Naan Lab107 recipes
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What goes into naan

The main ingredient list of all 107 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • Most naan recipes use oil (65%); 48% use butter, and 22% use both.
  • For sugar, 70% use white sugar alone, 25% no sugar at all, and 4% honey (with or without sugar).
  • For leavening, 55% use yeast alone, 16% yeast and baking powder together, and 11% baking powder alone.
  • Of the recipes with yeast, 55% call for instant or rapid-rise yeast, 20% active dry yeast, and 16% fresh yeast.
  • 30% add cheese, herbs or other savory; 69% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 300 g of flour, the size of a typical batch. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical batch on every ingredient.

Butter, oil or both

Each recipe counted once, by the fats in its main ingredient list.

Oil includes coconut oil (1 recipe) and olive oil (19%).

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

"With honey" means any liquid sweetener (honey), with or without dry sugar.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

Sourdough starter includes discard, which many recipes add for flavor rather than lift.

Instant or active dry yeast

Among the 81 recipes with yeast, by the type the ingredient list names.

Rapid-rise, quick-rise and bread machine yeast count as instant.

Water, milk or something richer

Each recipe counted once, by the liquids in its main ingredient list.

  • Yogurt and water

    median 207 g liquid · closest to typical: Naan Recipe (Indian Bread) (spiceupthecurry.com)

    44%48 recipes

  • Yogurt and milk

    median 196 g liquid · closest to typical: Naan Bread (daringgourmet.com)

    23%25 recipes

  • Yogurt, water and milk

    median 199 g liquid · closest to typical: Naan-Brot (gutekueche.at)

    9%10 recipes

  • Water only

    median 219 g liquid · closest to typical: Butter Naan (+Healthy & Whole Wheat) (vegrecipesofindia.com)

    7%8 recipes

  • Milk only

    median 215 g liquid · closest to typical: Naan – Indian Flatbread (melskitchencafe.com)

    5%6 recipes

  • Everything else

    9%10 recipes

Yogurt includes Greek yogurt (6%).

Which flour

Each recipe counted once, by the flours it combines.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 69% add none of these.

  • Cheese, herbs or other savory30%

    herbs 14% · garlic 12% · cheese 4%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 107 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 300 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. Salt100%

    107 recipes · median 4.9 g

  2. All-purpose flour89%

    96 recipes · median: all of the flour

  3. Yeast75%

    81 recipes · median 4.2 g

  4. Yogurt74%

    80 recipes · median 86 g

  5. Granulated sugar69%

    74 recipes · median 4.8 g

  6. Water69%

    74 recipes · median 109 g

  7. Butter48%

    52 recipes · median 27 g

  8. Vegetable oil46%

    50 recipes · median 20 g

  9. Milk40%

    43 recipes · median 110 g

  10. Baking powder36%

    39 recipes · median 3.9 g

  11. Olive oil19%

    21 recipes · median 22 g

  12. Herbs14%

    16 recipes · median 24 g

  13. Eggs13%

    14 recipes · median 33 g

  14. Garlic12%

    13 recipes

  15. Baking soda10%

    11 recipes · median 1.4 g

  16. Bread flour8%

    9 recipes · median: all of the flour

  17. Seeds7%

    8 recipes

  18. Greek yogurt6%

    7 recipes · median 98 g

  19. Whole wheat flour6%

    7 recipes · median: all of the flour

  20. Sourdough starter5%

    6 recipes · median 112 g

Toppings and extras

26% of recipes (28 of 107) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Butter20% (22)
  • Herbs7% (8)
  • Garlic3% (4)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 300 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.