Bread Machine Naan – Easy Indian Bread Recipe

Love Indian food? Then you will enjoy this easy bread machine naan bread recipe. Naan is perfect with Indian food such as curry, tikka masala, chicken saag, biryani, etc.

Naan is a soft “leavened” flatbread. Traditionally, naan uses yeast to create a softer & airier flatbread (versus a less airy unleavened flatbread such as a tortilla or chapati). Your family will love this delicious butter naan.

Delicious Homemade Naan from a Bread Machine

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Naan is served in most Indian restaurants in the US. However, it is not just an Indian food. It is found (and enjoyed) in many other countries. According to Wikipedia, naan is “found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Caribbean”.

The Fluffy Interior of Homemade Naan

Since this butter naan recipe is done in a bread machine or bread maker, it is simple & easy to make. The bread machine does all the hard work such as mixing the ingredients & kneading the dough. FYI – You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of this page.

Bread Machine Naan In Frying Pan

Ingredients – Bread Machine Naan

• 1/2 Cup – Water (warm)
• 1 Cup – Plain Yogurt – Use unflavored plain yogurt. I suggest NOT using Greek yogurt or flavored yogurts as they can distort the flavor of the naan.
• 3 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – If desired, you can replace the butter with a neutral flavored vegetable oil.
• 3 1/2 Cups – All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon – White Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Salt
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – Not active dry yeast

Servings – Roughly 8-10 Naan

Equipment – Bread machine, measuring cup & spoons, soft & flexible spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack, bread machine, cutting board, rolling pin, metal spatula and frying pan.

Naan Dough in a Bread Machine

Naan Dough Being Rolled Flat on Cutting Board

Instructions – Bread Machine Naan

• Unplug your bread machine and remove the bread pan.
• Add the water, yogurt, butter and then the rest of the ingredients into the bread pan. You can make a little indent on top of the flour in order to avoid the yeast falling into the water (until the machine starts). Do not combine the salt with the yeast (as the salt can kill the yeast). Place the yeast & salt in separate parts of the bread pan.
• Place the bread pan (with ingredients) into the bread machine and then plug in the machine.
• Put your machine on the Dough setting and press the start button. In our Sunbeam bread machine, the kneading & rising on the dough setting takes about approximately 1:30 hours.
• When your bread machine has finished, unplug the machine & pour the naan dough onto a cutting board. Wear oven mitts (as the bread pan/bread machine may be hot).
• Sprinkle some flour on the cutting board (before you pour out the naan dough) in order to avoid the naan dough sticking to the cutting board.
• Divide & shape the naan dough into fist-sized balls. You should be able to make roughly 8-10 balls of dough.
• Sprinkle a little flour on the balls to prevent sticking.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough balls flat. Try to create flat circles or ovals from the dough that are roughly 1/8 to 1/4 inch high. However, irregular naan shapes are okay too!!
• I like to roll out one dough ball at time and then fry each one separately (versus rolling all 8-10 balls at once and then frying later).
• Heat a frying pan with low/medium heat and melt a thin tab of butter on the frying pan.
• Place the flattened naan dough on top of the melted butter in the frying pan. FYI – Melted butter can splash when the naan is placed in the fry pan or when the naan is flipped. Therefore, you should wear oven mitts & a long sleeved shirt to prevent any potential burns from splashes.
• Flip the naan frequently with a metal spatula in order to brown the naan evenly (and avoid burning the naan). The frying should only take 1-3 minutes per naan (depending on the level of heat used).
• Add more butter to the frying pan when you fry each new naan.
• Place the naan on a wire cooling rack for a minute to cool down slightly.
• Serve while naan still warm.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully.

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Tips – Bread Machine Naan

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Bread Machine Recipes such as extra soft white bread, banana bread, oatmeal bread and French bread.

• Naan is a leavened bread (one that has risen due to yeast or baking soda/power). Naan bread is softer & fluffier than unleavened Indian breads such as chapati (roti), paratha, etc.
• Some Indian restaurants use baking soda/baking powder to make naan because they rise faster than yeast. However, in my opinion, baking soda/baking powder naan is not as airy and soft as yeast naan.
• Many of the naans found in Indian restaurants are made with yogurt. The slight acidity of yogurt “tenderizes” gluten and this helps to create a classic soft & fluffy naan. For more about naan, you might like to read this Wikipedia article on naan.
• If you are looking for traditional Indian breads made without the use of yogurt, you should explore recipes for breads such as paratha, chapati, etc. You can also find online recipes for naan made without yogurt (e.g. vegan naan).

