Topic: Naan Bread Non-Yeast Recipe

[Stephen Lindsay]

I recently posted a picture of a couple of curries, with rice and naan.  My only purpose for posting this was to share with members what I was eating that evening.  I was somewhat taken by surprise and a bit embarrassed by some of the positive responses to the picture, particularly about the naan bread (see below).

I am a bit of a note keeper and I have been experimenting with non-yeast naan bread for while, with my formal notes going back to 2010.  Each time I have made naan I have taken notes and tweaked the ingredients or method to a point where I've now got something that is acceptable, short of buying a tandoor.

I've tried various ingredients but these have been changed by adjusting quantities more than adding or removing them.

I've tried various methods such as:

leaving the dough to sit or cooking it straight after mixing
making the dough quite dry (like a bread loaf) or making the dough quite wet
sprinkling water on the naan before cooking
using a hot non-stick pan to cook the bottom and hot grill to cook the top
using a hot non-stick pan to cook the bottom and flipping it over to cook the top
using a hot non-stick pan to cook the bottom and a blow torch to cook the top
placing a marble chopping board in a maximum hot oven to heat and cooking the naan in the oven
placing a marble chopping board in a maximum hot oven then cooking the bottom on it and using a blow torch to cook the top
smearing with butter before cooking the top or putting the butter on afterwards

I believe that it is in the cooking method more than the dough, where the essential characteristics of naan are achieved.  In the method section I've included a method for the hob and one for the oven.  In the notes section I have included some hints / tips based on what hasn't worked and what I've found has worked for me.

This is where I have got to so far:

Naan Bread (Non-Yeast Recipe)
Makes 4 small or 2 large naans

Ingredients:

150g self raising flour
150g plain four

[Peripatetic Phil]

Mixer with dough hook or K-beater, Stephen ?
** Phil.

[Stephen Lindsay]

Mixer with dough hook Phil

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thank you !  Incidentally, I made a steak-and-kidney pudding with mixer and dough hook recently, and it was a disaster : the pudding simply didn't fluff up as it usually does.  My normal puddings are 6oz or 8oz flour, but this one was a 12 oz-er, so I thought the mixer would be easier.  It may well have been easier, but the results were nowhere near as good as I get cutting the suet in with a knife ...

** Phil.

[StoneCut]

These look really great ! However, aren't you cheating a bit when you say "Non-Yeast Naan" ? I mean self raising flour includes leavening agents such as baking soda, baking powder and/or instant dry yeast.

[Peripatetic Phil]

These look really great ! However, aren't you cheating a bit when you say "Non-Yeast Naan" ? I mean self raising flour includes leavening agents such as baking soda, baking powder and/or instant dry yeast.

I don't believe that self-raising flour ever includes instant dry yeast.  Stephen is clearly differentiating between yeast-based naans and non-yeast-based naans, and neither baking powder nor baking soda nor self-raising flour include yeast, so for me the distinction is clear (yeast is a living organism, baking powder/soda are non-living chemicals).

** Phil.

[colin grigson]

Nice looking naans Stephen and a very clearly laid out recipe with options to suit most people .. thanks very much for your hard work and generosity in sharing it ... another to try   

[h4ppy-chris]

looks good Stephen well done mate.

[StoneCut]

These look really great ! However, aren't you cheating a bit when you say "Non-Yeast Naan" ? I mean self raising flour includes leavening agents such as baking soda, baking powder and/or instant dry yeast.

I don't believe that self-raising flour ever includes instant dry yeast.  Stephen is clearly differentiating between yeast-based naans and non-yeast-based naans, and neither baking powder nor baking soda nor self-raising flour include yeast, so for me the distinction is clear (yeast is a living organism, baking powder/soda are non-living chemicals).

** Phil.

Hhhm, that may be true (no yeast in self-raising flour). However, in that case I don't understand the advantage of a non-yeast naan (except for possible flavour differences). I figured it wouldn't use any leavening agents at all. I can see tons of advantages to that (and problems).

[Peripatetic Phil]

Hhhm, that may be true (no yeast in self-raising flour). However, in that case I don't understand the advantage of a non-yeast naan (except for possible flavour differences). I figured it wouldn't use any leavening agents at all. I can see tons of advantages to that (and problems).

For me, the advantage of  a yeast-free dough over a yeast-based dough is that one does not have to understand yeast !  Yeast, being a living organism, has a mind of its own (in a metaphorical sense); if it likes the conditions, it will grow, multiply, give off CO₂, cause the dough to rise, and so on; if it doesn't like the conditions, it will just sit there and sulk.  Baking powder has none of these foibles : it does what it's told, and that's the end of it.  Now I happen to believe that yeast is better, for most home baking, but if Stephen can get a non-yeast-based naan to not only /look/ like the real thing but to taste like one, then he is going to save a great many would-be chefs a great deal of heartache !

Incidentally, as I composed this, a thought came to mind : there is a saying in the equestrian world that you tell a mare what to do, ask a gelding, and discuss it with a stallion; exactly the same is true of baking powder, instant yeast and real yeast, in that order ...

** Phil.