Butter Naan

Notes and Pro Tips for the BEST Butter Naan

Boil a kettle and add a ½ cup hot water to a measuring cup then add cold water to it and check the temp to make sure I won’t kill the yeast. 120°–130°F is the ideal water temperature for quick (rapid rise) yeast according to Fleischmann’s yeast website.
The dough is supposed to be very sticky after kneading. Wet your hands with water to handle it, generously flour the work surface, and oil the dough balls on top and bottom before letting them rise. If the dough is too sticky to handle, gently knead more flour into it. Be sure to let it rest for 1 hour if you work the dough.
The 1 hour rise time is not only important for the dough to get bubbly, it is super important to making the naan soft. As you knead the dough (or have the mixer do it for you with a dough hook), you create a super tight, bouncy dough. If not rested, the dough will shrink up after rolling it out and you’ll have hard, small flatbreads instead of lovely tender ones.
If you have a gas stove, you can make finish the naan over a direct flame to make it even more like authentic tandoori naan. When you flip the naan over, cook the underside for just long enough to seal the surface so it isn’t sticky. Carefully use tongs to move the naan over to a direct flame. The naan will puff dramatically and yummy charred spots will appear. Just watch closely.

How to Make Naan Dough in Advance

You can prepare the dough in advance and keep it in the refrigerator or the freezer.

Either way, I prefer to store the dough as balls rather than as one giant bowl of dough in the bowl of a stand mixer because then you have to work the dough less just before cooking (working the dough less results in softer naan).

To Refrigerate Naan Dough:

Prep the recipe up to forming the dough balls. Arrange the dough balls on a parchment-paper-lined plate, drizzle with a bit of oil and turn the dough around to coat them fully (this prevents them from sticking as well as preventing the surface from drying out). Then cover with plastic wrap or pack into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
You can skip the 1-hour rise as they’ll slowly rise in the fridge for the same result.
Before rolling the dough into large ovals, let it warm back up to room temperature.

NOTE: I don’t recommend rolling it out in advance and storing the fully-shaped raw dough. As a sticky mixture, it can be hard to lift flattened dough off of the parchment paper and it would be frustrating to lose your hard work in shaping.

To Freeze Naan Dough:

Again, make the recipe up to forming the dough balls. Line a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper, drizzle with a bit of oil and turn the dough around to coat the dough fully. Skip the 1-hour rise and freeze uncovered in a single layer until solid. Transfer frozen dough to a freezer bag or airtight container.
Thawing: Thaw frozen dough balls in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for a few hours before use. To prevent sticking to the container or bag, transfer them back to an oiled sheet of parchment paper and cover loosely with another sheet or parchment before covering with a clean towel or plastic wrap.
You can keep dough frozen for up to 3 months.

How to Store Cooked Naan

Store leftover naan in an airtight container or zipper bag at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Do not store cooked naan in the fridge. Refrigerating cooked naan will make it hard. The temperature of the fridge speeds up the staling process in baked goods.

If you won’t use up leftovers within 1 day, just freeze it.

To freeze cooked naan, let it cool and then pack into an airtight container separated with layers of parchment or wax paper. Freeze up to 3 months.

Related: Naan Pizza (excellent for using up leftover naan!)