This gluten free naan flatbread is soft, chewy & pliable like naan should be! You can make the dough super fast & easy in a stand mixer, but you can totally mix it by hand if you prefer! Check the recipe notes for tips to make it vegan.
Gluten Free Naan at A Glance
- It’s soft, chewy & pliable like naan should be:
- Psyllium husk adds strength and structure which results in a flexible, springy dough while the yoghurt keeps the texture tender & soft. These gf naan breads would impress most gluten free skeptics!
- Genuinely easy to make: Though I do recommend using a stand mixer if you have one, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it gets too thick to easily mix, then use your hands to mix/knead the dough the rest of the way. Altogether the process is fairly simple & straightforward – not too dissimilar from making a typical wheat-based naan.
- Roll out each piece of dough then rest:
- Unless you plan on prepping the dough a day or two in advanced, I recommend you make the dough, divide & shape into flatbreads before you set it aside to rest. Gluten free dough is usually best with less handling to avoid pushing out too much air.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Dry Ingredients
- gluten free flour blend
- yeast
- sugar
- salt
Wet Ingredients
- water
- psyllium husk
- olive oil
- greek yoghurt
How to Make Soft & Chewy Gluten Free Naan Flatbread Bread
Psyllium gel: Whisk psyllium husk + water together. Set aside.
Dry ingredients:Whisk dry ingredients together.
↳ Use Instant Yeast (AKA: quick-rise or rapid-rise yeast)
Instant/quick yeast is a much faster/easier yeast option because you don’t need it to dissolve & foam up in warm water first. Just mix it directly into your dry ingredients and you’re good to go.
Wet ingredients: add psyllium gel, yogurt, water & oil.
Mix dough: Mix on medium-high about 5 minutes until well combined.
Lightly knead: Knead naan dough briefly on a floured surface.
Divide: Divide into 8 equal sized portions (about 120g) each.
Roll: Roll dough until it’s about 1/8-inch thick.
Proof/rest: Transfer flattened dough to lined baking sheets, lightly cover & rest.
Cook 1st side: Add to a hot skillet and cook about 1-2 minutes.
Cook 2nd side: Flip & cook the next side another 1-2 minutes.
Brush with butter (optional): Enjoy as is or finish by brushing melted butter (mixed with garlic if desired) over the naan while still warm. Add fresh chopped herbs, nigella seeds or your favorite naan toppings.
A Few More Things to Know
- What type of yoghurt is best? I like Greek yoghurt here because it will make your flatbread extra soft & tender, but you can definitely use regular (unstrained) yoghurt. Just make sure it’s unflavoured!
- Make it vegan: Swap the dairy yoghurt for an unflavoured, plain or Greek style vegan yoghurt.
- Make Butter Naan: Brush melted butter or ghee over the freshly cooked flatbread while still warm. Mix a fresh clove of minced garlic in with the butter/ghee if desired.
- Reheat like new in the microwave: Wrap up your naan in damp paper towels and reheat for about 10-20 seconds until soft & warm.
- Reheat like new in the oven: Sprinkle water over your naan then wrap up in parchment paper (1-2 per wrap at most) and bake for about 5-10 minutes at 350°F.
- If you want to warm up more than a couple at a time, open up the parchment after about 10 minutes and spread the naan out a bit so the excess moisture can steam off – otherwise your naan might feel a bit sticky.
- Freeze for later: Cool completely, then freeze leftovers in a freezer-safe bag or container. Separate the naan with a piece of parchment paper in between to keep them from sticking together.
- Reheat from frozen the same as you would with the methods above but increase microwave time to about 30 seconds and bake time to about 15 minutes(ish).
- If you bake this at 450°F for about 8 minutes you make gluten free pita bread. These ingredients for this gluten free naan and my gf pita are exactly the same – the difference in outcome is due to how each recipe is cooked. The hot air of the oven forces the moisture in the dough to quickly vaporise into steam which pushes up to escape. This puffs up into an airy pita pocket.
