This simple recipe makes perfect sourdough naan. You can use a well-fed sourdough starter and take these restaurant-style naans from scratch to done in under three hours. Or use sourdough discard to make the dough in the morning and serve hot, puffy naan for dinner. It's the best flatbread to dunk into spicy curries or use as a wrap for your favorite fillings.
Crafting the perfect sourdough naan
Sourdough is a wonderful in leavened south Asian flatbreads. It makes them puffy and cushion-soft, and it adds the perfect depth of flavor. I've shared so many naan recipes with you, including my divine vegan naan, easy vegan grilled naan and vegan gluten-free naan. I love both naan and baking with sourdough so much, I just had to roll up my sleeves and come up with the perfect sourdough naan recipe. That's the recipe I have for you today.
I have become a convert since I first made sourdough naan. They are not only delicious with the most exquisite texture of any naan I've ever eaten, they are also ridiculously easy to make, need no added yeast, and they can be made with sourdough discard.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind while making sourdough naan:
- Skip the yogurt. I see so many sourdough naan recipes that use yogurt alongside the sourdough and I can't fathom why. Yogurt is used in regular naan to achieve a soft, puffy texture and add that tangy undertone. In a sourdough naan you don't need yogurt because the sourdough does both those jobs for you.
- Knead the dough to a pliable, not stiff, texture. The dough for most south Asian flatbreads like roti and poori, is kneaded to a stiff texture, which makes it easier to roll them out. Naan is an exception. The dough for naan needs to be soft and pliable, like pizza dough.
- Let the dough relax before you make naan. After the naan dough has risen and you have shaped it into balls, give the dough balls 20 minutes to relax. This will make them much, much easier to roll out or shape with your fingers.
- Don't oil the griddle. You should brush some oil on the naan as soon as it comes off the griddle, but don't oil the griddle itself.
If you enjoy making Indian breads with sourdough, try this sourdough roti or sourdough aloo kulcha next.
Can I use sourdough discard?
You can make this recipe with either a well-fed sourdough starter that doubles within hours of feeding, or with discard from a recently fed sourdough starter. If you use an active, bubbling starter the dough should double in an hour or two. With discard, you will likely need up to eight hours. If the dough rises faster than you expected it to, you can put it in the fridge for a few hours until it's time to make the naan.
Shaping sourdough naan
Stretch naan dough like you would a pizza dough, until the naan is nearly translucent in some parts, a little thicker in others. You can also use a rolling pin to do this. Then dock it by pressing down lightly all over the surface with your fingertips. That way it won't puff up like a pita and make one big air pocket. When you put that delicate naan on the screaming-hot griddle, the heat and the sourdough yeast will create alchemy, helping the naan rise and puff up, becoming soft and pillowy - and yet pliable.
Recipe card
Sourdough naan recipe
Ingredients
- 3½ cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt (tweak this to your preference)
- ½ cup sourdough starter (or discard from a healthy, active starter)
- 1¼ cups soy milk (or another non-dairy milk)
- 2 tablespoons oil (olive oil or any neutral oil)
Instructions
- Place the bread flour in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the salt, mix it in, then add sourdough starter. Mix the sourdough starter into the flour until it is evenly dispersed. Drizzle in the milk and knead until a dough forms. Continue kneading for five more minutes.
- When finished kneading the dough should feel just slightly tacky to the touch and should be smooth and pliable. If the dough feels too wet, add more bread flour, a tablespoon at a time, until you get the right consistency.
- Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place in an oiled bowl. Coat the top of the dough with some oil as well. Set the dough aside in a warm spot in the kitchen.
- If you used a strong sourdough starter, the dough should have doubled in a couple of hours. If you used discard, it will take longer, up to eight hours.
- Divide the dough into eight equal parts. Roll into smooth balls and set aside, covered with a napkin, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, use your fingers or a rolling pin to stretch the naan to a length of about nine inches and a width of six inches. Don't sweat the shape too much -- a naan is meant to look rustic.
