
Ingredients
- 1/4 pound (peach-sized portion) of pre-mixed boule dough
- 1 tablespoon ghee (commercial or homemade), or neutral-flavored oil or butter
Directions
- Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1/4-pound piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Using your hands and a rolling pin, and minimal flour, roll out to a uniform thickness of 1/8-inch and a diameter of 8 to 9 inches.
- Heat a heavy 12-inch cast iron skillet over high heat on the stovetop. When water droplets flicked into the pan skitter across the surface and evaporate quickly the pan is ready. Add the ghee or oil.
- Drop the rolled dough into the skillet, decrease the heat to medium, and cover the skillet to trap the steam and heat.
- Check for doneness with a spatula at about 3 minutes, or sooner if you smell overly quick browning. Adjust the heat as needed. Flip the naan when the underside is richly browned.
- Continue cooking another 2 to 6 minutes, or until the naan feels firm, even at the edges, and the second side is browned. If you’ve rolled a thicker naan, or if you’re using dough with whole grains, you’ll need more pan time.
- Remove the naan from the pan, brush with butter, and serve.
Make this delicious and easy naan bread recipe using a refrigerated bread dough technique. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is written by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, LLC, Copyright 2007).
Naan has become my family’s favorite bread to make while camping in the woods. All we need is a 12-inch cast-iron skillet on our sturdy Coleman stove to have freshly baked bread. We always attract a crowd of curious campers drawn to the aroma wafting amidst the wood smoke.” — Jeff
This delicious and buttery Indian flatbread is traditionally made in a huge cylindrical clay tandoori oven, with the wet dough slapped directly onto the oven’s hot walls. Our naan is done in a hot, cast-iron skillet, or a heavyweight nonstick skillet. Butter or oil will work in lieu of Indian clarified butter (ghee), but the taste won’t be as authentic. You can find ghee at South Asian or Middle Eastern markets.
This easy naan bread recipe also has the distinction of producing our fastest bread, since it’s done on the stovetop without an oven preheat, and there’s no need to rest the dough. You can easily make one of these just before dinner, even on busy nights (so long as you have the dough in the fridge).
More No-Knead Bread Recipes
The MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors whole-heartedly offer a big fat stamp of approval to this incredible cookbook, which proves hands-down that there is enough time in life for baking, and that baking at home can save you hundreds every year. The recipes here give you just a taste of the numerous treats you’ll be able to create — deftly! — by mastering one simple technique. Check it out for all kinds of troubleshooting tips and many more mouthwatering recipes (Almond Cream Pastry, Chocolate-Raisin Babka or Homemade Beignets, anyone?).