipes but this one is by far the best. This will be a staple in our home.
MF S. March 13, 2016
I made this yesterday - the hubs is a naan junkie and raved about it! Only thing I did was add 1 tsp. salt. Definitely going to be making this regularly. I love that it makes a big batch - I'm going to wrap them individually and freeze them - we'll have fresh naan for a couple weeks.
Macy P. February 17, 2016
If baking on a pizza stone in the oven, what temp should the oven be set to and how long should I bake? Thanks!
Joana January 10, 2016
how can i store the batter? and for how long?
Taylor May 23, 2017
it shouldnt be a batter, it should be a dough.
Benny March 6, 2015
Thanks for the recipe, just turned out my first batch (of many more to come). They are really good... its taking all of my will power not to eat the entire batch myself right now.
susan August 16, 2014
I just made up this recipe and noticed it didn't have salt as an ingredient so i added some. I only made 1/2 a recipe so I added 1/2 tsp salt. If there is anything I don't like about the results i will post.
Laurie August 14, 2014
Stunning photos too!
Laurie August 14, 2014
Wonderful recipe/technique. They turned out beautifully but definitely needed salt. I would add a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon in the future.
ori July 18, 2014
made this for the first time today with DAL - amazing!!
the only thing i would change is to add salt to the dry mix...
Mary March 26, 2014
Hi! I was a science major in college and I have used various brands of baking powder from both the US and Europe. Baking soda is indeed sodium bicarbonate, sold by the brand name Arm and Hammer in the US and as Natron in Germany. Sodium bicarbonate reacts with an acid to produce carbon dioxide gas as one product. The gas leavens the baked good. If your recipe does not include an acid like buttermilk or vinegar, you need to generate one with a powder that produces an acid on contact with water. You can use tartaric acid (sold in the spice section of US supermarkets as cream of tartar) combined with sodium bicarbonate as a homemade baking powder. Baking with Julia has a recipe. Other baking powders use sodium acid pyrophosphate (Dr Oetker) or monocalcium phosphate (Rumford). All of the above are single acting powders, meaning that they react once on contact with water. You need to put your batter into the oven immediately. Brands containing sodium aluminum sulfate are popular in the US because they react a second time in the oven when heated. They are thus more idiot proof, as the user does not have to rush to get them into the oven or on to the griddle. However, aluminum containing powders can impart a metallic taste to your batter. It has never been proven that aluminum containing baking powders cause Alzheimer's. But since they don't taste as good as the single acting powders, why bother with them. If you read this site, you are probably a good enough baker to manage to bake or griddle your food in an efficient manner.
Donna C. March 26, 2014
I make naan on my gas BBQ, it is best to have everything you need close at hand, including a clean dish to remove the naan on to after being cooked and set of tongs to flip with and a can of PAM to spray the grill with after each naan has been removed. Pre-heat the grill to about 375 to 400 degrees, be sure that the grill is brushed clean and wiped off with paper towel, then spray the grill with PAM, quickly place the naan on the grill then lower the lid DO NOT WALK AWAY!! You have maybe 45 seconds or a little more, peek into the grill so as not to let the hot air out, if it has puffed up and appears to be brown on the bottom it is then time to flip. Once it has been flipped watch very carefully. Remove from heat and place on a sheet of aluminium foil brushing each naan lightly with melted butter (ghee) or butter with finely grated fresh garlic. Any unbuttered naan can be reheated in the toaster, but if it has been buttered the naan can cause a flare up, safest way to reheat is wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven. This is a very quick way to make naan, but you have got to be attentive and constantly be checking. Guaranteed this method will produce a few burnt offerings, but you will get the hang of it very quickly, and your neighbours will be drooling when they get a whiff of hot naan fresh off the BBQ!! Will try this recipe next time.
