I made naan for the first time and it came out a little dry and crackery rather than moist and bread-like. Not sure if I cooked it at too low a temperature, needed tp work the dough more, needed to add some sort of oil, or what. Any ideas?
Oil mainly. Did you add oil to the dough when making the dough? A dash or two of vegetable oil tends to help. And dry and crackery sounds as if you cooked them for too long…
We have tried cooking naan at home and they never seem to come out the same as in a restaurant. There must be a trick to it that I’m missing.
More yoghurt maybe?
When the superhero makes naan, he uses yogurt in the dough and cooks it at a very high temperature on a pizza stone (the closest he can come to replicating the conditions of a tandoori oven). It’s pretty good but never quite like you can get in a restaurant.
Yes to both. The cooking needs to be hot and fast. And they never taste quite as good as when the professionals do it.
Yeah, I don’t think there’s anything you can do in a home oven that can approach the tremendous heat that one finds in tandoori oven. For naan, you need horrific heat, and the breads are only cooked for several seconds at that temperature. That way, they never get a chance to dry out; they come out slightly crisp on the bottom but flexible and tender otherwise.
I think I read somewhere that obsessed home cooks try to get their ovens that hot by somehow rigging the “oven clean” feature to allow them to cook during it, but that sounds pretty dangerous to me.
I applaud those of you who try to make it at home.
I just substitute pita bread. No, it’s not one tenth as good.
In my defense, I do cook up my own papadum. From pre-formed discs.
Do you fry them in oil?
Because they cook remarkably well in a microwave. Honestly!
30-45 seconds on full blast (or until it’s all cooked). Not quite as nice as oil-fried, but 10 times easier and better for you.
That’s how I did it, at high temperature on a pizza stone.
I did not add oil and I used baking powder rather than yeast. I’m trying “Balti” recipes from a new book and that’s what they called for. I just checked and I used fat-free yogurt, so there was no oil all.
I’ll try again with full-fat yogurt and an even hotter oven.
Done it both ways.
It takes my micro up to 2 minutes to cook it.
And it’s not as fun as watching it puff up in oil.
I’ve never cooked it, so I’m no help, except to say that Trader Joe’s has an excellent frozen naan.
I’ve very much wanted to make naan at home, but the directions always seem so complicated. I’m not a very good bread maker. All I can do is pizza crust.
If I had to guess, given the resemblence naan has to very good neapolitan/East Coast pizza dough, I’d say the temperature would have to be in the 800-1000F region to develop the lovely charring and softness.
I just make chapatis instead of naan. They’re a bit easier and you could make them on a very hot griddle or cast iron pan.
Seconded. I’ve tried making it at home and had the same results as the OP. The TJ’s stuff is the next best thing to fresh restaurant nan, and they have both plain and garlic versions.
Great tip. We used yoghurt, but maybe our oven wasn’t hot enough. I’ll invest in a pizza stone and try again.
There are lots of videos on youtube showing how to make it. You can also use your stove. It looks pretty easy.