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If you are unfamiliar with Naan bread, it is a great time to meet each other.
Naan bread is a traditional Indian bread. It is a type of flatbread that you make in a skillet. It is not a just flatbread, but also a soft and pliable type of bread.
This Naan recipe is quick and easy to make and requires no yogurt. This recipe is probably my favorite recipe for the Naan bread as it is not only quick but super delicious.
Sometimes people mix pita and Naan bread, but although both being types of flatbread, they are completely different. Pita bread is cooked in an extremely hot pan or oven and has a characteristic air pocket in the middle.
Naan bread is cooked over medium-high heat on a skillet and it has more air bubbles than pita bread, which has one big giant bubble.
Naan bread can be served with any type of meal. You can eat Naan along with soups, gravy, meat dishes, or simply used for sandwiches.
Can You Make Naan Bread Without Yogurt?
Yes, you can make the Naan bread without yogurt. The yogurt is used to make the bread soft and fluff, but making Naan bread with yeast and allowing it to raise will give the same results.
Yogurt of any type is not mandatory in this recipe. Yeast will do the trick and turn the Naan dough into the softest and most bubbly bread.
How Is Naan Bread Traditionally Made?
Naan bread uses really simple ingredients:
Flour
Yeast
Salt
Milk
Warm water
First, you want to make the dough by combining the yeast and flour together. Knead the dough by hands or using a stand mixer with dough hooks attached. Divide the dough into six to eight portions and let it raise for at least 1 hour.
Once the dough is made, the bread itself is baked in a very hot clay tandoori oven, with charcoal or wood. Of course, we do not have a tandoori oven so the next best thing is a heated skillet.
You can use either a plain non-stick skillet or a cast-iron skillet (this one that you can pick up on Amazon is by far my favorite, and perfect for making Naan).
The baked bread will have distinguished brown spots on top. The spots are actually air pockets and a great indicator when the Naan bread is done.
Once it’s cooked, you can serve the Naan bread with olive oil, ghee, or butter.
How to Serve Naan
You can make Naan bread plain or with herbs or spices. Although Naan bread is not traditionally made with spices, you can always feel free to adjust this recipe to your personal taste.After all, you’re the one eating it!
You can use some of the traditional Indian spices such as turmeric or a pinch of curry powder, or choose a variety of herbs such as thyme, oregano or basil.
For some extra crunch, you can sprinkle the Naan bread with black cumin seeds.
Now let’s get into our yogurt-less Naan recipe!
How to Make Naan Without Yogurt
Ingredients
½ cup warm water
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp almond milk or plain milk
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil + some extra for brushing
Instructions
Step 1
Gather your ingredients.
In a mixing bowl, combine water, sugar, and yeast. Cover and let it stand for 5 minutes at a warm place.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, milk, lemon juice, olive oil, and the yeast mixture. Stir to combine until dough comes together.
Step 3
Divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece in a ball. Arrange the balls on a plate and cover with a damp cloth.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
Step 4
Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat.
Roll the dough balls to a 1/4-inch thickness and place into the heated skillet. Cook the Naan bread until it starts to bubble.
Flip the bread and brush with some olive oil.Cook the bread on the other side.
Serve bread warm with olive oil, butter, or ghee, and enjoy!
Naan Recipe Without Yogurt
Yield: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour20 minutes
This authentic Naan bread without yogurt is soft and fluffy, just like Naan should be!
Ingredients
½ cup warm water
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp almond milk or plain milk
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil + some extra for brushing
Instructions
In a mixing bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast.
Cover and let it stand for 5 minutes at warm place.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, milk, lemon juice, olive oil, and the yeast.
Stir to combine until dough comes together.
Divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece in a ball. Arrange the balls on a plate and cover with a damp cloth.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat.
Roll the dough balls to a 1/4-inch thickness and place into the heated skillet. Cook the Naan bread until it starts to bubble. Flip the bread and brush with some olive oil.
While making naan, yogurt can be substituted with buttermilk, lemon juice and milk, curd and butter, sour cream, soy yogurt, and coconut milk yogurt. Some of these substitutes are dairy products while others are vegan-friendly non-dairy products.
Here's what you'll need to make this two-ingredient naan: Self-rising flour: You'll need 1 ¼ cups of self-rising flour. If you only have all-purpose flour on hand, you can make a DIY version with just a few ingredients. Yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt holds the naan dough together and ensures a tender texture.
Butter naan is indulgence personified. After cooking the plain naan, a generous amount of butter is brushed over the surface, imparting a rich yet buttery flavour. The butter also gives the naan a glossy finish, making it irresistible to resist.
What most people don't realize is, most Indians don't eat naan everyday. It's a treat reserved for special occasions. A healthier alternative that is eaten daily in most indian households, is roti (also called chapati or fulka). It's an unleavened flatbread made of just two ingredients - whole wheat flour and water.
Yogurt contributes to the texture of baked goods. Substitutes like sour cream, buttermilk, or silken tofu can help maintain or approximate the desired texture. However, when using an ingredient like cottage cheese or heavy cream, the texture can chance.
If you don't have access to traditional Indian or Greek yogurt, some alternatives include regular cow's milk yogurt, coconut yogurt, almond yogurt, soy yogurt, or goat's milk yogurt. Depending on the recipe, it is also possible to substitute other dairy products such as ricotta cheese or crème fraîche.
Naan doesn't get bubbles – Pan not hot enough, dough not moist enough or improper leavening. Naan turns hard – Toasting for too long, not enough moisture in the dough, toasting on low heat or not kneading the dough enough.
First I preheat the toaster, then when it's warm I run the naan bread under the tap for a moment so both sides are wet. Not soaked through, just wet. I then stick it in the hot toaster for a minute or two until it is warm. The water stops the bread drying out, and makes it lighter and fluffier than warming it dry.
And like those fluffy spuds, this soft flatbread has little nutritional value. Most naan recipes call for Greek yogurt to give it that airy texture. But that's more than offset by less healthy ingredients like white flour, sugar, and oil.
100 grams of naan contains 310 calories, compared to 100 grams of steamed brown rice, which contains 125 calories. naan contains no fiber compared to the rice, which leads to an imbalance of gut bacteria, constipation, and a potentially increased risk of bowel cancer. naan contains no phytonutrients.
Kulcha. This next bread is often confused with naan due to its similar appearance. While naan is usually made with yeast and yogurt or milk, kulcha is usually made with baking powder and baking soda.
Roti is generally considered healthier than naan. Roti is lower in calories and contains zero saturated and trans fats and cholesterol. In contrast, naan tends to be higher in calories and may contain added fats. For a healthier choice, roti is often preferred, especially by those conscious of their dietary intake.
The take-away: In a pinch, substitute buttermilk, or milk that has been spiked with a little lemon juice or vinegar (aka homemade buttermilk) and use 1/4 less milk than the amount of yogurt called for in the recipe.
In the absence of a homemade yogurt starter culture
2> If there's no homemade yogurt for starter, any good quality organic store bought plain yogurt will work well as long as it contains live culture (like S. THERMOPHILUS, L.
Although traditionally tandoori chicken recipes call for plain yogurt as the base, I'm not a big yogurt fan. I decided to try using coconut milk instead, and it turned out great! This is a wonderfully easy recipe, great for lazy days.
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