Naan is not only the most amazing flatbread ever, but it can deal with vague measurements from an admitted non-baker and still puff up beautifully every time. If you’re intimidated by yeast, don’t be, because the beauty here is that we’re not actually baking it. Just a quick sizzle on each side and you have dark bubbles across soft, pillowy naan that you will eat with everything.
And then let’s stuff the dough full of roasted garlic, because we can and because we have no self-control. In the most delicious way ever.
I’m pretty sure bread is my love language. I love it, I adore it, I cannot get enough of it – which is why I hardly ever buy it, because it will be gone in a matter of hours.
As much as I love cooking, I’m not much of a baker. My cooking style is all about tossing in a rough handful, tasting, and adding some more rather than the precision demanded by baking. So if I’m making bread, it better be easy and forgiving when I don’t actually sift the last half-cup of flour like I’m supposed to (shhh!).
This recipe looks so much longer than it actually takes, promise. Even faster if you have a stand mixer to do all your whisking, kneading, and roasted garlic mashing!
I’ve made this with all white flour, up to half-and-half white and whole wheat, and everything in between. The whole wheat has a nice nuttiness, and the white is the softest and puffiest. The batch in these pictures was half-and-half, which was totally on purpose and not because someone forgot to check the flour before starting.
Adjust however you like it; if you do go up to a full half whole wheat flour, you might need to drizzle in a little extra olive oil until the dough comes together fully.
Roasted Garlic Naan
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 2 t. active yeast
- 1 t. sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 T. oil
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 t. salt
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour up to half whole wheat
- melted butter (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Peel most of the paper off the head of garlic and trim the top so the cloves are just exposed. Drizzle olive oil over the head and wrap in foil.
- Roast garlic at 400° for 40 minutes, until center is tender. You can continue roasting in 10-minute intervals until golden and caramelized.
- While the garlic is roasting, combine yeast, sugar, and water in a mixing bowl.
- Let sit five minutes until the yeast is foaming, then whisk in oil, yogurt, and egg.
- Stir in salt and two cups of flour.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, slowly adding remaining flour.
- Smash the roasted garlic cloves into a paste and work into the dough. The final dough should be smooth and soft, not sticky.
- Loosely cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.
- After rising, cut the dough and shape into eight small balls.
- Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Roll one ball out to a quarter-inch thickness.
- Cook dough until golden brown on the bottom and large bubbles are forming on the top, then flip and cook the other side to golden brown.
- Roll out and repeat with each ball of dough individually to get the most bubbles.
- You can optionally brush each piece of naan with melted butter as it comes out of the skillet. You should totally do this.
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