• Warning – For this naan recipe, you should use unflavored plain yogurt (not Greek yogurt). Greek yogurt or flavored yogurts can negatively impact the flavor of the naan. Basically, you want a very mild yogurt. Not one that is super sour, strongly flavored, fruit flavored, etc.
• I know that some people like to use Greek yogurt to make their naan. However, I prefer plain regular yogurt because it has less of a flavor impact on the naan and thus other potential flavor “additions” (e.g. garlic naan or onion naan) stand out more.
• Be aware this recipe creates a very SOFT dough. The yogurt “tenderizes” the gluten in the dough. The dough will be softer than a dough created with just water or milk.

• Here are some naan varieties that you can make with a bread machine or bread maker; plain naan, butter naan, garlic naan, onion naan, vegan naan, Peswari naan (dried fruit & chopped nuts), etc.
• Optional – If you want to make garlic naan, you can mince & fry 3 small cloves of garlic. Add minced & fried garlic to the bread pan with the rest of the ingredients before turning on the machine. Do not use garlic powder as that will inhibit the yeast from rising properly. Frying the fresh garlic cloves prevents this problem.
• Optional – If you want to make onion naan, you can dice & fry 1/2 of a medium-sized onion. Add diced & fried onions to the bread pan with the rest of the ingredients before turning on the machine.
• Visitors – What extra ingredients do you like to add to your naan? Minced garlic? Onion flakes? Dried fruit? Spices? Please share your naan tips in the comment section below.
• Visitor Suggestions – Diane uses my “naan bread recipe as a pizza base with cheese and garlic”, Alison said “We are vegan so I used plain vegan yogurt and vegan butter… This was awesome thank you will make again”, Malcolm added “1 garlic clove grated into the bread machine… pan fried each naan bread with garlic butter”, Emily likes to add “garlic powder and some dried Italian seasoning” to naan, She also made another naan with “1/4 cup of shredded cheese”, Emily also kindly shared how she bakes naan in her oven “375 @ 10 minutes, then low broil to brown the tops for 2 min”, Samantha likes to add “homegrown fresh crushed garlic and parsley” and Bill made “different variations of it such as green onion, garlic, parmesan and others”.

• This recipe is based on using all purpose flour (which is much easier to find in US supermarkets than more specialized flours). All purpose flour is called “plain flour” in the UK.
• If you use another type of flour, you might have an overly wet or overly dry dough (as different types of flour absorb different amounts of moisture).
• Use FRESH ingredients for the best results. For example, old flour or expired yogurt can negatively impact the flavor of the naan.
• I like to keep my ingredients (e.g. flour & sugar) in airtight containers. This helps to reduce potential ingredient exposure to dust, pests, moisture, strange odors, etc.

• Do NOT use old flour. Old flour (especially when it is stored in an open bag or non airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air.
• This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to overly wet naan dough, etc.
• If your dough is coming out too wet, it is most likely that you are using flour from an open package (which has absorbed lots of moisture from the air over time). You will need to add some extra flour to offset this unplanned for extra moisture.
• I like to check my dough after the first 4 to 5 minutes of machine mixing/kneading to see if it needs a little extra flour (if the dough is too wet) or water (if the dough is too dry).
• Make sure to level off the ingredients in your measuring spoons & cups. No “mountains” of ingredients in your spoons & cups!! If you add too much of an ingredient, you can have a baking problem. FYI – I like to level the ingredients in my measuring spoons & cups with the back of a butter knife.

• I like to use butter in order to fry my naan. This helps to create a more buttery naan (which is known as butter naan in many Indian restaurants).
• However, if you dislike the taste of butter, you can use a neutral-flavored vegetable oil (such as canola oil, corn oil or mild/light olive oil) as a replacement. I would suggest not using a strongly flavored oil such as extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil (which can negatively impact the flavor of the naan).
• Optional – For a lighter tasting naan, brush the exterior of each naan dough patty with a small amount of softened butter or vegetable oil before frying in a nonstick frying pan (without any additional melted butter or oil in the pan). This is in contrast to frying the naan in a frying pan that contains melted butter or oil. Thanks Cheryl for this tip!

