Sourdough or Regular Air Fryer Naan
My sourdough starter persists despite my less than optimal care of it. And on a whim, with the last batch of discard, I made a practical naan base. And they tried this in the air fryer. I am positively excited to report, this was quite the success. And the best part of it, a perfect quick and small batch solution. The resulting naan is puffy and has an ever so slightly chewy crust. I made this in a variety of sizes, and, yes I am super excited about this and need to share this with you.
Why This Air Fryer Idea is Exciting
In general, making naan at home entails heating up the oven until really very hot. This is fine on a cold day, but not necessary on a hot one. Then there is a lot of wrestling in a super hot oven. So, with the air fryer, you are in business, in a very short period of time.
So, we are talking about 4 minutes of pre-heating and about 4 minutes, 2 minutes on each side for the naan. So, honestly, this makes it manageable for something like even 2 naans.
So, here we go,
- Less heat
- Quicker Cooking Time
- Capability of smaller batch cooking
Sour Dough or Maybe Not
So yes, this sourdough that I am bringing your way, is a practical but very complex flavored affair. This said, if you do not have the time for that overnight well about 6 hours rise, you can use my regular naan recipe.
And for a whole grain sourdough version, you can try this recipe. So yes, there are lots of possibilities.
Flour Options
I have made this using both bread flour and regular all purpose flour, and have found that they both work well in this recipe. So, it really is just a matter of getting started, and letting your dough rise and do its thing and you will be all ready for complex, quick, and easy naan.
An air fryer take on sour dough naan. The recipe is easy, and gets done very quickly, once the dough is all ready.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of white bread flour
- 1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds
- 1 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 1/4 cup sourdough discard
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons yogurt
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried herbs (mint, fenugreek, or both)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- For the naan, mix all the ingredients together in a soft dough, adding a little extra flour if needed.
- Shape the dough into a ball, cover and set aside in a warm place for six hours or overnight. You can also do this in the yogurt function in your instant pot.
- The dough should have doubled in size, give the dough another knead and allow it to rise for 2 to 3 more hours.
- In the meantime mix together the olive oil, dry herbs, red pepper flakes and garlic powder.
- To make the naan, break the naan into smaller walnut sized balls.
- Roll the dough out into fairly thin (about 1/4 inch thick pieces).
- Preheat and line the air fryer.
- Place about 2 naan pieces into the air fryer at a time. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, the naan should puff up, and turn pale golden, any thing darker will result in a harder consistency.
- Brush with the oil mixture and serve.