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this gluten-free naan bread recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Recipe
Gluten Free Naan Flatbread Recipe
Yield:
8
Prep Time:
30 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Additional Time:
45 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour 45 minutes
Learn how to make your own soft & chewy gluten free naan bread easily with simple ingredients you should definitely include in your gluten free kitchen!
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp whole psyllium husk (25g)
- 1 ⅓ cup water 320g
- 3 cups all purpose flour blend (420g)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp instant yeast (AKA: quick-rise or rapid-rise yeast)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil (30ml)
- ½ full-fat plain greek yoghurt (120g) - room temperature
- ⅓ cup water (80ml)
Final Touches - Optional
- 2 tbsp butter or ghee (32g)
- 1 clove garlic, minced - optional
- fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.
Instructions
- Pan/Proof Prep: Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. After rolling you will place the pita dough on the lined baking sheets to proof.
- Psyllium Gel: In a medium bowl, whisk psyllium husk and water together until no lumps remain. Set aside.
- Whisk dry ingredients: In a stand mixer bowl, whisk flour, sugar, yeast and salt.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the psyllium gel, oilwater and yoghurt to the flour mixture.
- Mix dough: Mix on a medium speed with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once to make sure no flour pockets remain. Mix for about 5 minutes to ensure it's evenly mixed. The dough should be thick, a bit tacky and should easily clump together when you scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
- Knead & Divide: Lightly flour your hands and a clean work surface. Place dough on the floured surface and gently knead until soft and uniform. Divide into 8 equal sized portions and roll into balls (about 120-125g each).
- Roll dough: Re-flour your surface as needed and roll each dough ball out into a ⅛-¼ inch thick tear-drop shape or oval. After rolling, transfer the dough the the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough balls - leave at least ½-inch of space in-between each piece of dough on the baking sheets. They won't spread much, but they will puff up a bit.
- Proof: Lightly cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and set aside for 45 minutes to rest/puff up - ideally place the dough in a warm, dry free environment.
- Cook: Warm a large, seasoned cast iron skillet over a medium-high heat. The pan should be very hot, but not smoking. Once hot, carefully lay one piece of dough flat across the hot surface. Cook 1-2 minutes - you should see air bubbles forming over the top of the dough. Flip and cook the second side 1-2 minutes until you get golden-brown spots on the bottom. Remove from heat, set aside & repeat with remaining dough.
- Final Touches (optional): Melt butter/ghee and garlic (if using) in the microwave - mix in a microwave safe bowl in 10 second intervals until melted. Stir in cilantro and nigella seeds after melting. Brush melted garlic butter over the naan while still warm.
- Enjoy: These are best served warm, so serve them fresh or reheat to soften them back up. Store in an airtight container or bag and keep in the fridge 1-2 weeks. Reheat in the microwave by wrapping up in damp paper towel and cooking for about 20-40 seconds or splash with water & wrap up in baking paper - bake in the oven/toaster over for about 5-10 minutes at 350°F until soft & warm.
Notes
- Freeze: Cool completely then store in a freezer safe bag or container. Place a piece of parchment paper in between each pita to keep them from freezing together.
- Reheat from frozen: Splash a bit of water over the frozen pita then wrap up in parchment paper and bake in the oven for about 5-10 minutes at 350°F. Reheat in the microwave by wrapping up in damp paper towel and cooking for about 20-40 seconds.
- Psyllium: Make sure to use whole psyllium husk, not psyllium husk powder. Powdered psyllium husk clumps quickly & easily when introduced to water which makes it harder to mix. If you only have powdered husk, reduce the amount to 6 tsp powdered husk OR just measure out 25g.
- Yoghurt: Plain yogurt will make softer naan & Greek yoghurt will make chewier naan - use whichever your prefer.
- Make it Vegan: Use an unflavored vegan/ dairy-free yogurt in place of the dairy yogurt.
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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