Topic: Can you freeze nan bread?

[Rob-phall-ike]

I know the dough can be frozen once it's been made but when a nan is cooked can that also be put into the freezer? I would be interested to find out.
Rob

[Stephen Lindsay]

Yes - as evidenced by the frozen naans sold in supermarkets and asian grocers. If I was doing them then I'd cook lightly, cool, freeze, then reheat in the oven, with some water sprinkeld over it to keep the top soft.

The question for me though is should one freeze naans? The quality will be much poorer than those made fresh.

[Rob-phall-ike]

The question for me though is should one freeze naans? The quality will be much poorer than those made fresh.

Good point Stephen. I was thinking that maybe it would be quicker to warm up a cooked nan than go through the process of rolling and cooking the dough. At the end of the day your point about the taste is the most important.
Rob

[natterjak]

I freeze my naans and find the freeze->defrost process actually improves the texture. When eaten direct from cooking they can be a bit dried out on the surface but after freezing and defrosting they soften up a bit (many defrosted foods will be softer than the original pre-freezing variant). It may not suit you, maybe you'll prefer the freshly cooked naans but I'd say don't be afraid to try freezing.

[chewytikka]

Every frozen or vacuum packed Naan, I've ever bought has been a second best substitute to a fresh Restaurant Naan.
Until somebody comes up with a good frozen dough, ready to bake Naan, like they do with Paratha, Supermarket Naan's are well avoided.

If, on the other hand you had an Asian bakery handy, doing cheap 3 for a quid Naan's,
it could be well worth stocking up your freezer for convenience sake.

Still won't match the freshly baked bread experience, but would be a bit closer.

cheers Chewy

[loveitspicy]

The question being can you freeze naan's? YES no probs....
are they the same as fresh naan's NO
are they ok reheated - YES - depends how you reheat them

good way if you have made your own naan's is to completely defrost before reheating.... the best way by far -
Get some tin foil lay it down on the side place the defrosted naan in it - sprinkle with a few drops of water - pull up the side of the tin foil to nearly closing and stick in the oven at 150 for a few mins - beautiful.

Another way microwave after defrost 10 to 12 seconds max - mind you that depends on your microwaves power. Becareful with the microwave too much and its like eating a flipflop!

We freeze all our naan's. We sell many to the Indian community who go into the supermarket and buy them to eat with a cup of tea (amazing no curry, a cup of tea)

best, Rich

[Rob-phall-ike]

Chewy and Rich

Thanks for those comments and all the others. In the end I did make some nans, one or two to eat with my curry last night, and decided to try some in the freezer. Now I have some tips on how to get the best out of the frozen ones which I will definitely use.

As for the taste test I have no doubt fresh is best but sometimes when I come in from work I can have one defrosted that morning with one of my frozen curries - all washed down with a nice glass of home made wine - heaven!

Rob