Naan Bread Recipe Without Yogurt: Easy and Simple Guide
Is it even possible for you to make Naan bread without yogurt? Although yogurt can be a vital ingredient in Naan bread, it does not have to be necessary! There are multiple recipes that you can look up and use to make traditional naan bread without yogurt. Substituting or using a recipe that doesn’t call for yogurt can be an excellent way to enjoy naan bread. Especially if you cannot have yogurt or merely don’t like the taste!
So do you have to use yogurt in your naan bread recipe? The answer is an easy one, no! As mentioned above, many recipes for naan bread do not require you to use yogurt. A standard recipe you could try includes yeast, which, if you let it rise, will serve the same purpose as the yogurt!
Naan bread is a traditional Indian bread made over medium-high heat in a skillet, frying pan, or cast iron skillet. Although naan bread is a flatbread, it is much more pliable and softer than most flatbreads.
Traditionally Naan is served with lentils, beans, or vegetable curries. Still, more recently, you can use it as an appetizer with dips or even a pizza base! You can find naan bread at most Indian restaurants, usually served with curries.
Naan bread is primarily linked to being eaten in the Punjab region and the northern side of the country.
Some countries that make traditional Naan can include but are not limited to:
Western asia
Central asia
Indian subcontinent
Indonesia
Malaysia
Myanmar
Caribbean
To make a loaf of authentic conventional naan bread, you need seven staple ingredients:
Flour
Water
Yeast
Sugar
Plain yogurt
Vegetable oil
Egg
You can make a traditional naan bread yourself at home by the simple and short version of making naan bread as follows:
Combine your warm water yeast and sugar and let sit
Add salt and baking powder to your flour
Add yogurt and oil to the yeast
Combine your flour and yeast mixture
Let your dough ball rise
Divide and bake in a cast iron skillet
Serve while hot
Topped with some butter
Why is Yogurt Used in Naan Bread?
In traditional Naan bread, yogurt makes the bread soft, airy, light, and fluffy, ensuring a tender texture loaf of naan bread. Because of the acidity that yogurt holds, the yogurt keeps together the dough. At the same time, it relaxes the gluten, ultimately making the bread more tender and adding an exceptional consistency that most breads do not contain.
Yogurt can also rehydrate the dough, which also makes the bread tender while also adding some fats without using butter or other oils. There are 17 grams of protein in Greek Yogurt, which gives the naan bread a bit more of protein; that’s perfect for a high protein diet!
But what if you need less protein? No worries, although yogurt can be a staple ingredient in Naan, it does not have to be!
Even though yogurt is a staple ingredient in naan bread, you can easily make it without using yogurt!
Making naan bread with yeast, allowing the yeast to rise, will give the same effects as using yogurt in the recipe. The oil and the yeast will turn the bread soft and fluffy, just as the yogurt would.
Most Indian restaurants in the United States do not use yogurt in making naan bread.
How to Make Naan Bread Without Yogurt
Ingredients
2 cups of white bread flour and a bit additional for dusting
½ cup of warm water
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil + a bit extra for brushing
1 tsp of fast-action dried yeast
3 Tbsp of milk of your choice
½ tsp of sugar
½ tsp of Lemon Juice
Making the dough
Add warm water yeast and sugar to a large bowl
Let your dough sit for 15 to 20 minutes
this lets your gluten absorb all the excess water helping it turn springy.
Add flour milk lemon juice olive oil and yeast mixture to your large mixing bowl
Use your hands to mix a shaggy dough
Divide the dough into six small chunks, and roll the chunks into small balls
Arrange the balls on a plate and cover them with a moist cloth or paper towel
Let the dough rise for one hour
Cooking the Naan
Heat a large skillet or fry pan over medium-high heat
On a well-floured surface, Roll each dough ball out to roughly ¼ inch thickness
Place the rolled-out pieces of Naan in the hot skillet
Flip and brush with oil, and cook both sides for about two minutes or until you can see bubbles forming
If you prefer using an oven rather than a skillet, there are ways to cook Naan bread in the oven. Baking naan bread in the oven will also give a bit of a crispy finish.
Preheat your oven to 230°C or 450°F. If you want to use a pizza stone, place your pizza stone in the oven now
While the oven preheats, prepare the Naan as you would if you were using a skillet for cooking Naan
Instead of putting the 1/4 inch thick pieces into the skillet
put them directly on your pizza stone or baking sheet
Flip after about two minutes
Cook for an additional two minutes
Serve warm and enjoy
Conclusion
Regardless if your naan bread is made with or without yogurt, it is damn good! A traditional Indian flatbread that can easily be made right in your kitchen! Now you need to try these recipes! Go now!
