Naan Recipe - Easy Make-Ahead Dough! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2024)

Naan is very easy to make — this naan recipe is made even easier by starting it a day ahead. Split the work up to take the stress out of baking fresh bread.

Naan Recipe - Easy Make-Ahead Dough! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (1)

Way, way, way, waaaay back when I started my blog, I teamed up with a group of bloggers for an Emeril event where we cooked our way through one of his new books and shared the recipes. Out of that event, we formed a group called Virtual Potluck. Some of you who have read my blog since the beginning will remember Virtual Potluck.

For those that don’t remember, we were a group of bloggers (and friends) who would host events on our sites that created a sort of…virtual….potluck. Did ya see that one coming?

Since then we’ve sort of gone our separate ways and done our own things career-wise, but we’ve all remained good virtual friends. One of our members, Donna Currie of Cookistry, has gone on to write this beautiful book called Make Ahead Bread.

Donna was always my go-to resource when I needed help with baking yeast breads likecinnamon vanilla swirl bread orcranberry walnut bread. She always had the answers I needed. Needless to say, I am absolutely thrilled that she published this beautiful book. I know it’s going to be one that I constantly go back to when I need to bake some bread.

Naan Recipe - Easy Make-Ahead Dough! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2)

I don’t know about you, but the hardest part of making yeast bread is coordinating rising times, baking times, etc. Trying to get it on the table at the right time is always such a challenge. Maybe it’s just because I have twoattention-demanding tiny humans at my feet 24/7.

This Naan Recipe is so easy!

But needless to say, the recipes in Make Ahead Bread are perfect for me because they are split up over a couple of days. For example, all I had to do for this naan was knead the dough and throw it in the fridge. The next day I was able to just pull it out of the fridge, roll out and bake.

Naan Recipe - Easy Make-Ahead Dough! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (3)

I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes in this book – I’m convinced they’ll all turn out just as great as this beautiful naan recipe. Some that caught my eye in particular were herb and cheese buns, blueberry and cream cheese buns with lemon zest, and savory monkey bread.

How do you make naan bread crispy?

Preheating the baking sheet in the oven will ensure the bread gets nice and crispy and golden brown!

Want to make this naan recipe your own?

Try adding 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon garlic powder for garlic naan!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Naan Recipe - Easy Make-Ahead Dough! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (4)

Recipe

Get the Recipe: Naan

4.50 from 16 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 12 minutes mins

Additional Time: 1 day d

Total Time: 1 day d 22 minutes mins

4 4×8-inch flatbreads

Print Rate Recipe

Naan is very easy to make — this naan recipe is made even easier by starting it a day ahead. Split the work up to take the stress out of baking fresh bread.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
  • 3/4 cup room temperature water
  • 2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 cups (13 1/2 ounces) bread flour, plus more as needed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted

Instructions

On Prep Day:

  • Combine all the ingredients except the oil and the butter in a stand mixer and knead with the dough hook until smooth. You can also mix the ingredients in a large bowl and then knead by hand.

  • Drizzle the olive oil into a gallon-size zip-top plastic bag and place the dough in the bag. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.

On Baking Day:

  • Heat the oven to 400°F and place a baking sheet in the oven.

  • Flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Divide it into 4 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball.

  • Flatten the pieces and shape them into a teardrop shape. You can stretch and press them by hand or use a rolling pin. You’re looking for a shape that’s about 4 inches wide at the widest part and about 8 inches long.

  • Remove the baking sheet form the oven and carefully place the dough on the sheet. Be careful – the pan will be quite hot. Return the pan to the oven and bake the naan until they’re browned on the bottom, puffy, and have a few brown spots on top, about 12 minutes. Transfer the naan to a rack and brush with melted butter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1naan, Calories: 504kcal, Carbohydrates: 78g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 455mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk

Verdict: Loved this. I ate some fresh out of the oven (how can you resist?!) and it was so amazing.

Husband’s take: Ben and the kids also loved this naan recipe. Really — what’s not to love?

Changes I would make: None.

Difficulty: Easy.

Naan Recipe - Easy Make-Ahead Dough! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (5)

Disclosure: Ireceiveda review copy of the book as well as some free products but I was not compensated monetarily. All opinions are my own, as always.

