Vegan Naan

Step 1

Add the flour, yeast and salt to a mixing bowl and mix together.

Step 2

Add the maple syrup to the warm water and mix in.

Step 3

Pour the warm water over the flour mix and stir in with a spoon. Flour your hands and a work surface and get in there with your hands, kneading the dough about 20 times so that it forms into a nice big ball. The dough will be quite soft.

Step 4

Place the ball of dough into an oiled dish and turn it over a couple of times so that the dough is lightly coated in the oil, then cover the bowl with a cloth and leave to rise on the countertop for 30 minutes.

Step 5

After 30 minutes bring out the ball of dough and place onto a parchment lined board. Alternatively use a floured baking mat. Cut the dough into 8 roughly even sized pieces.

Step 6

Heat up a non-stick frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil – it really must be a very small amount, like a half a teaspoon.

Step 7

Roll out the first naan into roughly an oval sort of shape and place into the hot frying pan. Allow to cook until nicely browned on each side (if the pan is hot enough, it should only be 2-3 minutes before it’s perfectly done both sides).

Step 8

Repeat for the rest of the naan breads.

Step 9

Add more oil as needed if your pan starts to look too dry, but use only a small amount at a time.

Step 10

If you would like to make garlic naan, then once you’ve rolled out your naan bread, dip your finger in water and lightly dab the water onto the surface of the naan bread, add crushed garlic and press it in, it will stick because of the dampness of the dough from the water. Then fry it as usual.

Step 11

If you want to make a butter naan, then melt some vegan butter and brush it onto the naan bread during cooking or just after it’s finished cooking. A sprinkle of sea salt on top of the vegan butter is also delicious to add.