The BEST recipe for Naan: Indian Flatbread

This is the easiest recipe for flat bread! Last night for dinner we had curried pork tenderloin, quinoa, and steamed broccoli and carrots. Naan is also the perfect addition to any Indian recipe. For example, it is warm, soft, easy to tear into pieces, and a favorite of our kids; they would eat Naan for dinner if we would let them. When I make this recipe, I can get six pieces of naan for just the cost of the ingredients. Over the years, there have been many recipes that I have changed or then altered to fit our families likes. This recipe for Naan I have not changed one bit.

Naan on a wood cutting board

Disclosure
Published February 13, 2021
Updated March 4, 2022
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Cost breakdown for six Naan pieces

Additionally, I have not found a Naan that we have bought from a grocery store that has had any comparison to making your own from scratch. Making food from scratch is the easiest way to stretch a food budget if you have one. In my opinion, homemade Naan is way better, fresher, and by far tastier than any pre-packaged naan you could buy.

A 2-pack of Naan at the local ALDI is $4.39
This recipe makes us six pieces of Naan which can be cut or ripped into smaller pieces for each person.
Six pieces of Naan, to buy, would cost us $13.17.
To make six pieces of Naan at home the cost is way smaller than buying even one pack. Below I will break down each individual cost for the ingredients, how much I spend on the bulk prices and how much each would cost.

Flour $0.20- I buy a twenty-five-pound bag when we need flour.
1 pound of all-purpose flour contains around 3 ⅔ cups.
so, 25 pounds of all-purpose flour contains around 93 cups.
93 cups divided by the cost of the flour, $9.35 is $0.10 a cup of flour.
So, this recipe cost $0.20 in flour.


Yeast $0.03- I buy a two-pound bag when we need yeast.
2-pound container of yeast that I buy is $6.99. It has 32 ounces.
32 ounces is 192 teaspoons. This recipe used 1 teaspoon.
192 divided by the cost of the bag comes to $0.03 a teaspoon.

If you were to buy the individual yeast packs that cost $2.19 for three, your cost would be $0.73 a pack which breaks down to $0.36 a teaspoon because those packs come in 2 1/4 tsp.


Sugar $0.01
A four-pound bag of sugar at ALDI cost $2.25. This recipe needs only 2 teaspoons. 4 pounds of sugar is equal to 416 teaspoons. 416 divided by the cost equals $0.005 for one teaspoon. So, the cost of sugar in this recipe is $0.01 for the sake of rounding up 😉

Salt $0.002
Salt at ALDI cost $0.45 for a 26-ounce container which equals 156 teaspoons. That makes the salt cost $0.002 per teaspoon.

Baking powder $0.002
An 8.1-ounce jar of baking powder at ALDI is $1.09. There are 48 teaspoons in this jar. One teaspoon of baking powder cost $0.02, which makes 1/8 tsp cost $0.002. Pretty good I’d say!

Greek Yogurt – $0.15
A 32-ounce container is $3.65 that we buy at ALDI. That is a total of 64 Tablespoons for a cost of $0.05 a Tbsp. This recipe cost $0.15 for plain Greek yogurt.

Oil $0.06
A 48-ounce bottle of oil at ALDI is $3.29. That is 96 Tablespoons of oil and a cost of $0.03 per Tablespoon.


Making six pieces of Naan cost our family $0.45
I know it takes a few hours, makes a couple of dishes to wash, but getting six pieces of deliciously fresh Naan makes it totally worth the time. Buying baking supplies in bulk, like flour and yeast, really help to cut the cost of making food down. It literally saved our family $13 in just this one meal in Naan. Tyler would say that I made $13 an hour for our family!
I am not a math person. It hurts my head. I need a nap. I need coffee… Yup… Coffee will help.

Even though I joke about being bad at math (I totally am… failed my freshman year in high school) I really do appreciate the skill of math to being able to find the value of my time and efforts while I cook homemade meals for our family. It gives a very big tangible value to why Tyler and I decided on my being a stay-at-home mom those twelve odd years ago. Imagine now the cost of all those meals and money saved while cooking at home. It really makes me feel proud.

