Sourdough Naan

A good sourdough naan bread recipe is an essential in any kitchen - especially if you love to eat curries. Sourdough naan is not only really easy to make, it also tastes amazing! These delicious sourdough Naan flatbread are soft and pliable, yet pleasantly chewy, just how a good Naan should be! This recipe is made from simple ingredients and perfect for sourdough beginners!

Ingredients

• Milk - You need to use whole milk in this recipe. You could however substitute this with whey if you want to. I recommend warm milk here. I haven't tested this recipe with anything other than cow's milk.
• Greek Yogurt - The soft and tender texture of Naan bread comes from using yogurt. For the best result, use thick, full fat, Greek yogurt (pot set yogurt or plain yogurt is fine). Don't use skim or fat free yoghurt as it doesn't have enough fat to give you the desired texture.
• Sourdough Starter or Sourdough Starter Discard - You can use either active starter or sourdough discard in this recipe. While you are fermenting the dough, since you're actually using baking powder as the leavinging agent rather than your starter.
• Olive Oil
• All Purpose Flour - you can sub bread flour if you prefer, but all purpose tends to keep these tender. 
• Baking Powder
• Salt

What is Sourdough Naan?

Naan bread is a type of bread flat bread that originates from India and Asia. It generally has yogurt as an ingredient and is leavened with yeast or baking soda.

You'll find it on the menu in many Indian restaurants. It's often flavored with garlic and cheese or topped with coriander or Nigella seeds.

In traditional Indian cooking, naan are slapped onto the inside of Tandoor ovens where they bubble up and get golden. As home cooks, having a sourdough naan cooked in a tandoor oven isn't really practical. However, a cast iron skillet, bbq plate or fry pan at high heat can give you a similar result.

How to Make Sourdough Naan

Sourdough naan is very simple to make. It involves a little kneading, a little resting and then shaping and cooking. But the hands on time is definitely worth it for this delicious bread! You can mix this sourdough discard naan bread in the morning and enjoy fresh naan bread for dinner!

Here's how to make this sourdough naan recipe:

1. Add whole milk, yogurt, olive oil and sourdough starter to a bowl and gently whisk to combine.
2. Then add flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl and pull together into a shaggy (dry) dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow this dough to rest for around 30 minutes.
3. Once the dough has rested, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl until it becomes a smoother, more elastic dough. You can also add the dough to bowl of a stand mixer to knead if you prefer. Cover and allow the dough to rest for another 30 minutes.
4. Now scrape the dough out of the bowl onto your kitchen counter and knead vigorously until the dough becomes soft and elastic. You shouldn't need additional flour (you really want to avoid adding any as it will toughen the dough).
5. Once the dough has been kneaded, place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rest and ferment at room temperature until it's doubled.
6. Once the dough has fermented, it's time to shape the naan breads. To do this you need to divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (you can make bigger or smaller naan - just adjust your pieces to suit). Allow the dough balls to rest for up to 30 minutes before you roll them out.
7. Now shape each dough ball into either a round or an oval - it's really up to you! You can use a rolling pin if you like or you could just use your finger tips to shape.I find the easiest way is to shape each piece into a ball and then use your finger tips to flatten the ball out into a rough oval shape. You can then use a rolling pin to stretch the dough further or just stretch it with your hands.
8. Heat a cast iron skillet or fry pan on the stovetop. You want it to be searing hot. Do NOT add any oil to the pan.
9. Spray each naan with water before placing onto the hot skillet. Cook until you see bubbles form on the top and then flip to cook on the other side. This will only take 30 seconds if your skillet is super hot, but as you cook a few cook time slows down and takes 1-2 minutes per naan.
10. Take the naan out of the skillet and brush with melted butter (I highly recommend this homemade butter).
11. Repeat until all the homemade naan are cooked.

You can knead the dough by hand or you can knead it with a stand mixer. It's completely up to you and both methods of kneading works just as well.

Flavors to Add to Sourdough Naan Bread

Sourdough naan bread is amazing on it's own - or as a simple side dish. But you can also add some delicious flavors to naan bread to take it to the next level.

Here are some suggestions for flavors to add to this sourdough naan recipe:

• Cheese & Garlic - Add 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 100g of shredded cheddar cheese (add these to the dough before shaping. Just lightly knead them in before dividing the dough).
• Raisins - Add 100g of raisins right before shaping and top with melted butter and coriander once the naan are cooked. Trust me on this one! They're delicious with a curry!
• Garlic & Herb Butter - Make a garlic or herb butter and brush the naan with this after cooking, or why not try brushing them with this jalapeño honey butter for a totally spicy twist!

Serving Suggestions

While sourdough naan bread is generally used to scoop up curries, stews and saucy Indian dishes, there's lots of other ways you can use sourdough naan bread in your kitchen.

Here's a few ideas to get you inspired!

• Use leftover naan bread for making "cheese toasties" or quesadillas. My kids love these and it's a great way to use up leftovers. We fill them with ham, cheese, chicken and whatever we have on hand.
• Slice into wedges and bake in the oven to serve as "crackers" with dip like this whipped ricotta dip.
• Leftover sourdough naan make great flatbread pizza too (just like this sourdough flatbread)!
• Serve sourdough naan bread with your favorite soup or casserole. They make a fun way to mop up the soup and sauce at the end!
• These are delicious served with fresh roasted vegetable hummus (perfect easy lunch idea).

Frequently Asked Questions

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