VEGAN NAAN
Easy to make at home, vegan naan bread bakes up pillowy soft and delicious! Perfect for soaking up soups & stews, and as a base for mini pizzas and wraps.
- Prep Time: 75 min
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: Makes 6
- Category: Bread, Snack
- Cuisine: Vegan, Indian
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (all-purpose, white whole wheat, spelt or gluten-free flour blend)
- 2 teaspoons organic pure cane sugar or pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon rapid-rise fast acting yeast (if using active yeast see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon mineral salt
- 3/4 cup warm water (between 105 and 115ºF.)
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy yogurt, at room temp
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
garnish
- melted vegan butter or garlic infused olive oil
- freshly chopped parsley or cilantro
Instructions
Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, mix to combine.
Mix wet ingredients: In a medium bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, combine the 3/4 cup warm water (between 105 and 115ºF.) with the yogurt and oil.
Combine dry & wet: Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Dough will be rough & shaggy looking and tacky to the touch.
Quick knead: Knead the dough by pulling the dough ball onto itself about 5 times, and form a ball. Doesn’t have to be a tight ball.
Cover and let rise: Tightly cover bowl with saran wrap and let rest in a warm area away from drafts for about 60 – 90 minutes. The warmer the area, the faster the dough will rise. Once dough has risen it will have doubled in size.
Turn dough out: Fill a small bowl with flour and lightly sprinkle a flat surface with flour. Turn dough onto the flat surface and sprinkle with flour. Dough will be tacky.
Shape dough: Dust fingers with flour and shape the dough into a rectangle, it doesn’t have to be a perfect shape.
Cut dough: Cut the dough into 6 pieces, making them as even as possible (again it doesn’t have to be perfect).
Roll & flatten: When ready to bake, roll a piece into a ball. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an oval shape (about 9 x 4 inches), flatting to about 1/8 inch thick. Add more flour as needed to your work area and fingers.
Heat skillet and bake: Get the skillet nice and hot by heating over medium-high heat. Place dough onto the skillet surface. When bubbles start to appear (above left), flip the naan and cook the other side.
Garnish: Once done brush with olive oil or melted vegan butter and enjoy!
Makes 6
Store: Leftover naan can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days on the counter. To keep longer, freeze for up to 2 months.
Notes
If using active dry yeast instead of rapid rise:
- Mix wet: In a medium bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon of active dry yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 100°F). Let set for 10 minutes, or until frothy. Once the liquid is frothy, add the yogurt and olive oil.
- Mix dry: In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.
- Combine the wet ingredients to the dry and follow remaining instructions as directed.
Yogurt substitute: You can use vegan mayo or vegan buttermilk in place of yogurt. I’ve tried both replacements with perfect results.
- If using vegan mayo, let it come to room temp and use in a 1 to 1 ratio. For acidity, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice of 1/2 – 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (the full tsp. of vinegar will make it tangier).
- For vegan buttermilk, replace the 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water using warm unsweetened plant milk (almond, coconut milk, soy or oat) instead. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar and let rest for 10 minutes to curdle. Use more acid for a tangier buttermilk.
Dough didn’t rise: If dough doesn’t rise, let it rest a little longer until it does. There could be few reasons for this. Yeast is expired, not warm enough spot, or maybe the one of the ingredients was cool and the yeast didn’t activate right away. This happened on my last batch, but ultimately the dough rose after about 2 – 2 1/2 hours.
Find it online: https://simple-veganista.com/vegan-naan-bread/