Easy Sourdough Naan Recipe (No Yeast, No Oven!)

A plate of freshly cooked sourdough naan bread, stacked and overlapping, with some brown toasted spots, rests on a cloth with a striped towel beside it.

5 from 2 votes

Easy Sourdough Naan Recipe (No Yeast, No Oven!)

Soft, fluffy, and flavorful, this sourdough naan recipe uses your active starter to create restaurant-style flatbread at home. Cooked on a hot skillet, these sourdough naan flatbreads are perfect for curries, wraps, sandwiches, or as a snack. Simple ingredients, minimal effort, and naturally leavened for the best texture and flavor.

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Resting Time4

Total Time4 50

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: sourdough, naan, flatbread

Servings: servings

Calories: 130kcal

Author: Kaity Farrell

Ingredients

50 g active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
125 g milk or plain yogurt (1/2 cup, or non-dairy milk)
5 g apple cider vinegar (1 teaspoon, omit of using yogurt)
150 g water (1/2 cup + 2 tbs)
12 g extra-virgin olive oil or ghee (1 tablespoon)
21 g honey (1 tablespoon, or sweetener of your choice)
10 g kosher salt (2.5 teaspoons)
500 g all-purpose flour (3-1/2 cups)

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium-sized mixing bowl add everything except for the all-purpose flour. Combine with a fork to break up the starter.
Then add the flour and mix on the lowest setting with a dough hook attachment or knead by hand until a soft smooth dough comes together or about 8 minutes.
Cover the bowl with a damp towel or beeswax wrap and let the dough bulk ferment until it has grown by 70%-100% in volume, which could take anywhere from 4-12 hours or longer depending on your climate.
After bulk ferment, preheat a large cast iron skillet on the stovetop over low heat.
Divide the dough into 16 equal portions and dust them and the work surface with flour.
Then roll out 2 pieces of dough into flat oblong/oval shapes about 8"x4".
After you roll out 2 pieces, lightly oil the cooking surface then lay the rolled out pieces of dough flat into the skillet. Bubbles should start to form immediately in the dough. Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid.
Cook the flatbread for 2-3 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid and flip the flatbread. It may puff up a bit after you flip it. Cook the other side, uncovered for another 2-3 minutes. Both sides should have dark brown spots and the bread should be soft and fold easily.
Remove the bread with kitchen tongs and lightly brush both sides with olive oil or ghee. Place them on a plate and cover with a kitchen towel while you cook the remaining batches.
Roll out the next batch while the previous batch is cooking. Make sure to lightly oil the skillet between batches. Repeat steps 6-9 until all of the dough is cooked.

Notes

Freeze the leftover naan in a freezer bag to use within 6 months. Defrost and warm them in the toaster as you need.
A large cast-iron skillet with sides works best for this recipe. A griddle would work, but you would need a domed lid or inverted disposable roasting pan to cover the dough while it cooks.
Lightly oiling the skillet between batches is an important step and helps keep the bread soft and pliable.
You may have to adjust the heat level throughout the cooking process. If the dough is browning too fast then lower the heat, or if no air bubbles form when the dough hits the skillet then raise the heat a bit.
Using a lid for the first half of cooking helps to hold in steam and create larger air pockets for a light and airy finished flatbread. Kind of like "oven spring" when baking sourdough bread.

Nutrition