- Heat a cast-iron griddle until it's screaming hot. Place the shaped naan on it. Bubbles should appear all over the naan in a minute or two. Once the underside has golden-brown spots, flip the naan and let it cook a minute or two more. Brush with oil as soon as the naan comes off the griddle. Keep the baked naans wrapped in a kitchen towel while you finish the rest. Serve the naan hot.
Notes
- Don't sweat trying to form the sourdough naan into a perfect round or teardrop. A naan is a rustic bread and it doesn't need a definitive shape, like a roti would - that's part of its charm. Focus instead on getting the texture of the naan right. Stretch it with your fingers or a rolling pin until it is quite thin but still has some thick spots around the edges. This naan made with bread flour has a resilient dough, but if a tear appears just patch it by pinching together the torn edges.
- The sourdough flavor in the naan will be more pronounced if you let the dough stand for too long. I wouldn't recommend a rise of more than eight hours if you use discard, unless you want the stronger flavor.
- Use a cast iron griddle or skillet, if possible, because you can safely bring it up to a high temperature. Cast iron also distributes the heat more evenly. A non-stick griddle or skillet will work, but keep in mind that the non-stick coating can be damaged by high heat. There is also a chance the non-stick coating could release toxic chemicals at high temperatures.
- I like making the naans big - about nine by six inches. You can make smaller naans if you like. Divide the dough into 12 balls instead of eight, and shape them to a length of six inches.
Nutrition Information
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Ingredient notes
- Bread flour. This creates the most flexible, beautiful dough for the sourdough naan. You can use unbleached all-purpose flour instead.
- Sourdough starter. I use my homemade sourdough starter, which uses a proportion of 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 grams) and ¾ cup water (180 grams). If you are using a sourdough starter with different hydration, adjust the amount of liquid added to the dough accordingly.
- Soy milk or any non-dairy milk. The protein in the soy milk, I find, gives me better textured naans. You can use another nut milk or any non-dairy milk of your choice if you are allergic to soy.
Recipe FAQs
You can go ahead and make the naan if the dough rose but didn't double. Sourdough can be unpredictable and there are so many factors affecting the rise, including the temperature of your kitchen. So long as your sourdough discard came from an active starter, the naan will be a success.
You definitely can. A whole wheat naan will have a different, less chewy texture than a naan made with bread flour. If whole wheat is what you prefer, you can substitute all or part of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. You can also check out my foolproof vegan whole wheat naan recipe. Sub the yogurt and yeast with sourdough starter or discard.
Use my vegan gluten-free naan recipe and substitute the vegan yogurt and yeast with a gluten-free sourdough starter. Give the flour eight hours to rise, then make the naans.
A bit of oil added to the naan dough and a bit brushed on the naan after it has roasted will reward you with a soft, authentic texture, so I highly recommend using it. If you absolutely can't eat oil you can make the sourdough naan without any but you will get a stiffer, more dense naan.
Store the sourdough naan at room temperature for a day, and reheat on a hot griddle for a few seconds on each side until warmed through. You can also spray the naan with a little water and microwave it for a few seconds to warm it. For longer storage refrigerate for three days or freeze for up to four months. Thaw and reheat before serving.
Use sourdough naan to scoop up spicy curries. A curry with a thick texture is best suited to naan, while a thinner, saucier curry or dal should be served with roti. I love this sourdough naan with "meaty", full-flavored vegan curries like keema masala, vegan malai kofta and vegan butter chicken.
Rosemary says
Hi can you freeze the naan breads either before or after cooking?
Vaishali says
Absolutely. Freeze up to four months. Reheat in the oven or on a griddle.
Jules says
I have now made these naan three times and they seem to keep getting better and better! These are the GOAT!
Vaishali says
Yay!! So happy to hear. ❤️
Jules says
I have just made these starting with your sourdough starter. The are soft and tasty. Actually the best naan I have ever tasted from any source
GABRIELLE OTTAVIO says
Can you cook it on a pizza stone if you don’t have a griddle?
Vaishali says
Hi Gabrielle, heat the oven to 450 degrees F with the pizza stone in it. After rolling out the naan, carefully place it on the pizza stone and give it a couple of minutes to puff up and form brown spots. Flip and cook the other side - the other side should take less time. Keep an eye so the naan doesn't burn.