With a shortage of strong bread flour and yeast in the shops the other day, I’ve been making my own naan bread. I’ve always loved naan bread but the beauty with this recipe is that it doesn’t need yeast or strong bread flour to make it.

This naan recipe contains self raising flour and full fat natural yoghurt. This helps to leaven the bread slightly. The dough does not rise but instead ferments and you have to allow for this. Instead of cooking the naan in a traditional tandoor oven, these naans are cooked under a very hot grill.

Makes 8

Ingredients:

250g self raising flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 rounded tbsp full fat natural yoghurt

115ml lukewarm water

40g unsalted butter

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp any spices or herbs

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the yoghurt and the warm water to the bowl. Do this a little at a time and work the dough together first with a knife and then using your hands.
3. The dough will be a little bit sticky and rough but this is to be expected. Leave it to ferment for an hour in the mixing bowl. It should be covered with cling film or a damp tea towel.
4. After an hour take the dough out of your bowl. Remember it won’t have risen because it doesn’t have any yeast in it.
5. Flour your fingers and the work top and divide the dough into eight equal portions. Make each portion into a ball. Flatten, then stretch out the dough into an oval either with your hands or using a rolling pin.
6. Preheat your grill to the highest setting. When it is hot enough, grill the naans for roughly 1 1/2 minutes each side. They should be puffed up. I cook mine in two batches of four as they won’t all fit under my grill at the same time.
7. While your naans are grilling, melt the butter in a small saucepan on the hob. Add the chopped garlic and any herbs or spices you may want to add.
8. When the naan bread is ready, brush them with the melted butter mixture and serve straightaway.

Variation:

In the baking aisle of my local supermarket, I found a sachet by Allinson’s called Baking Additions which had wild garlic and herbs in it. When I used it with the naan bread, I have had added half a sachet to for each batch of naan bread and it was really delicious.

We have really enjoyed these naan breads again tonight with a curry and I’ll definitely be making some again next week.

Stay safe everyone and happy baking.

Sam xx