This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
After lots of requests, here’s the recipe for my gluten free naan bread! This Vegan Gluten free Naan Bread recipe is also gumfree,nutfree and soyfree. Jump to Recipe
Pictured above..Naan Take 2. See them holes!
I got requests after my veganized Naan post, for a GF Naan. and I got obsessed with trying to figure out how yeast breads work gluten free ! I started baking breads back in early 2009 and it took me about one whole year to figure out gluten.. ha! and now I had to figure out what to do without all the gluten that makes the bread so airy, soft and in general bread as I know it!
For the regular Vegan-ized, but with gluten Naan – 4 ways(Plain, Avocado, Garlic and Stuffed with Cauliflower, see here.
Naan take 2.
I was initially going to make this post a story of how I got here with several other breads, but this is already going to be a picture heavy post… so another post will be dedicated to the gf sandwich loafs, tarts and buns.
I baked 2 bread loafs with Bob’s All purpose GF flour. One had pureed blueberries in it and tasted decent, but the top fell most likely because of a little extra moisture. The second Bob’s Gf loaf didnt fall, but I couldnt take the chickpea aftertaste in it. Then I made my own sorghum + rice + starch mix and made a loaf, tart and buns with it. The problem I had with those were a- I used long grain white rice flour and that is a bit gritty and b- I think my taste buds have not got accustomed to the sorghum taste yet.
Most of these were very edible, The tart and buns were consumed, the blueberry loaf was gone, the bob’s chickpea loaf and the sorghum loaf were a tad bit dry, so they were not going to be eaten without some intervention. I made crackers out them.. Made bread crumbs and then added a binding flour, water and spices and voila.. crackers! and they were gone in a day.Naan Take 1 with a little Sorghum. Its a teeny one, hence well shaped.
If you have heard of glutenfree steamed Indian cakes like Idli (Rice and Lentil steamed cakes) and Khaman/Dhokla(Chickpea flour savory cakes), you will know why I thought of steaming the bread. The steamed cakes are very moist and soft.
And I used oats and potato starch as major ingredients, because I kinda know what to expect in terms of taste and texture with them. Please make sure to use glutenfree oats.
I need a glutenfree sampler person who knows these new tastes, to give me feedback about if the final product is supposed to be the way it is. I mean to accept that this is how a gluten less bread would feel, texture wise., or this is how sorghum tastes like! So, if you are close to Seattle downtown and would love to sample some gf goods, ping me!:) I promise I will pass on only the good stuff.
Most of these were very edible, The tart and buns were consumed, the blueberry loaf was gone, the bob’s chickpea loaf and the sorghum loaf were a tad bit dry, so they were not going to be eaten without some intervention. I made crackers out them.. Made bread crumbs and then added a binding flour, water and spices and voila.. crackers! and they were gone in a day.Naan Take 1 with a little Sorghum. Its a teeny one, hence well shaped.
If you have heard of glutenfree steamed Indian cakes like Idli (Rice and Lentil steamed cakes) and Khaman/Dhokla(Chickpea flour savory cakes), you will know why I thought of steaming the bread. The steamed cakes are very moist and soft.And I used oats and potato starch as major ingredients, because I kinda know what to expect in terms of taste and texture with them. Please make sure to use glutenfree oats.
I need a glutenfree sampler person who knows these new tastes, to give me feedback about if the final product is supposed to be the way it is. I mean to accept that this is how a gluten less bread would feel, texture wise., or this is how sorghum tastes like! So, if you are close to Seattle downtown and would love to sample some gf goods, ping me!:) I promise I will pass on only the good stuff.
Â
Vegan Gluten free Naan Bread
Vegan Gluten free Naan Bread This is a gum, soy, gluten and nut free recipe
Ingredients Â
- 1/2 cup finely ground gf Oats, not quick oats
- 1/2 cup Potato Starch
- 1 teaspoon active yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons agave syrup
- 1 Tablespoon organic canola oil
- 1/4 cup warm water +1.5-2 Tablespoons water
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon carom or fennel or nigella seeds
- Top with nigella or sesame seeds
InstructionsÂ
- In a bowl, add 1/4 cup warm water and yeast and let it sit until frothy. 10 minutes.
- In another bowl, whisk oats flour, potato starch, baking powder, seeds, salt, cumin powder, black pepper, very well.
- Add in the dry ingredients to the yeast mix. Add salt, agave and oil and mix well to combine. Add a tablespoon of water at a time to make a thick batter (not really flowy) .Spray top with water so the dough doesnt dry out.
- Cover with damp towel or plastic wrap with enough space to double, and Let sit in warm place for 1.5-2 hours or until doubled.
- The batter will turn doughy because Oats will absorb the extra moisture.
- Oil hands and pick the dough up and gather into 1 or 2 balls. You can make two, 6 inch flat breads, a bit less than 1/4 inch thick. I made one 8 inch 1/4 inch thick and a small dinner rollÂ
- Pat the dough into desired shape on parchment. Use parchment size that will fit in your steamer and leave some space for the steam to circulate.
- Sprinkle some seeds on top and pat them in.
- Spritz top with water. Cover with towel and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour, until almost double.(Let is Rise well. (below, after 45 minutes of rising)
- Start up the steamer. Place parchment on steamer tray. Place steamer in container when water is boiling(steam is getting produced continuously).
- Cover and steam for 12-14 minutes.
