Naan Bread with Sourdough Discard
You won’t believe how good this naan bread with sourdough discard is. Seriously addicting.
With any type of grilled meat or for a vegetarian meal, with hummus and some spicy sauce.
You’ll love it. I know I do 🙂
I regret I didn’t make a double batch because reheated small naans preserve their original taste and freshness really well!
What makes this naan so special is the incredible texture. It is soft, pillowy, and slightly chewy with beautiful golden spots and charred bubbles that develop during cooking. The sourdough discard adds a subtle depth of flavor that makes these flatbreads taste much more complex and interesting than traditional quick naan recipes. Even people who don’t normally notice the flavor of sourdough will appreciate the extra richness it brings.
One of the best things about this recipe is how versatile it is. These naans are perfect for wrapping grilled chicken, lamb, beef, or vegetables. They also work wonderfully as a side for curries, soups, stews, and Mediterranean dishes. Served warm with hummus, tzatziki, baba ganoush, or a spicy sauce, they quickly become the star of the meal.
Fresh from the pan, they are almost impossible to stop eating. The aroma of warm bread combined with the slightly tangy flavor from the discard makes them incredibly satisfying. A brush of melted butter, garlic butter, or olive oil takes them to another level.
Another thing I love about these naans is how practical they are. They reheat beautifully and remain soft even the next day, making them perfect for meal prep and leftovers. Simply warm them briefly in a skillet or oven and they taste almost as good as freshly made.
If you are looking for another creative way to use sourdough discard, this recipe is a must-try. Easy to make, incredibly flavorful, and endlessly versatile, these naan breads are guaranteed to become a regular part of your baking rotation. Once you try them, you’ll understand exactly why I wish I had made twice as many.
Ingredients
Main Dough
- 100g lukewarm water
- 100g Greek yogurt
- 150g sourdough discard
- 12g salt
- 45g sugar
- 1 egg
- 535g all purpose flour
- 50g whole wheat flour
Spread
- 50g melted butter
- 2 gloves of garlic, minced
Directions
Naan Dough Preparation
- Whisk together water, yogurt, sourdough discard, egg, sugar, salt and add flour.
- Knead the dough for couple of minutes, or use mixer, until the dough comes up together, and becomes smooth. You can adjust the dough by adding more flour if it’s sticky, or by adding more water if it’s too stiff.
- Cover, let it proof at 80-84F for 2-3 hours.
- Perform 2 folds during proofing time.
- By the end of proofing, the dough will become slightly puffy, and will be covered with tiny bubbles.
- Dump the dough on slightly floured surface.
- For small naan, divide the dough on pieces, 30g each, round them.
- For bigger naan, divide the dough on 60-70g pieces, round them.
- Cover with towel or plastic and let rest 30 min.
- Meanwhile, melt butter.
- Mince garlic.
- Mix garlic with melted butter.
- Preheat frying pan.
- Roll each piece of dough into a thin circle.
- Put the dough on the hot pan.
- Let it bake for 2-3 min on medium heat.
- Flip the naans over on the other side. Let them bake for 2 more minutes, until you see brown spots all over. Using a brush, spread the garlic butter on each side of each naan.
- Remove baked naans on a plate.
Note: keep warm naans covered with another plate or plastic wrap while you finishing baking the rest. Steam will make them very soft.
Enjoy!
Naan Bread with Sourdough Discard
Ingredients
- 100 g Lukewarm water
- 100 g Greek yogurt
- 150 g Sourdough discard
- 1 Whole egg
- 45 g Sugar
- 12 g Salt
- 535 g All-purpose flour
- 50 g Whole wheat flour
- 50 g Melted butter
- 2 Cloves of garlic, finely minced
Equipment
- Frying Pan or Cast Iron Skillet Essential for high-heat searing to create authentic blistered char spots
- Stand Mixer Optional, though a few minutes of hand kneading works perfectly
- Pastry Brush For spreading the rich garlic-infused melted butter
- Rolling Pin To evenly roll the dough into thin, uniform rounds
Method
- Dough Consolidation: In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), whisk together the 100g of lukewarm water, 100g of Greek yogurt, 150g of sourdough discard, 1 whole egg, 45g of sugar, and 12g of salt until smooth and uniform. Dump the 535g of all-purpose flour and 50g of whole wheat flour directly into the wet mixture.
- The Kneading Phase: Knead the mixture for a couple of minutes by hand, or run your mixer on low speed, just until the ingredients come together and form a smooth, cohesive ball. (The Calibration Check: If the dough feels overly sticky to the touch, dust in a tablespoon of extra flour; if it feels excessively stiff, splash in a tiny bit of water).
- Bulk Fermentation Folds: Cover the container securely and let the dough proof in a warm spot set to $80text{–}84^circtext{F}$ ($26text{–}29^circtext{C}$) for 2 to 3 hours. Perform 2 gentle rounds of stretch-and-folds spaced evenly throughout the proofing window to organize gluten elasticity. By the end of this rest, the dough will look slightly puffy and display tiny surface bubbles.
- Dividing the Mass: Turn the puffy dough out cleanly onto a slightly floured work surface.
- Shaping Options: For small appetizer naans, divide the dough into uniform 30g pieces and roll them into smooth spheres. For traditional, large restaurant-style naans, portion the dough into 60g to 70g pieces and shape them into taut rounds.
- The Bench Rest: Cover the shaped dough rounds loosely with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest undisturbed on your counter for 30 minutes to fully relax the gluten network.
- The Roll Out: While the dough rests, mix your 2 minced garlic cloves directly into the 50g of melted butter. Pre-heat your dry frying pan over medium heat. Roll each rested piece of dough out with a rolling pin into a thin, even circle.