• If you want to be more authentic when making Indian bread, you can use ghee (instead of regular butter). Ghee is “clarified butter” frequently used in Indian food. However, ghee can be expensive (versus butter) and is hard to find in many American supermarkets.
• FYI – According to Wikipedia, “Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from cream (traditionally made by churning the top most layer of dahi, which is also called Bilona method), skimming any impurities from the surface, then pouring and retaining the clear liquid fat while discarding the solid residue that has settled to the bottom. Spices can be added for flavor.”
• I like to fry my naan bread on low heat in order to just brown the naan. However, you can use a slightly higher grilling temperature if you want a crispier naan (but your naan will likely have some burnt areas).
• Wear oven mitts & a long sleeve shirt to reduce the potential of being burned by melted butter or hot oil splashes when frying the naan.

• According to Wikipedia, naan “resembles pita and, like pita bread, is usually leavened with yeast or with bread starter (leavened naan dough left over from a previous batch)… Naan is cooked in a tandoor, from which tandoori cooking takes its name.” A tandoor is a round specialized oven where the naan at stuck to the inside of the oven walls and baked.
• Since most of us don’t have a tandoor oven, I like to fry my naan (as it is easier to create a buttery naan and to control the browning of the naan). However, others like to bake their naan in a traditional oven on a baking sheet.
• According to Wikipedia, “Naan can also be covered with, or serve as a wrap for, various toppings of meat, vegetables, or cheeses. This version is sometimes prepared as fast food.” So there are many great ways to enjoy homemade naan!
• I like eating naan bread by dipping it into the sauce of Indian food (e.g. chicken curry). This allows me to “mop up” every last bit of delicious Indian food from my plate! Homemade naan is better than supermarket naan and less expensive than restaurant naan.
• Naan also goes well with “wetter” Western dishes such as stews, chili, soup, etc. Perfect anytime you want to mop up the leftover gravy or sauce on your plate.

• This recipe uses bread machine yeast (instant yeast). It does NOT use active dry yeast. Active dry yeast needs to be pre-activated in a liquid and can take 10-15 minutes to activate. This time delay can throw off bread machine recipes. In contrast, bread machine does not need to be pre-activated and is an instant yeast.
• If you haven’t used your bread machine or bread maker in a long time, please buy some NEW bread machine yeast before making your bread. Old yeast can die or lose its potency and this will lead to bread that does not rise properly. Bread machine yeast is not likely to be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.
• Bread machine yeast loses its potency over time. Generally, bread machine yeast lasts for only 3-4 months after you have opened the bottle. However, if the yeast is exposed to air & moisture (e.g. the bottle not sealed tight) or exposed to higher temperatures, the yeast will expire even more quickly.
• Once you have opened the bottle that contains the bread machine yeast, the yeast will last longer if you store the bottle in the refrigerator or freezer. Just make sure the bottle is sealed tight (as yeast will deteriorate quickly if exposed to air, moisture and/or heat).
• Bread machine yeast in a bottle that has never been opened should last until the bottle’s “Best If Used By” date… but only if the bottle has been stored properly (e.g. in a refrigerator, freezer or in a dark, dry & cool spot in the pantry) and the bottle remains unopened.

• Kitchen humidity can impact a recipe. A winter kitchen tends to be drier due to your heating system drying out the air. In contrast, a kitchen in the summer can be much more humid. This change in humidity impacts baking as flour can soak up humidity from the air. Therefore, you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid in the winter if the dough is looking too dry. Or you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of flour in the summer if the dough is looking too wet. If your kitchen is very dry or humid, you might have to add even a little more (but start with 1 teaspoon at a time until you achieve the right consistency). Of course, excessive kitchen humidity or dryness can impact a recipe at any time during the year (not just in the summer & winter)!
• In addition, flour in an open container or bag will pick up extra moisture from the atmosphere while sitting in the pantry and this can throw off recipes, spoil flavor, degrade the flour’s shelf life, etc. This problem is one of the reasons that people should store flour in an airtight container if they have already opened the flour package.
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with ovens & bread machines. They can get very hot.
• For more easy bread machine recipes (e.g. white bread, whole wheat bread or banana bread), please visit Bread Dad’s main section on Bread Machine Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Bread Machine
2. Wikipedia, Ghee
3. Wikipedia, Indian Cuisine
4. Wikipedia, Maida Flour
5. Wikipedia, Naan

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