Garlic Butter Naan
These homemade naan have a soft & fluffy texture, a charred crust & are brushed with garlic butter! You can cook these naan in a pizza oven or on the stove & they’re just as good as restaurant ones.
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You really can’t beat a soft & fluffy naan & fortunately they’re incredibly easy to make! The dough is super simple to prepare & only uses a few ingredients and the naan only take a minute or two to cook, either in a pan or in a pizza oven. They’ve got a perfectly charred crust, are fluffy on the inside & are brushed with garlic butter and finished with fresh herbs. This all sounds pretty good to me!
For this naan recipe, I’ve included 2 different cooking methods. You can cook them inside, in a pan on the stove or you can replicate the extremely high heat of a tandoor oven & cook them in a pizza oven! Honestly, they’re delicious whatever way you cook them but sometimes it’s nice to have a few different options, you know?!
Next time you’re making a homemade curry, whip up a batch of these garlic butter naans & enjoy! Plus, any leftovers will keep for several days & can be used to make sandwiches, wraps, pizzas & more…
For more similar recipes, check out our ever growing collection of bread recipes! And for more ways to use your pizza oven, take a look at our pizza oven recipe collection. Here you’ll find several different pizza doughs, as well as pittas, garlic bread & cookie dough.
What You’ll Need
- Ghee – Ghee is clarified butter that’s commonly used in Indian cooking. Ghee has a richer flavour than butter, so adds extra flavour to our naan! Regular, unsalted butter can be used instead though.
- Flour – For this naan recipe, you’ll need to use a strong white bread flour with a protein content between 12-14%.
- Yogurt – We’re using plain, full fat yogurt in our naan dough (not Greek yogurt!). Using full fat yogurt gives our naan a softer, fluffier texture.
- Milk – I’d recommend using whole milk for the dough but semi skimmed will work as well.
- Yeast – This naan dough uses instant yeast (sometimes called fast action yeast). I wouldn’t recommend using dried active yeast, as this needs to be activated in warm milk/water & we’re adding our milk & yogurt in cold. Although you can make naan without yeast (you’d use baking powder instead), this recipe works best with yeast.
- Salt – A good sea salt works best for all bread doughs, including these naans.
- Sugar – Adding a small amount of sugar to the naan dough helps gives them a deeper colour as they cook & gives them extra flavour & a softer texture. The naans aren’t sweet though as we’re only using a tiny amount of sugar.
- Garlic Butter – To turn our naans into garlic naan, we’re brushing them with garlic butter as soon as they’re cooked! This is super easy to make, simply mix melted ghee (or butter) with a grated clove of garlic.
- Coriander – A sprinkle of chopped coriander is a classic naan topping but feel free to use parsley if you’re not a coriander fan.
How To Make Naan Dough
Naan dough is super quick to make! Simply add all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer then mix until you get a smooth dough. Although some naan recipes don’t call for kneading the dough, I find that a quick mix makes naans that are softer, fluffier & easier to roll out (thanks to the extra gluten development).
Recipe Breakdown
- Dry Ingredients
First, add flour, sea salt, instant yeast & caster sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer then whisk to combine. - Wet Ingredients
Next, add ghee (or butter) into a heatproof jug then melt in the microwave. Once melted, add in yogurt & milk then whisk to combine. - Mix Dough
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients then mix on a medium-low speed with the dough hook until you get a smooth dough. This will take 5 minutes or so. - Prove
Once mixed, cover the bowl with clingfilm then let the dough prove at room temperature until it has doubled in size. This will take between 1-1½ hours. - Divide Dough
When the dough has doubled in size, knock it back then transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Use a dough scraper to divide the dough into 6 equal pieces then shape into balls & leave to bench rest for 10 minutes, covered with a tea towel. Each piece of dough should weigh around 100 grams. - Roll Out
To roll out a naan, place a ball of dough onto a lightly floured work surface then use a rolling pin to roll it out into an oval that roughly measures 8″x5″ & is around 4mm thick then cook using one of the methods below. To stop the dough sticking to the rolling pin, dust the top with flour as well.
How To Cook Naan In A Pizza Oven
Cooking naan in a pizza oven, is as close as you’ll get to cooking in a tandoor oven at home! A tandoor oven is what is traditionally used to cook naan & they run at around 400°c-500°c (752°-932°). Now this sort of temperature isn’t possible in a regular home oven but it is in a pizza oven. I use a gas pizza oven (a gozney arc xl) but you can use a wood oven as well.
So before cooking naan in a pizza oven, you need to preheat it to around 450°c/842°, letting the stone thoroughly saturate with heat. If you use a infrared temperature gun, you’ll get an accurate temperature reading of the stone. And because the pizza stone is so hot, we don’t need to flip the naan over as the heat will cook the underneath!
Once your oven’s up to temperature & you’ve got a naan rolled out, we use a pizza peel to transfer it into the oven then cook for 30 seconds – 1 minute, until the naan has puffed up & has started to turn golden brown on top. Then we turn the naan 180 degrees then cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the top is a deep golden brown & lightly charred. If you’re using a gas pizza oven like me, turn the flame to low to cook the naans then turn it back up to heat the stone up between cooks. Oh & make sure to dust off any excess flour as this will affect how the naan puffs up in the oven.
