Adding whole grains to your family's favourite bread is easy! Add butter and a hearty stew and no one will complain about whole wheat naan.
It's no secret we love making our own bread, whether it's sourdough or yeast. It did take me several years though to start grinding our own wheat. Proof that you don't need to do everything at once! Get a rhythm going with what is most important to you, then add in more as you gain confidence.
And if you're really not yet convinced your family will eat whole grains, or you aren't in a place to purchase a grain mill yet, feel free to make Cast Iron Naan with AP or bread flour.
Once you start making your own bread, the sky's the limit! I make our own misshapen Discard Tortillas because who cares what they look like? I promise even something fancy sounding can be easy, like Sourdough Puff Pastry.
Key Ingredients
Flour - We are grinding our own here, and because we are using yeast, that means hard wheat berries are a requirement.
Discard - Use your sourdough discard here. It's ok if it needs to be fed because we are boosting it with yeast.
Milk - I like cultured buttermilk or clabber culture discard. Nice and thick!
Yeast - Rapid rise yeast is good here.
How to Make Whole Grain Sourdough Naan
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Combine yeast, sugar, and water until foamy; then add buttermilk and starter.
Step 2: Stir in flour and remaining ingredients.
Step 3: Let dough rest for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.
Step 4: Pour dough onto a floured surface.
Step 5: It should be able to be handled now without being too sticky.
Step 6: Divide dough in half.
Step 7: Divide each half into 8 pieces.
Step 8: Let dough rest for 15 minutes on floured parchment.
Step 9: Use a rolling pin and floured surface for one dough ball at a time.
Step 10: Roll out until ¼"-thick.
Step 11: Cook in oiled skillet until bubbling and brown.
Step 12: Flip and continue to cook until all are done.
Tips and Tricks
- Lots of flour on your rolling surface and your rolling pin!
- Easily make the dough ahead to ferment until you are ready; this makes it so convenient!
- You can even cook these hours before eating. Just cover with a lint-free tea towel to keep them soft.
FAQs
Always use hard wheat berries when using with yeast. This has the right amount of protein to react with the yeast and sourdough so the bread isn't too dense. You can use either white or red wheat! But do keep in mind that if your family is new to whole wheat, white is much milder in taste as well as a lighter colour, making it easier for them to accept.
Unfortunately, most "whole wheat" flour actually isn't such. They have often had the bran sifted out or are enriched with other vitamins (that were first removed - crazy, right?). A brand like King Arthur Flour Whole Wheat Flour is listed as 100% whole grain so likely is a good choice to use in this recipe if you want to try it. Let us know how it turns out! But your other classic grocery store brands aren't whole wheat no matter what the label says. Best to grind your own!
This is one such recipe where a scale is key. We all know that people scoop flour differently, whether they dip and scoop or spoon and level. Especially with whole wheat where it needs a lot of hydration, measurements need to be accurate. Weighing the berries or the flour (if you are one to grind ahead and store in freezer) will give you the most accurate result here. Definitely weigh!
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
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Whole Wheat Naan
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 600 g sourdough discard
- 500 g clabbered culture discard OR buttermilk
- 15 g salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 625 g fresh ground hard white or hard red wheat
- Extra flour for working and rolling out dough
- Lard/fat/oil for greasing pans
Instructions
- Mix yeast with sugar and warm water (no more than 110°F) in a bowl. Cover with tea towel, leave for 10 minutes until foamy.
- Mix discard and clabber and foamy yeast.
- Add in salt and baking powder.
- Add in wheat. The dough will come together but not really be kneadable. Let sit for a minimum of 3 hours on the counter or up to 2 days in the fridge (if you're not making naan today, cover and move it to the fridge).
- When dough is ready scrape onto well floured surface and divide in half, and cut each half into 8 pieces.
- Roll into balls and let rest for 15 minutes on a floured or parchment papered tray.
- While resting, heat two cast iron pans (at least 10” round) on medium heat. You want them hot but not smoking; if they start smoking before you begin cooking naan, turn them off.
- On a well-floured counter, roll naan out ¼” thick.
- Cook until just starting to bubble and brown, and then flip with spatula and cook until bubbling/brown again.
- Keep covered with a tea towel to keep soft while you make the rest.
Notes
- I often make them a few hours before dinner and leave them in the tea towel on the counter. That way, they’re still nice and soft at dinner.
- If you wish to keep warm just before serving, store in an oven safe container at 200°F.
- Store in an airtight container/bag and reheat gently in the oven or a frying pan if needed.
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