Also, thanks google for amazing measurement converter calculators! All of those ounces to teaspoons and cups to tablespoons and such… No wonder I failed freshman math! 😉

Naan: Indian Flat Bread

Ingredients for Naan

1 tsp Yeast
2 tsp Sugar
2 Cups flour
1 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Baking Powder
3 Tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp Oil

Ingredients on countertop to make Naan

Directions for Naan

1. In a large glass, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water and then stir to combine the ingredients with a fork. Additionally, the water should be near 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tall glass with yeast and sugar
warm water added to yeast and sugar in tall glass

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, then set the bowl aside.

dry ingredients for Naan in sifter resting on large metal bowl
dry ingredients in large bowl for Naan recipe

4. After 10 minutes of sitting the yeast mixture will be frothy.

sugar and yeast bubbled up in tall glass

5. Add 3 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt and 2 Tbsp oil into the glass and then stir with a fork to combine.

Greek yogurt adding to tall glass with yeast and water
add oil to tall glass with yogurt, and yeast
mix oil and Greek yogurt with a fork in the tall glass

6. Pour the yogurt mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until the wet is just mixed with the dry ingredients.

pour contents of tall glass into large bowl with dry ingredients

7. Be careful to not over stir! When the liquid is absorbed, scrape the extra bits off the fork and gently knead the dough with your fingers until a soft dough ball forms. It will feel like there is not enough flour at first but keep working the dough. I like to knead the dough right in the bowl instead of turning it out onto a clean counter because the extra flour will be incorporated easier this way, therefore, it is only the bowl to clean and not the countertop!

hands gently kneading ingredients to form Naan dough
Naan dough ball formed in large bowl

8. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and then let the Naan dough rest for 2-4 hours on a countertop.
A few years ago, my mom bought this Wolfgang Puck bowl set for me for Christmas. The set has different sizes with lids, while one of the lids has a section in the middle that comes out and has three different slicer options. Sometimes our boys like to shred cheese with this one as it is easier for them to use than the box shredder. It is dishwasher safe, has a silicone base for non-slip using, and lids!

large bowl covered to rest Naan dough

9. When you are ready to roll your Naan, get two bowls: one with 1/4 cup flour and one with 1/2 cup water. On a clean counter, dust flour on your prep surface and then gently turn out your dough onto flour. The dough will be sticky!

Naan dough turned out on clean and floured countertop

10. Using a pizza or pasta cutter, cut your dough into six equal pieces and roll each in the flour bowl so they do not stick together, then set each aside.

divide dough into six equal pieces

11. To shape the naan, use a floured rolling pin and then gently roll each into a teardrop shape; narrower at one end than the other. Make all six pieces around 8 to 9-inches long and around 1/4-inch thick.

roll out on countertop with rolling pin

12. Warm a cast iron skillet or a griddle on high heat, then dampen your hands in the water bowl and pick up a piece of Naan, flip-flopping it from one hand to the next to get each side damp. Gently lay it on the skillet.

dip fingers in water to spread water on Naan pieces

13. Cook for 1 minute then flip the Naan using a large spatula, when done it should look blistered and have blackened spots. You can dampen your fingers and pat the water onto the uncooked side before flipping if it looks to dry.

cook flatbread on skillet on high until browned

14. Repeat with all of the dough pieces; rolling each one, wetting with water and placing it on the hot griddle to cook.

water helps get typical blister spots on flatbread when grilling

If desired, brush cooked naan with melted butter and then sprinkle with course sea salt.
Place the naan on a plate lined with a towel to keep warm until serving. Additionally, tonight we had this delicious Naan with Pork Tikka Masala, check out the recipe that I blogged by clicking the recipe link below.
Enjoy!
-Monica

flatbread on wood cutting board

Naan: Indian Flatbread Recipe

The BEST recipe for Naan: Indian Flatbread

Recipe to make Naan, an Indian Flatbread from scratch that is so fluffy and soft. I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Course Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6 pieces

Equipment

  • Large Glass Cup
  • Large Bowl with lid
  • Measuring cups
  • Rolling Pin
  • Griddle

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tsp Yeast
  • 2 tsp Sugar
  • 3/4 cup Warm Water 110 degrees
  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/8 tsp Baking Powder
  • 3 Tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp Oil