As soon as the naan comes out of the oven, we brush it with the garlic butter then top with a sprinkle of chopped coriander. The naan can be served straight away or kept covered in foil to keep warm whilst you cook the rest.
How To Cook Naan On The Stove
Cooking naan on the stove is probably the easiest way to cook them! To do this, first heat a large frying pan/skillet up over a medium-high heat, letting the pan get super hot.
Once your pan is hot, roll a naan out, dust off any excess flour then carefully place into the hot pan. We cook the naan for 1-2 minutes, until the underneath is a deep golden brown then we flip the naan over & cook for another 1-2 minutes until the other side is golden brown & lightly charred as well. Essentially, cook the naans for 1-2 minutes on each side!
As soon as the naan is cooked, transfer it to a plate then brush with garlic butter & top with a sprinkle of chopped coriander.
What To Serve With Naan
The traditional & most popular way to serve naan, is with curry! A soft & fluffy naan is perfect for scooping up rich curries or can be eaten with Indian side dishes like lentils, saag aloo (bombay potatoes) or with sauces & chutneys; like mango chutney, mint chutney or raita. You could even serve classic Indian tandoori skewers on top of naan, to soak up all the juices!
Naans aren’t just good with curry! They’re also good on their own, brushed with a flavoured butter or they can be used for sandwiches or as a pizza base. This isn’t a traditional way to use naan but it’s tasty none the less…
Frequently Asked Questions
To cook naan on an Aga, cook them in a frying pan/skillet on the boiling plate. If the pan gets too hot, you can move over to the simmering plate.
Leftover naan is best stored in the fridge & should be eaten within 3 days. After cooking the naan, let them cool completely then store in an airtight container or in a ziplock bag. I’d recommend separating each naan with a piece of baking parchment so they don’t stick together.
Naan can be reheated in a microwave, in a pan on the stove or in the oven. If you’ve topped your naan with coriander, it’s best to microwave or bake them in a 180°c/356°f oven until warm. This way, the herbs won’t burn!
Naans are great however you cook them! However, the closest way to cook them like they’ve been in a tandoor oven, is to use a pizza oven. If cooking naan on the stove, you’ll get the best results cooking them over a high heat.
Strong bread flour is used for naan, to give them an authentic, slightly chewy texture. Bread flour has a higher protein content than plain flour, which means more gluten will be developed in the dough, giving your naan a softer, fluffier texture.
Equipment Used
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More Bread Recipes To Try!
- 100% Biga Potato Pizza Dough
- 3 Day Poolish Pizza Dough
- Tear And Share Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Pizza Oven Pittas
- Potato Burger Buns
- Tangzhong Dinner Rolls
Watch How To Make This Recipe!
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Garlic Butter Naan
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Pizza Oven (Optional)
- Dough Scraper
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
Naan Dough
- 300 g Strong White Bread Flour (See Notes)
- 8 g Fine Sea Salt
- 6 g Instant Yeast
- 6 g Caster Sugar
- 150 g Plain Yogurt (See Notes)
- 110 g Whole Milk
- 25 g Ghee Or Unsalted Butter (Melted)
Garlic Butter
- 50 g Ghee Or Unsalted Butter
- 1 Garlic Clove (Grated)
- 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander
Instructions
Naan Dough
- Add the flour, salt, yeast & sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk to combine then set to one side.
- Add the ghee (or butter) into a heatproof jug then melt in the microwave. Add the yogurt & milk into the ghee then whisk to combine.
- Next, pour the wet ingredients into the flour then use the dough hook to mix on a medium-low speed until you get a smooth dough. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with clingfilm then leave to prove at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size. This will take 1-1½ hours.
- If you're using a pizza oven, preheat it to 450°c/842°f whilst your dough proves. Make sure to thoroughly saturate the pizza stone with heat.
Garlic Butter
- When the dough is almost ready, make the garlic butter. To do this, melt the ghee/butter in the microwave then stir in the grated garlic. Set this to one side until needed.
Shaping
- Once the dough has risen, knock it back then transfer to a lightly floured work surface.
- Use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 6 equal pieces then shape each piece into a ball. Leave to bench rest under a tea towel for 10 minutes.Each piece of dough should weigh around 100 grams.
- Next, use a rolling pin to roll a ball of dough into an oval that's roughly 8" long, 5" wide & 4mm thick. Then cook straight away, using one of the methods below.
Cooking – In A Pizza Oven
- If you're using a gas pizza oven, turn the flame down to low just before cooking the naan. You can turn the heat back up between batches if needed. I use a Gozney Arc XL!
- Use a pizza peel to slide the rolled out naan into the oven then cook for 30 seconds – 1 minute until the naan has puffed up & started to turn golden brown. Then turn the naan 180° & cook for another 30 seconds until the top is a deep golden brown & lightly charred.
- Once cooked, transfer the naan to a plate then brush with the garlic butter & sprinkle with the chopped coriander.
Cooking – On The Stove
- Set a large frying pan over a medium-high heat then leave to heat up. Do this before you start rolling out the dough, so that the pan's really hot when you need to cook the naans.
- Add a rolled out naan into the pan then cook for 1-2 minutes until the underneath is a deep golden brown then flip the naan over a cook for another 1-2 minutes until the other side is golden brown as well.
- Once cooked, transfer the naan to a plate then brush with the garlic butter & sprinkle with the chopped coriander.
- Repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough, rolling out & cooking one naan at a time.
