Afghan Naan Bread (Afghani Naan)

This soft Afghan Naan Bread is a homemade flatbread recipe perfect for any kind of stew or curry.

This Afghan naan bread has become our favorite homemade naan. I have made it countless times, and it is a delight every time. So soft, so comforting, so tasty!

We all love homemade flatbread. There is really no comparison to the dry and chewy packaged naan that we can buy in the supermarket!

This Afghani naan with yogurt is soft and fluffy, has a wonderful butter flavor, and it's just the perfect side for a good curry.

Over the years, I've tried several naan bread recipes, some good, some not so great. This recipe is definitely our favorite, the only one I bake over and over again. Actually, as I repost this recipe today, I realize this is probably the only naan bread I have been baking during the last 3 years or so. If I did try another recipe during this time, I don't even remember it right now.

Recipe ingredients

Flour:

• You will need mostly all-purpose flour, which will be mixed with a small amount of whole wheat flour. I think using a little whole wheat flour makes the dough easier to roll and makes the Afghan flatbread heartier.

Instant dry yeast:

• I use instant dry yeast, which can be mixed directly with the rest of the ingredients.

Active dry yeast:

• If using active dry yeast, proof it first. Place it in a small bowl, add a little amount of lukewarm water (from the 230 ml/ 1 cup water you have already measured), and stir to dissolve.
• Add the yeast to the rest of the ingredients and continue with the recipe.

Maple syrup:

• I use it if I happen to have it.
• If not, you can take runny honey instead.

Butter or ghee:

• Ghee would be the original, but butter is fine as well.
• I tend to use butter more often, because I don't always have ghee, and I just love that buttery flavor.

Cumin or Nigella seeds:

• The original recipe calls for the homemade naan bread to be sprinkled with cumin seeds; I have done that but didn't like it much, so I scraped them all off again at the table. You could try it, though; it might be you like that more than I did.
• The second time, I sprinkled the Afghani naan with Nigella seeds (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab), and I liked that a lot, so I keep doing it all the time now; I can totally recommend it.

How to make it?

Make the dough

• You can make the dough by hand, in a food processor fitted with a dough blade, or with a mixer fitted with a bread hook.
• Mix both types of flour, yeast, syrup, salt, water, yogurt and oil.
• Knead for about 5 minutes (more or less, depending on the machine you are using) or until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
• If you do that by hand, you will have to knead a bit longer.
• The dough should be soft but not too sticky.
• If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour a little at a time.
• Form a ball, place it in an oiled bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place. I put the bowl in the oven and turned on the oven light. Not the oven, just the oven light.
• Leave the dough rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Shape the dough

• Divide the dough into 10 portions, form small balls, cover with a kitchen cloth and let stand for another 15 minutes.
• Roll the balls into discs using a small rolling pin, and shape the dough to form the typical elongated naan bread.

Fry the bread

• Melt a little bit of the butter or ghee in a large, non-stick skillet.
• Add 2 or 3 of the dough pieces to the pan, depending on the size of your pan.
• Fry for 1 minute.
• Flip and cook the second side for about 4 minutes, until the underside has brown spots.
• Melt another small piece of butter and repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Place the naan pieces of bread on a cloth and brush with a little more butter or ghee.
• Keep covered in cloth until ready to serve.

What to serve with naan bread?

The easiest answer: curry!

Recipe

Afghan Naan Bread with Yogurt

Wonderfully soft Afghan Naan Bread, a homemade naan bread recipe perfect for any stew or curry.

4.80 from 10 votes

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Course: Bread

Cuisine: Afghan

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 pieces

Calories: 219kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 400 g all-purpose flour 14 oz/ 3 ⅓ cups
• ▢ 30 g whole wheat flour 1 oz/ ¼ cup
• ▢ 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast Note 2
• ▢ 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 230 ml lukewarm water 7.8 fl.oz/ 1 cup
• ▢ 60 g yogurt 2.1 oz/ scant ¼ cup
• ▢ 1 tablespoons oil
• ▢ Nigella seeds
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoons ghee or butter as needed

Instructions

• Mix the flours, yeast, syrup, salt, water, yogurt, and oil in a food processor, fitted with a dough blade or a mixer fitted with a bread hook.
• Knead for about 5 minutes (more or less depending on the machine you are using) or until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. If you do that by hand, you will have to knead a bit longer.

  The dough should be soft but not too sticky; if it is too sticky, add a bit more flour a little at a time.
• Let rise: Form a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place. Leave for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
• Divide the dough into 10 portions, form small balls, cover and let stand for another 15 minutes.
• Roll the balls into discs using a small rolling pin, and shape the dough to form the typical elongated naan bread. The naan breads should be rolled about about 5 mm/ 0.2 inches thick, about 12-14 cm / 5-5.5 inches long and about 8-9 cm/ 3-3.5 inches wide.
• Fry bread: Melt a little bit of the butter or ghee in a large non-stick skillet, add 2 or 3 of the dough pieces and fry for 1 minute.
• Flip and cook the second side for about 4 minutes until the underside has brown spots.
• Repeat: Melt another small piece of butter and repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Brush: Place the naan bread on a cloth and brush with a little more butter or ghee. Keep covered in cloth until ready to serve.

Notes

1. Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it ensures the best results (Amazon affiliate link).
2. If you use active dry yeast, you will have to proof it first. Then, place the yeast in a small bowl, add about ¼ of the 230 ml/ 1 cup water needed for the recipe and dissolve. Continue with the recipe as instructed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1naan bread | Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 360mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g

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