Sourdough Discard Naan (UK Hob Method, Cast-Iron Pan)

Sourdough discard naan is the recipe that wins over everyone in your house in one bite. Twenty minutes from "I have discard" to a stack of soft, blistered, slightly tangy flatbreads on the table. No tandoor required, no proving box, no skill that doesn't already live in your hands. Most home cooks who try this recipe make it weekly afterwards. Here's the version we've refined over hundreds of bakes.

The recipe

Ingredient	Weight / Volume
Sourdough discard (unfed)	200g
Plain flour	250g
Plain yoghurt	100g
Olive oil or melted ghee	30g
Fine sea salt	6g
Baking powder	1 tsp
Caster sugar	1 tsp
Warm water (if needed)	up to 30g

Makes 6 large naan, generous portions for 4–6 people.

Method

1. Mix the dough

In a large bowl, combine the discard, yoghurt, oil, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Stir to combine. Add the flour and bring everything together with your hands. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky — if it's too dry, add water a tablespoon at a time.

Knead briefly in the bowl — 2 minutes is plenty. The dough will smooth out as you work it.

2. Rest

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel. Rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. This isn't a proper proof — there's no real fermentation happening — but the rest hydrates the flour and relaxes the gluten so the naan stretches without tearing.

You can leave the dough at this stage for up to 4 hours, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Refrigerated dough develops more sourdough flavour but rolls slightly less easily — bring back to room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping.

3. Divide and shape

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Divide into 6 equal pieces (about 95g each). Shape each into a smooth ball.

4. Heat the pan

This is the critical step. Naan needs a screaming hot dry pan. Use the heaviest frying pan you own — cast iron is ideal, a thick non-stick pan works too. Set it on the highest hob heat and let it warm for at least 5 minutes. The pan should be hot enough that a flick of water evaporates immediately on contact.

5. Roll one naan at a time

Take one ball. On a lightly floured counter, roll it into an oval about 18cm long and 12cm wide, around 4mm thick. Don't roll it perfectly round — naan is supposed to be irregular.

6. Cook

Lift the rolled naan and slap it onto the dry hot pan. Within 30 seconds you'll see big bubbles rising on the surface — that's the baking powder reacting to the heat. After about 90 seconds, the underside should be charred in spots.

Flip with tongs. Cook the second side for another 60–90 seconds. The naan should puff up dramatically and you'll see dark spots on both sides.

7. Brush with butter

Slide the cooked naan onto a plate and brush immediately with melted butter (or ghee). Cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm and soft while you cook the rest.

Flavour variations

Garlic and coriander naan

Mix 2 cloves of finely grated garlic and 2 tablespoons chopped coriander into the dough. Brush with garlic butter (1 clove, melted in butter for 1 minute). The pub-classic version.

Cheese-stuffed naan

Roll a small ball of grated mozzarella, paneer, or strong cheddar into the centre of each ball before flattening. Roll out gently — it can split if you push too hard. Cook as normal. The cheese melts into the centre and pulls out in strings.

Peshwari naan

Mix 50g desiccated coconut, 50g ground almonds, 30g raisins, and 1 tablespoon caster sugar. Press this filling into the centre of each ball before flattening. Roll out, cook on a hotter-than-usual pan to caramelise the sugar in spots.

Nigella seed naan

Sprinkle nigella seeds (kalonji) onto the surface before rolling, so they get pressed into the dough. The most authentic North Indian style.

Sweet honey-and-rosewater naan

Drizzle warm honey mixed with a few drops of rosewater over the cooked naan. Excellent for breakfast.

Why discard makes naan better

The yoghurt in the recipe gives you tenderness and slight tang. The discard adds fermented tang that yoghurt alone can't reach — that subtle complexity that makes restaurant naan taste different from pub naan. Even unfermented discard (just 24 hours old in the fridge) brings out a depth of flavour that plain bread dough doesn't.

The texture is also distinctive: the high water content of the discard, combined with yoghurt, gives you a softer, more pillowy interior than commercial yeast naan. The crust still chars beautifully on a hot pan, but the inside is more like an Indian-restaurant naan and less like a pizza-base attempt at one.

The pan really matters

If you've never cooked naan in a domestic kitchen and were sceptical, the pan is the variable that makes it work. Cast iron holds enough heat that the naan chars within seconds rather than slowly browning. A standard non-stick pan that's lost its non-stickness — perfectly fine for this — also works.

What doesn't work: stainless steel pans (the dough sticks), thin aluminium pans (not enough heat retention), or grill plates with ridges (uneven contact).

For maximum char, you can also finish the naan under a hot grill for 10–15 seconds. Not authentic, but produces a nicely scorched surface if your pan isn't quite hot enough.

Make ahead and storage

Naan is best eaten within 5 minutes of cooking, but they'll keep:

• Wrapped in a tea towel: 4 hours, soft and pliable.
• In an airtight container: 2 days at room temperature.
• In the freezer: 3 months. Reheat in a hot dry pan for 20 seconds per side.

