Thank you to Kathy Gori at The Colors of Indian Cooking for this naan recipe!

A note from Kathy:

Hōmdoor asked me if I’d like one of their ovens to work with I said you betcha!!! The tandoor oven arrived in a big packing case with all the required implements. It moved into the garden near my vegetable beds and hibernated in its canvas cover. Finally after a cold and rainy Sonoma winter, I was able to fire it up last weekend.

For the first time after baking naan bread for several decades, I was able to actually slap it against the wall of a genuine tandoor oven. In the process of getting the naan bread fresh and hot out of the tandoor, I realized what I’d been missing all those years of just using an oven set at 550 degrees and a pizza stone! There’s no comparison.

View the recipe on The Colors of Indian Cooking blog.

Indian Naan Bread

Author: The Colors of Indian Cooking, Kathy Gori

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Description

Authentic Indian naan, baked in a Hōmdoor tandoor oven.

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsps active dry yeast
3 and 1/2 cups of flour, plus a bit extra for the rolling out process.
2 tsps salt
1 cup of full fat plain yogurt
melted ghee and nigella seeds for seasoning

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Instructions

Mix the water and sugar in a small measuring cup.

Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for about 5 minutes. While that is happening, combine the flour and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add the yeast mixture and the yogurt to the flour mixture.

Mix the dough on medium speed until it comes together, then increase the speed and let it knead for about 10 minutes all in.

Take a small amount of vegetable oil and oil the inside of a large bowl (I use about a cap full and then just smear it around the inside).

When the dough is done, it will be somewhat sticky (actually that’s an understatement), but this a yogurt based dough. The yogurt is what gives the naan bread it’s tang and keeps it from tasting like pizza dough.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in the oiled bowl. Cover it with a clean dish towel and let it rise until it’s doubled in size. This takes about 1 hour.

After your dough has risen, flatten it into a disk and divide it into 8 pieces. Set each piece on a baking sheet and cover them again to rest while you go light your tandoor oven.

How To Bake in Your Tandoor:

The tandoor temperature should be 550 degrees to cook the naan. Use a laser thermometer to check the temperature.

Flatten each ball with your hands and stretch the top into a traditional naan teardrop shape.

Place the dough on a Gaddi pad, which functions sort of like a baseball mitt.

The dough is then slapped on the oven wall where it will stick and cook. The dough will cook fast. When it starts to bubble and char, it’s ready.

Using the bread tools (which are a long rod with a small spatula at the end and a bread hook) remove the naan by hooking and prying it gently off the oven wall. Place the naan in a basket to keep warm

Brush it with ghee and a sprinkling of nigella seeds.

Serve it up and enjoy!

Keywords: naan, indian naan, naan in a tandoor