Instructions
 

  • In a large glass, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water at a temperature around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Stir the yeast and sugar into the water with a fork.
  • Let the mixture rest to froth for 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes of sitting the yeast mixture will therefore be frothy.
  • In a large bowl, sift together the 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp baking powder, and remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, then set bowl aside.
  • Add 3 Tbsp Greek yogurt and 2 Tbsp oil into the glass and then stir with a fork to combine.
  • Pour the yogurt mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and then stir with a fork until the liquids are just combined into the dry ingredients.
  • When the liquid is absorbed, scrape extra off fork and gently knead the dough with your fingers until a soft dough ball forms, making sure to not over knead!
  • Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and then let the dough rest for 2-4 hours on a countertop.
  • When you are ready to roll your Naan, get two bowls: one with 1/4 cup flour and one with 1/2 cup water.
  • On a clean counter, dust flour on your prep surface and then turn out your dough onto floured surface as the dough will be sticky!
  • Using a pizza/pasta cutter or a bench scraper, cut your dough into six equal pieces and roll each in the flour bowl so they do not stick together, then set each aside.
  • To shape the naan, use a floured rolling pin and gently roll each into a teardrop shape making them narrower at one end than the other.
  • Roll out all six pieces around 8 to 9-inches long and around 1/4-inch thick.
  • Then, warm a cast iron skillet or a griddle on high.
  • Dampen your hands in the water bowl and then carefully pick up a piece of naan, flip-flopping it from one hand to the next to get each side damp.
  • Then, gently lay it on the hot skillet, wet-side-down.
  • Cook for 1 minute then flip the naan, when done it should look blistered and have blackened spots which is typical of Naan.
  • Repeat with all of the dough pieces until they are all cooked.
  • If desired, brush cooked naan with melted butter and then sprinkle with course sea salt.
  • Place the naan on a plate lined with a towel to keep warm until serving.
Keyword Naan, Naan: Indian Flatbread

3 responses to “The BEST recipe for Naan: Indian Flatbread”

  1. […] has ingredients that you are healthy and so much more cost effective on the budget. For the easiest Naan recipe, click the link below and check out my […]

  2. […] Homemade Pretzel Rolls and how to make them perfect! The BEST recipe for Dragon Fruit Bread The BEST recipe for Naan: Indian Flatbread […]

  3. […] recipe would not be complete without homemade Naan.Naan is soft and fluffy with such a great flavor and helps to make this recipe for Pork Tikka […]

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Published by Monica's Scratch Kitchen

I have not always had the skills to cook and bake from scratch. As a young wife, I bought every meal frozen or boxed and presented it to my husband with a flourish, believing myself a decadent cook. As our budget shrunk, and our family grew, I looked for ways to stretch our money to nourish our kids with the best for their hungry appetites. Hoping to find recipes and meals that they would love to eat. Through the last 5 years, I have learned so many cooking and baking lessons, and experienced many wins and failures. Come along with me on this journey as I share my recipes that work, how to make them on the cheap, and my tips and tricks to get my kids to eat homemade deliciousness! I will also share updates to our house that we have done in the last year since our move. With one income, we do most of the work ourselves and with amazing family and friends to help out, cutting costs but keeping style and money in the bank! I am a wife and mother of 3 boys and 1 princess. When I was a kid, I remember being asked what I wanted to be or do when I grew up. My response was, "a mom", and I am proud to grow up and be a mom to 4 amazing kids! Samuel is 11, Matthew is 8, Levi is 4, and Elliana is almost 2. We have been blessed to have kids who love to explore foods, to try new recipes, and enjoy helping us around the house. With 4 kids, you better believe they help clean! My husband Tyler and I have been married almost 13 years. We love our kids, we love outdoors, camping, canoeing, grilling, watching movies, and just hanging out making memories. A few years ago I gifted Tyler with his own "menu" book, where we write meals and foods we have loved to eat. Weekly our family decides what our meals will be and I make up a grocery list with what we need. It literally is my favorite chore! I love to shop, so shopping for food on a budget is my biggest win! Thank you for taking the time and visiting my site, Subscribe so you do not miss a post! Keep coming back to hear about new recipes, updates on our home, fun times with our kids, and how to make homemade deliciousness! ~Monica

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