Cooked naan also makes excellent next-day pizza bases, sandwich wraps, or chips (cut into triangles, brush with oil, bake at 200°C for 8 minutes).

Common problems and fixes

Naan doesn't bubble: pan not hot enough, or baking powder is old. Replace baking powder if it's been open more than 6 months.

Naan tears as you stretch: dough hasn't rested enough. Cover and wait another 15 minutes.

Naan is dry and tough: too much flour added, or rolled too thin. The dough should feel slightly tacky; rolled to about 4mm thick.

Pan smokes wildly: too hot. Drop the heat slightly. The naan should char in spots, not turn black overall.

Cheese leaks out of stuffed naan: sealed badly. Pinch the edges firmly and roll gently from the centre out.

Serving suggestions

The classic pairing is curry. Some specific suggestions:

• Butter chicken: the perfect pairing. The naan soaks up the rich tomato-cream sauce.
• Daal: any lentil curry. Use the naan to scoop.
• Saag paneer: the spinach and cheese curry that's everyone's favourite vegetarian option.
• Tandoori chicken or lamb: wrapped in naan with raita and pickle, restaurant-grade.
• Beyond curry: as a wrap for kebabs, with hummus and falafel, or as a quick pizza base.

Discard naan FAQ

How old can the discard be?

Up to two weeks in the fridge. Older than that the flavour gets very intense — you might find the naan too tangy. Test a small piece before committing.

Can I use Greek yoghurt or skyr?

Yes — Greek yoghurt gives a slightly tangier, slightly drier dough. Add a tablespoon of milk to compensate for the lower moisture if needed.

Can I make this without baking powder?

Not really — the baking powder gives the puff and bubbles that define naan. Without it, you get a flatbread (which is fine, but not naan).

Can I cook naan in the oven?

Yes — preheat a baking stone at 250°C for 30 minutes, slide the rolled naan onto it, bake for 3 minutes. The oven approach gives a crispier base; the pan approach gives the classic naan softness.

Why does my naan taste flat?

Probably the discard wasn't fermented enough. Use discard that's been in the fridge for 3+ days — fresh just-fed discard doesn't have enough acid to give that signature naan tang.

Can I make a smaller batch?

Yes — halve all ingredients and follow the same method. The dough holds 24 hours in the fridge, so you can also make the full batch and stretch it across two meals.

Does this work without yoghurt?

Substitute with kefir or buttermilk. Or, in a pinch, regular milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice. The slight acidity is what makes naan tender.

Why this is the best discard recipe in our rotation

If you put a list of discard recipes in front of us — crackers, crumpets, pancakes, pizza, naan, banana bread, biscuits — the naan wins by some margin. Five reasons:

1. Speed. 30 minutes from start to plate. No prove, no rise, no waiting.
2. Quantity. Six naan from 200g of discard is great value.
3. Flexibility. Plain, garlic, cheese-stuffed, sweet — all from the same dough.
4. Reception. Children, sceptics, and dinner guests all love them.
5. Repurpose. Leftover naan is more useful than leftover sliced bread.

Most weeks our discard goes one of two places: into the cracker tin or into a Friday-night naan. If you only learn one discard recipe, learn this one.

The 30-minute weeknight curry plan

Naan is the bridge that turns a 20-minute curry into a proper meal. Our standard weeknight rhythm:

• 5:30pm: mix naan dough, set aside to rest.
• 5:35pm: start a quick curry — chicken tikka masala, daal, butter beans in tomato.
• 6:00pm: curry simmering, rice on, pan heating.
• 6:10pm: roll and cook naan one at a time while the curry rests.
• 6:15pm: on the table.

The naan recipe is forgiving enough to fit around the timing of whatever else you're cooking. It's the rare bread recipe that genuinely fits weeknight life.

Naan in the wider Indian flatbread family

Naan is one of half a dozen Indian flatbreads, each with its own technique and personality. Knowing the family helps:

• Naan: leavened, soft, traditionally cooked in a tandoor (clay oven). The recipe here.
• Roti / chapati: unleavened, made from atta (wholewheat flour) and water. Cooked dry on a tava.
• Paratha: unleavened, layered with ghee. Flaky and rich.
• Kulcha: similar to naan but baked in an oven, often stuffed with potato or onion.
• Puri: deep-fried, puffs into a ball.
• Bhatura: larger fried bread, traditionally with chana (chickpea curry).

If you've mastered this naan recipe, paratha and kulcha are the natural next steps. Each builds on the same dough principles with a different finish.

The dough as a base for other things

This dough doesn't have to become naan. Roll it thinner and bake on a stone for pizza-base flatbreads. Cut into squares before cooking and you have homemade tortillas. Add seeds before the second rest and you have mediterranean-style flatbreads. The base recipe is more versatile than the name implies.