¾ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
3 ½ Tablespoons butter
½ Tablespoon olive oil
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, unsifted and divided
On the stove or in the microwave, heat the butter and milk just until the butter is melted. Stir 2 cups flour and the salt together and add to the butter and milk mixture. Sprinkle the work surface with some of the remaining ¼ cup flour and knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth – it doesn’t need much kneading. Add extra flour if the dough is too sticky. Wrap the dough with cling wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or so. Dust the work surface again with flour, cut the dough into 4 pieces, roll into balls and, then, roll out into about 1/8” thick rounds.
Heat ½ Tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat – or lower, if you have a heavy based skillet (Note #1). Place one flatbread at a time in the pan and cook for about 1 to 1 ½ minutes – it should bubble up. Flip and cook the other side, pressing down if it puffs up. There should be smallish golden brown spots on both sides. Stack the cooked tortillas and keep wrapped with a tea towel – the moisture helps soften the surface making the tortillas even more pliable. Continue to cook the remaining pieces. Optional: Brush or spray tortillas with olive oil or melted butter for a more luxurious finish. For a garlic butter version, mix minced garlic with the butter before brushing on.
Recipe Notes:
Higher heat and thinner dough equal a crispier crust. Though still pliable inside, the thin, crispy crust on the outside might crack when rolled around fillings. However, the larger dark spots on the crispier crust make the tortilla look like authentic naan – just like what you get in Indian restaurants!
The dough keeps in the refrigerator for approximately 3 days. Tip: Roll out the rounds, ready to cook, before refrigerating, but be sure to keep the rounds separated using baking paper or cling wrap. Cooked tortillas/naan keep well in the freezer.
This recipe works great with whole wheat flour, but does not work with almond flour. See note #5 for Gluen Free.
Dairy free/vegan substitutions: olive or coconut oil may be substituted for the butter and almond milk may be substituted for the dairy milk to make it dairy free/vegan.
Gluten free flour works fairly well, but you may need to use a bit of extra flour to roll it out – just add more as required. The texture is slightly different – a bit chewy – and you may not be able to roll the dough out into neat rounds.