Naan Recipe - Easy Make-Ahead Dough! Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2024)

FAQs

How long can you keep naan dough before cooking? ›

Either transfer your dough to a lidded container or cover your bowl with plastic wrap if you did not do so in step 3. Move the bowl or loosely lidded container to the fridge and store overnight, but no more than 48 hours—the gluten will begin to break down, and the flavor will become too ethanol-y.

How to make pre made naan bread? ›

Remove the frozen naan from its packaging and place the naan bread directly on the oven rack or on a baking sheet. No need to thaw it beforehand! Heat the naan for 3-4 minutes, or until it's soft, heated through, and slightly crispy on the edges. Keep an eye on it to prevent overcooking.

Can you freeze dough for naan bread? ›

As the recipe below explains, after you've prepared the dough and let it rise once, you can shape it into small balls and freeze to bake at a later date if you prefer. One of the advantages of this method is that you can cook up just a few naan at a time rather than committing to a whole batch.

How do you keep naan fresh for a party? ›

How do you keep naan warm for a party? Once you take the freshly made naan out of the skillet, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm dry place.

How long can you leave dough before cooking? ›

The dough should generally be proofed for around 1 to 4 hours at a warm temperature or overnight (or more) at a cold refrigerator temperature. As the proofing temperature increases, the total fermentation time will decrease.

Can you let dough rise for too long? ›

If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

Can you put naan dough in the fridge? ›

It was handy to discover that the naan recipe can be made ahead, refrigerated overnight and cooked up the next day – and it's 100% perfect. It's just as fluffy and soft. With the added bonus of even better flavour in the bread because as with many yeast breads, flavour develops with time!

Why can't you reheat naan bread? ›

However, when reheating in the oven, you want to be careful so that the naan bread does not become overly crisp and dry out. Also, you want to make sure to not heat the naan bread for longer than required. That said, it is easy to reheat naan bread in the oven, as it restores the fluffy texture.

Why do you sprinkle water on naan bread? ›

you put it on naans to keep them soft. In fact best method is to get some grease proof paper, scrunch it all up and then run it under the tap, flatten it out and drizzle with olive oil then wrap the naan bread in it and cook for 10 minutes.

Do you freeze bread dough before or after rising? ›

Yes, risen dough can be frozen but some adjustments have to be made to get the best loaf possible. You will want to put your dough in the freezer either after the first rise, or if the bread has more than two rises then after the shaping. This is because frozen dough will need to rise/proof again before baking it.

How to thaw out naan bread? ›

I recommend keeping naan frozen until you're ready to use it. It's super simple – just take it out and thaw the flatbread for 15 to 20 minutes before topping and baking it. We've included simple instructions on the packaging to help you get the best naan experience.

How to tell if naan has gone bad? ›

You'll be able to easily identify a piece of naan that has gone bad. Over time, the bread will harden and lose its soft, fluffy texture.

How to serve naan at a party? ›

Just like at your favorite restaurant, why not warm up some naan for the table to snack on? Brush it with a bit of oil or serve it with some oil for guests to dip themselves. Add your own dried herbs to emulsify the oil – otherwise just heat up our Stonefire® Roasted Garlic Naan as a garlic bread alternative.

How do you store naan for the next day? ›

How To Store Naan. Place leftover naan in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Naan will also freeze great in a freezer bag for up to one month. It's best to reheat from frozen about 10 minutes at 350 degrees in your oven.

How long will homemade naan keep? ›

Naan bread typically lasts 2-3 days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It can also last up to a week if refrigerated. Naan bread can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Can I put naan dough in the fridge? ›

It was handy to discover that the naan recipe can be made ahead, refrigerated overnight and cooked up the next day – and it's 100% perfect. It's just as fluffy and soft. With the added bonus of even better flavour in the bread because as with many yeast breads, flavour develops with time!

Can you eat week old naan? ›

Indian bread like roti and naan can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. To maintain their softness, store them in an airtight bag or container. Indian sweets like gulab jamun, jalebi, and barfi should be consumed within a week when stored in the refrigerator.

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