Soft, fluffy sourdough naan bread! This easy no-knead recipe results in super bubbly, perfectly charred homemade flatbread that’s satisfyingly delicious with minimal effort.
This sourdough discard naan recipe is surprisingly easy to make. You don’t need any special equipment, and there’s no kneading required.
The result is a pile of soft, chewy, slightly tangy homemade naan that’s better than anything you’ll find at the grocery store. It’s perfect alongside Indian and Mediterranean-inspired meals or simply torn apart and dipped into hummus. Or, drench it with melted butter and sprinkle it with fresh herbs for deliciously simple butter naan.
I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step and share the key tips that make homemade naan soft, bubbly, and full of flavor.
👉 If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like my Sourdough Cornbread, Sourdough Discard Focaccia, and Sourdough Baguettes.
Recipe highlights
- Soft & fluffy homemade flatbread with a delightful chew
- A little tang, a little char, a lotta flavor
- A versatile side for meals with Indian, Mediterranean, or Middle Eastern flavors
- No equipment and no kneading – easy to make by hand!
- A lovely way to use leftover sourdough discard
Recipe overview
⏱️ Prep: ~40 mins total active time • Rest: 2+ hrs • Cook: ~4 mins each
🍴 Yield: 8 pieces
💪 Skill level: Beginner
😋 Flavor notes: Perfect bready comfort with sourdough tang. Pairs well with: Hummus, salted butter & herbs, olive oil, curries, wraps, grilled meats & veggies, kebabs.
How to make sourdough naan
Find the full ingredients list and detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe:
- Mix: Whisk together flour, yeast, salt, and baking powder. In a second bowl, whisk together sourdough discard, yogurt, and warm water. Combine wet & dry ingredients together to form a shaggy dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch-and-folds: Perform two rounds of stretch & folds to build tension and structure in your dough.
- Divide dough: Cut dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
- Rest: Cover dough balls and allow to rest and rise for one hour.
- Roll dough: Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough to about ¼ inch thickness.
- Rest briefly: Allow rolled dough to rest at least 10 minutes.
- Cook: Heat a cast iron pan and cook dough, one piece at a time, about 1-2 minutes per side, or until bubbly, charred, and cooked through.
Pro tips for the best sourdough discard naan
Use unfed sourdough discard. The sourdough starter in this recipe is used for its enhancement to flavor and texture, not for rise (that’s what the baking powder & yeast are for). Personally, I love to use an older sourdough discard that hasn’t been fed for quite a while, because I love that super tangy flavor!
Roll the dough fairly thin. The bread puffs up a bit when it hits the heat. Roll each dough ball to about ¼ inch thickness so the final cooked naan isn’t too thick.
Get the heat right. When cooking the naan bread, adjust the heat as you go, as the pan may occasionally get too hot. You want to find that perfect place where the bread gets nice charred spots but also has time to cook through before burning.
Serving, storing, and make ahead
Sourdough naan is best eaten the day you make it. Best yet, eat it straight off the hot pan when it’s warm and fresh as can be. For this reason, you may want to save some of the dough balls to cook later.
To make ahead: Make the dough up to the step where you shape it into balls. At this point, you can keep the dough refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Pull the dough balls out of the fridge, roll them out, and cook them immediately.
I wouldn’t recommend storing the dough rolled out flat, as the dough tends to want to stick to the parchment paper the longer it sits. This makes it difficult to remove without stretching or tearing the dough.
To store: Keep your sourdough discard naan in an airtight container or tightly wrapped at room temperature for an additional day or two. After that, it will be a bit too dry to be enjoyable.
To re-warm your naan: Place naan in a hot pan and cook for about 1 minute per side or until warm and softened.
To serve: Naan is the perfect addition to meals with Indian, Mediterranean, and/or Middle Eastern flavors.
Here are some of my favorite ways to serve it:
- With hummus, olive oil, or baba ganoush
- Drenched in melted butter and chopped parsley or cilantro
- Used as a wrap for gyros and shawarmas
- Dipped into curries, butter chicken, tikka masala, lentils, and palak paneer
- As a side for grilled meat, grilled veggies, or kebabs
- Piled high with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, fried halloumi, and yogurt sauce
What to bake next: Try Sourdough Bacon Cheddar Scones, Soft & Buttery Sourdough Sandwich Bread, or any sourdough discard recipe!
If you make this Sourdough Naan recipe, please leave a comment & star rating.
It means so much to me! 🙏
Sourdough Naan
Equipment
- Cast iron pan*
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups (470 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (1 package)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unfed sourdough discard
- ¼ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
- 1 ¼ cups warm water (110-130° F)
Instructions
- Mix: In a large bowl, whisk together 470 grams flour, 2 ¼ tsp yeast, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking powder. In a second bowl, whisk together ½ cup sourdough discard, ¼ cup yogurt, and 1 ¼ cups warm water. Combine wet & dry ingredients together until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- 1st stretch-and-fold: After 30 minutes, give the dough a stretch and fold. With damp hands**, gently stretch one side of the dough upward, then fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides.Cover the dough and rest for another 30 minutes.
- 2nd stretch-and-fold: Repeat the stretch-and-fold process once more***, then cover the dough back up and rest for at least 15 minutes before dividing it.
- Divide dough: Cut dough into 8 roughly equal pieces (it doesn't have to be perfect) and roll each piece into a ball.
- Rest: Lightly oil a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add dough balls, tossing to coat in oil. Cover dough balls with a second sheet of parchment paper and allow to rest and rise for one hour. The dough will grow significantly and become puffy and aerated.
- Roll dough: On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough to about ¼ inch thickness. You can also use your hands to further press and gently stretch the dough into rough ovals.
- Rest briefly: Allow rolled dough to rest at least 10 minutes before cooking.
- Cook: Heat a cast iron pan until it's nice and hot. Cook dough, one piece at a time, about 1-2 minutes per side, or until bubbly, charred, and cooked through.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
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