Oven-Grate Garlic Naan

Naan Dough

Garlic Topping

Pantry swaps

Method

1. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and dry yeast together in a bowl.
2. Add the yogurt, oil, and 200 mL of the milk (or water). Start mixing with a spoon and add just enough additional milk to bring the dough together – no more. The dough should be fairly dry, just barely sticky.
3. Knead until reasonably smooth and elastic – no need to knead it to death. The yogurt makes the surface look a little rough no matter what.
4. Cover with a wet towel and let it rise until doubled in size – at least an hour, probably two.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the topping: peel and chop the garlic, chop the cilantro, and melt the butter.
6. Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 4 chunks. Knead each a little more, shape into balls, cover, and let rest at least 15 minutes – they will roll out much easier.
7. Put a baking sheet or a big piece of foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch drips. Turn on the top element (the broiler) – it gets red hot in seconds and mimics the intense direct heat of a tandoor.
8. Roll a dough ball out almost as thin as you possibly can, flouring as needed. Smear the garlic-cilantro topping on and roll it into the surface firmly so it is really stuck in.
9. Flip the dough topping-side down and lay it on the oven grates under the broiler. Close the door to trap the heat. All four loaves can go in at once.
10. After about 2 minutes, tamp down any giant bubbles with tongs before they burn. Bake a little more, then flip once the first side is golden; the second side needs a minute at most. The top should have brown bubbles while most of the surface stays doughy – that contrast is key.
11. Brush the hot naan with melted butter. If the butter is unsalted, dissolve some salt into it or sprinkle salt on top.

Scared of reaching into the hot oven? Roll the topped loaf up around your rolling pin, carry it to the oven, and unroll it topping-side down onto the grates – the same trick works for one giant loaf.

Notes

Servings: 4 (one large naan per serving). Per serving: 625 kcal, 19 g protein, 97 g carbs, 17 g fat, 5 g fiber. Macros are estimates summed from USDA per-100 g values; the video narrates exact dough quantities but the garlic, cilantro, and butter amounts (“a bunch”, “a little”) are not measured and are estimated here.

The recipe above is the doubled batch as demonstrated in the video – 4 cups (500 g) of flour makes 4 large loaves. Halve it for 2. The video’s pan method is the alternative: wet the bottom of the dough, throw it into a hot ungreased tawa or cast iron skillet, cook the bottom, invert the pan, and finish the top over direct flame – closer to real tandoor naan but only one small loaf at a time.

Why the grates? A baking sheet shields the dough from most of the heat, so the loaf bakes too slowly, the big steam bubbles never inflate, and the inside dries before the outside browns. The grates put the dough inches from the red-hot element – closer to a tandoor’s intense heat than even a hot pizza stone, and naan does not bubble upright on a stone anyway. If loaves start sticking after hours of baking, clean the grates like grill grates and grease them with an oily paper towel; the film of oil burns off.

A no-yeast dough is also traditional – more yogurt with active cultures in place of the yeast, risen slowly overnight. It gives better texture; the yeast dough gives better flavor.

Source: Adam Ragusea, “Garlic naan grilled on oven grates” (YouTube, 8:48). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgfZikXWKMo