Sourdough Naan (Sourdough Discard Flatbread)

Sourdough Naan is so easy to make, it's foolproof! Made with sourdough discard and simple ingredients, it allows you to use dairy or vegan yogurt when preparing the recipe and still get a delicious and flavorful flatbread.

Don’t have a sourdough starter? I can teach you how to make one!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Making naan with sourdough discard
• Cooking time
• Making it ahead
• Tips for success
• Trying new flavors
• Serving suggestions
• More sourdough recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Looking for more sourdough flatbread discard ideas? These sourdough discard tortillas are my most popular recipe!

Ingredients

This recipe makes a small batch: about 6 flatbreads. If you're looking for a bigger batch, you can double or triple it.

Sourdough. Use sourdough discard (100% hydration) for this recipe.

• Note: if you keep your sourdough discard in the fridge, let it rest for about 1 hour at room temperature before using it for this recipe.

All-purpose flour. No need for bread flour. If you want to make it whole wheat, I suggest substituting half of the white all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. I’ve never tried it with spelt flour, but from what I know, it’s possible to substitute half of the all-purpose flour for it in this recipe.

Sugar. Caster or granulated sugar will work for this recipe. You can substitute for brown sugar or demerara sugar.

Salt. Use fine sea salt.

Greek yogurt. Use unsweetened, unflavored Greek yogurt for this recipe. You can substitute for sour cream. Use vegan Greek yogurt (also unsalted and unflavored) for a vegan version.

Olive oil. Use extra-virgin olive oil for a tastier result. Avoid substituting it for canola, sunflower or any vegetable oil.

Water. Use room temperature, filtered if possible, water.

Making naan with sourdough discard

This is an easy and quick way to make naan using sourdough discard.

There’s no need to knead this dough. You just have to mix it until all the ingredients are incorporated, and the dough is formed.

• In a medium bowl, mix water, olive oil, Greek yogurt and sourdough discard.

• In a large bowl, mix all-purpose flour, sugar and salt. Add the wet mixture and mix until dough is formed. You can do it by hand, or you can use a stand mixer if preferred.

• Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp warm towel to prevent dough from drying out. Let it rest on a warm spot for 2 hours. The dough won’t rise much, so don’t sweat over it.

• Divide into 6 pieces. Let them rest for 10 minutes more.

• On a clean and lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into circles that are about ¼ inches thick. It doesn’t need to be a perfect circle.

Note: you can use a rolling pin or any clean bottle for rolling the dough open. You can also do it by hand, stretching the naan instead of rolling it.

• Preheat pan/skillet that will be used for cooking. Use high heat.

• In the pan, drizzle a bit of olive oil (I use about 1 teaspoon), and cook for about 1 minute on each side.

• You can brush the top with olive oil before flipping the bread.

Cooking time

Cooking time might vary a bit depending on the pan/skillet you’re using.

I use a not too thick, but not too thin pan for cooking this recipe. For me, 1 minute on high heat is enough and doesn’t burn my naan.

After the naan has risen nicely (when you can see bubbles), check the bottom to be sure it isn’t burning. If it is, and if that happens before a minute has passed, lower a bit the temperature after flipping naan. Then cook the other side for 40 seconds, check the bottom again, and it’s not burning, cook for 20 seconds more.

If the skillet/pan you’re using is too thick, maybe you’ll need more than one minute. You’ll know if one minute passes and there are no bubbles visible on the top, or the naan is too pale. If that’s the case, add 30 seconds to 1 minute on the first side, and 30 seconds more after flipping.

Making it ahead

You can prepare the dough ahead and store it inside the fridge until ready to cook. So yes, it is possible to make it overnight!

How to do it:

• Prepare the dough and leave it resting for 1 hour outside the fridge.

• Before storing into the refrigerator, make sure the dough is completely covered with plastic wrap or similar, to prevent int from drying out.

• You can store it in the fridge for about 3 days.

I like to leave mine at room temperature for 1 hour before rolling it open and cooking, but you can do it straight out of the fridge and get a good result.

Tips for success

• Rolling out is easy: be sure to flour the surface so dough doesn’t stick when opening, and no need to aim for perfect circles. If you don’t have a rolling pin, any clean bottle can be used instead of it.

• Preheat: start cooking into a preheated pan/skillet for this recipe to work. Dough needs a hot surface as soon as it hits the pan.

• Sticky dough: this dough is not dry, but it shouldn’t be sticky. Watch the video to see how it should look like before the rise, and if your dough is sticking too much, add a bit more of flour. I suggest adding 1-2 tablespoons, mixing/kneading until incorporated, checking and repeating if necessary.

Trying new flavors

Garlic: use garlic-flavored olive oil for the dough and for cooking.

Garlic and cilantro: use garlic-flavored olive oil for the dough and for cooking. Add ½ tablespoon of dried cilantro when making the dough.

Parmesan: add ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese to the dough.

Serving suggestions

My best picks for having this sourdough naan bread along with:

• Any curry, for dipping;
• With tzatziki and onion chutney;
• Hearty soups during winter, like my chicken and rice soup, or this delicious creamy pumpkin soup.

More sourdough recipes

📖 Recipe