- The First Side Sear: Lay one thin dough circle directly down onto the hot, dry pan surface. Let it bake untouched for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. You will see bubbles form across the surface as it cooks.
- The Flip & Glaze: Flip the naan over to cook the secondary side for 2 more minutes until distinct, deep brown char spots freckle the bottom surface. Using a pastry brush, spread a generous layer of the prepared garlic butter over the cooked top face. Flip briefly to coat the reverse side if desired.
- The Softening Steam Trick: Transfer the hot, finished naan onto a serving plate. Immediately cover the warm naans with another upside-down plate or plastic wrap while you finish cooking the remaining dough rounds. The trapped rising steam softens the crust, turning them incredibly pliable and tender. Serve warm alongside your favorite dishes!
Nutrition
Notes
- The Critical Trapped Steam Step: To capture that soft, bendable, authentic restaurant-style flatbread texture, do not leave the cooked naans exposed to open air on your counter. Stacking them immediately onto a plate under a tightly sealed cover traps their residual heat and moisture. This targeted steam environment softens any crispy exterior edges, turning the flatbreads perfectly pillowy.
- Why the Sourdough Discard Mix Stays Tender: Utilizing unfed sourdough discard adds a beautiful background tang to the dough profile without requiring hours of active fermentation to build flavor. Because the wild yeasts are dormant, the rich additions of Greek yogurt, sugar, and egg work to tenderize the structural crumb matrix, preventing it from turning tough or rubbery during the fast pan-searing step.
- Troubleshooting Sticky vs. Stiff Textures: Depending on the thickness of your specific Greek yogurt brand and the unique hydration level of your stored discard, your dough consistency may require minor adjustments during step 2. Do not hesitate to alter the feel: sprinkle in a touch of extra all-purpose flour if the mass clings heavily to your fingers, or introduce a splash of warm water if the dough feels too dense to easily stretch.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Looks amazing
It’s very good 💖
Thank you so much for nan recipe🙏 I’ll use this dough for khachapuri don’t I?
Greetings from TR🙋♂️🇹🇷
Perfect.Can we eliminate sugar or egg from the recipe?
You can make it without egg and sugar, then it will turn into a delicious pita
Thanks♥️
Is that the correct amount of AP flour? 585 g? I ended up with a very dry dough and added more water to get the same dough consistency as your photo. ;). Just rolled them out but fearing its not correct because I ended up with about 12 rolls! lol. Thank you in advance!
Hi! Sorry that something went wrong
I did this recipe many times, always following the same ingredients.
Did you add yogurt?
Yes, I did, the only thing I did was omit the sugar. I’m guessing my starter was thicker than usual, and the greek yogurt I used was thick too. But, happy to report they came out great! Very DELICIOUS! Always love ALL your recipes!
Susan! Thank you so much for your feedback 💖
Great recipe. I left half of the dough at room temp ( my kitchen is quite cool) and then rolled them. Very thinly. Came out like a restaurant naan.
Awesome!
Glad you liked it 🙏
Hi,
looks delicious!
I am planning to make these, but calculating the hydration that would be <50% , unless my math is off.
I counted the yogurt and the egg fully as water, and I assumed 100% hydration for the sourdough.
I've never made <50% hydration dough… so I wonder if there's perhaps a mistake in the water weight?
It will be a stiffer dough. You’ll have to be able to roll it.
Just made this today, came out perfect! My dough was a bit dry, maybe because my eggs are a bit smaller. I just added water. A great hit with the family. Thank you Natasha!
Stephanie, thank you so much for your kind feedback 🙏
Hi Natalya, is it possible to store in freezer after making?
Yes, sure!
Make sure you squeeze all the air from the bag 🙏
Loved the naan- no more store bought naan for me!
Thank you for your feedback 💖
Hi Natalya,
I made nan last night and the dough was perfect 👍🏼
Thanks for the delicious recipes 🍓
Thank you for your feedback 💖
Our family loves this recipe!!! I subbed the yogurt for milk one day and it came out fine!
Thank you 🙏
This recipe is my third one that I baked from your site and this Naan is also PERFECTLY DELICIOUS, all the family were very pleased with them. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback 🙏
Hi. At which point do you spread the garlic butter over the naans?
After the side was baked, then spread the garlic butter, when second side is done, spread butter on it too
Can I freeze them?
Sure, they freeze great.
Can I make these without sourdough starter? Do I need to replace it with something? Or tweek other ingredients?
Meri, hi!
You can skip starter, and use 1% of yeast from total amount of flour.
Hi Natasha! can i bake it in the oven?
Hi!
Yes you can
Hi,
Do you oil the pan to fry this bread ?
my daughter is allergic to eggs. what could I substitute for it? thanks
Hey Natasha,
Wondering if I can proof these and then put dough in the fridge to do cold retard until next day – then continue with the process. Do you think this will work, or have you tried it?
These are amazing! Super simple, quick, and easy – I’ve decided that flatbread is my new favorite side dish! Unlike other naans I’ve made, these actually stayed soft for days and were perfect after a 10 second zap in the microwave. I just couldn’t get over the amazing flavor and texture of these- I’ll be making them a lot more from now on!
Thank you so much for your positive feedback! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the flatbread recipe and that it has become your new favorite side dish. It’s great to hear that the flatbreads stayed soft and delicious for days, and that they were perfect after a quick zap in the microwave. We’re glad you loved the flavor and texture of the flatbreads, and we hope you continue to enjoy making them in the future. Happy baking!
Hi. I made these and they were great but I don’t need so many. Is it okay to cut the recipe in half and still use one egg?