The Tip To Know When It's Time To Flip While Cooking Naan

Pillowy and flavorful naan is such a delicious addition to meals that you're eventually going to wonder whether you can make it just as good yourself. With the right few tips you can. Like other types of flatbread, naan doesn't take a ton of time or effort, but if you don't know the right signs it's also easy to overcook. Whether you're making it in a skillet or the grill, it needs only a few minutes over the heat, or it will end up tough and crackly instead of soft and pliable. So once you have your naan dough recipe down, timing is the crucial element.

The good news is that naan gives you a pretty clear visual clue that lets you know when it's time to flip it over: it starts bubbling. If you made your naan properly, one of the signatures that it's cooking through will be small bubbles appearing all over the uncooked, visible side of the dough. Once that bubbling is clear and covers most of the naan, which should be accompanied by some light browning, it's time to flip it over and cook the other side. Once the second side starts to brown and char, it's one last flip over to the original side to make sure there aren't any doughy, uncooked spots left. All of this should happen in less than a minute on each side.

Naan is traditionally made in a clay tandoor oven, which cooks at very high heat. The bubbles result from the intense heat rapidly evaporating the water in the dough and activating the yeast. While you can't replicate the heat of a tandoor in most homes, bubbling is still a sign that your surface is hot enough and properly cooking the naan. Without high enough heat it will take too long to cook the naan, resulting in an exterior that hardens too much before the inside is cooked through. The puffing and bubbles also directly contribute to the fluffy, chewy texture of great naan.

If you aren't getting bubbles on your naan at all try turning up the heat a little, on a skillet medium-high heat is usually the sweet spot. If that still doesn't work your problem may be the dough. Naan is a high-hydration dough, which is another reason it puffs up and stretches so well, and the water also helps keep it soft in the high heat. If your dough is insufficiently hydrated, it won't be pliable enough to bubble right away. Once you have those two variables figured out, your dough should be bubbling within 30 to 40 seconds of hitting the heat, and you'll be enjoying one of the tastiest flatbreads in the world just a few minutes later.