- Carefully lift tray or parchment out. Lift up the flatbread and flip it and place on dry parchment, so the bottom doesnt get soggy. (below, parchment has been peeled off the bottom)
- You can leave it be at this point and serve after a minute. Or do a quick grill.Â
- Start up a pan on high heat. Place the flat bread with bottom on heated pan. Cook for half a minute. Flip and cook for another half a minute.
- Let bread cool for half a minute before serving. Serve hot with any favorite indian curries or lentil soups. or cut it up to use as pita or a side.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one naan
Substitute spices with dried basil and olive oil to make a pizza base. Top with roasted veggies, cheeze, do a quick broil and serve!
You can also make small dinner rolls and steam them. This quantity will probably give 6.
Store in refrigerator for not more than 2 days.
Freeze with parchment separating the flatbreads and ziplocked with least amount of air. Reheat on pan or toaster and use.
Nutrition
Calories: 381kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 515mg, Potassium: 619mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin C: 1.5mg, Calcium: 64mg, Iron: 2.2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
(below fresh Naan bite!) Naan take 3.. gone in 3!
It looks like a long process, but most of it is just rise time. Once you have the breads patted and ready, you can steam them 2 at a time on the steel steamer, or more if you have multilevel bamboo or digital steamer.
I had used 2 Tbsps sorghum flour and 1 Tablespoon cornstarch in the first batch. And the dough was similar.
If you want to try variations, keep atleast 40% Oats and 40% starch and add other flours of choice in the other 20%. Keep the batter moist and let it rise well.You can also use this newer flat bread recipe. shape into a long oval and bake.Naan take 2.. day 2 after refrigeration.. still soft and airy!
It looks like a long process, but most of it is just rise time. Once you have the breads patted and ready, you can steam them 2 at a time on the steel steamer, or more if you have multilevel bamboo or digital steamer.I had used 2 Tbsps sorghum flour and 1 Tablespoon cornstarch in the first batch. And the dough was similar.
If you want to try variations, keep atleast 40% Oats and 40% starch and add other flours of choice in the other 20%. Keep the batter moist and let it rise well.You can also use this newer flat bread recipe. shape into a long oval and bake.Naan take 2.. day 2 after refrigeration.. still soft and airy!
There are other ways of cooking I have tried and I will do a post about them, but steaming gives the softest bread, and it doesnt get hard or stale as quickly.
If you do try the bread, please do leave me feedback!
This bread is starchy and I will work on a less starchy, more flours and a sandwich loaf version. Till then.. Wish me luck in more successful adventures with gf breads!
This bread is starchy and I will work on a less starchy, more flours and a sandwich loaf version. Till then.. Wish me luck in more successful adventures with gf breads!
Â
Â
I work on replacing the dreaded wheat with buckwheat and the even more dreaded yeast with a pinch of baking powder, any non stretch or tendency to crumble is sorted out with good spoon of phylium husk. It does work and I still get the flavours. Not the same I know.
You mentioning dhokla got me wondering if fruit salt would be better than baking powder (when steaming), what do you think?
Thank you so much for wonderful and imaginative site, I really do look forward to getting my posts and I spend ages rummaging!
fruit salt might help with the initial leavening. you can omit the yeast and add more baking powder and steam it and it will work out similarly. also buckwheat is quite heavy, so maybe add a bit of starch so the batter can hold the airyness.
Hello
I have made this today, first time I have made flat bread and by steaming method. My feedback. I wasn’t struck on the taste by it’s self. Think that may be due to not ever tasted bread made with oats, not sure I like that taste. However, I put vegan butter on it and it was ok but even better when I dipped it in some chilli sauce. I guess the sauce took the taste of the oats away. The texture was brilliant, soft, never had GF bread so soft – well impressed. I was thinking that it was a lot of yeast for two flat breads but on looking back I misread the amount. I used a small sachet which may be more than a teaspoon, not sure. I am interested in the steaming method and wanted to know if oat flour has to be the main flour used in this method of making bread? I make vegan chapatis which are lovely but I don’t use oat flour. Is there a reason behind oat flour?
Hi Lorrainne,
Thank u for trying the Naan recipe. the sachet might have 2.5 tsps which might have added a yeasty or bitter flavor to the bread. the starch also can add an after taste. add cumin seeds or nigella seeds into the dough to help eliminate that.
Oats help keep the bread stay soft and they seem to work best for gf breads. you can however use other flours as well. See my burger buns. you can sub the oat flour with rice or other flours and steam in the oven. https://fettabbau-trim.today/2014/02/gluten-free-flat-bread-burger-buns.html%3C/a%3E and these biscuits which are oat-free https://fettabbau-trim.today/2013/12/gluten-free-jalapeno-pepper-jack.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thanks for that info. Big mistake with the amount of yeast I mistakenly used got stomach cramps last night, was not well at all. Never mind will not make that mistake again. I was looking at those other recipes, in Uk we cannot get the pepper jack, never heard of it. However, I will be giving other recipes a go. I am going to try the oat flat bread again with the proper amount of yeast to see how it turns out and if I still have problems with the taste then I will do it again and substitute with another flour, may be just reduce the oat flour – it’s all experimental but must read the ingredients properly next time lol Great site very inspiring, I loved the texture, the softness of the bread, this is what I am looking for. A healthy, soft, vegan gluten free bread.
oh no. check the yeast. sometimes yeast has additives which can also cause stomach issues.
you can use the dry flour mix from the recipes i mentioned, to make this naan, instead of all oat flour. pepper jack is vegan cheese shreds for the cheesy biscuits. the dry flour ratios though should work fine for this naan. i am working on a page with general gf mixes to use to make naans and yeast breads, cakes, cookies etc.