Place the yeast in a bowl and add the warm water. Stir together and leave for 5 minutes, until foam appears on top of the water.
2 tsp (7 g) instant yeast, 120 ml (½ cup) warm water
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, yogurt and melted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the yeast and water mixture.
300 g (2 ½ cups) strong white bread flour, 1 tsp (5 g) sugar, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp (5 g) salt, 150 ml (½ cup + 2 tbsp) natural yogurt, 30 g (2 tbsp) melted unsalted butter
Mix the dough together using the dough hook until combined. The mixture will look dry at first, but will come together.
Once combined, continue to knead the dough with the dough hook for 10 minutes. By this point the dough will be quite sticky.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth or clingfilm and allow to prove for 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make the coconut and almond filling by mixing the ground almonds, desiccated coconut, sugar, and butter together in a small bowl, until combined. Put to one side.
100 g (1 cup) ground almonds, 3 tbsp desiccated coconut, 4 tbsp light brown sugar, 3 tbsp unsalted butter
Dust the work surface with a good sprinkling of flour. Divide the dough into 6 balls.
3-4 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
Dust each dough ball with flour and roll each one out into rectangles, approx. 10cm (4 inches) x 5cm (2 inches).
Divide the coconut/almond mixture between the dough rectangles, spreading it out, so it covers half of the dough. The filling may be a little crumbly, but that's fine.
Fold the dough over, so you now have a square of dough, measuring approx. 5cmx5cm (2 inches), and seal the edges with your fingertips. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Carefully shape each dough square into a teardrop or oval shape, approx 15cm (6 inches) long and about 10cm (4 inches) wide at the widest point. I prefer to use my hands for this part, but you can use a rolling pin if you prefer.Don’t worry if the naan breads are a little smaller. You basically want to get the dough fairly thin, but without the filling leaking out.
Preheat the oven to its lowest setting (to keep the naan breads warm).
Heat a large frying pan (either a non-stick or a seasoned cast iron pan) over a high heat. When very hot, place a naan bread in the dry pan and fry for approx. 3 minutes, until it puffs up.
Turn the naan bread over a cook for another 3 minutes until golden patches appear on the bread. You can cook it for longer if you prefer darker patches (the pan may smoke a little if cooking for longer, so you may need to carefully wipe it out after cooking each naan).
When the naan bread is cooked, place on a baking tray and brush the top generously with the melted butter (approx 3/4 butter tbsp for each naan).
75 g (5 tbsp) melted unsalted butter
Cover the tray with foil and place in the oven.
Repeat, cooking each naan bread, brushing the top with melted butter and placing on top of the previously cooked naan bread (keeping them in a stack will keep them nice and soft). Each time you add a naan bread to the pile, re-cover the pile with the piece of foil and place back in the oven to keep warm until all the naan breads are cooked.
Serve with your favourite curry.
Notes
Can I make ahead?Fresh naan bread, always tastes the best, but they do still taste fantastic when made ahead. Make all the naans, (don't bother keeping them warm in the oven or brushing with melted butter). Cover with foil after making each one (to keep them soft), but you don't need to put them in a pile if you're making them ahead (they'll take longer to cool in a pile).Cool the naan breads then store at room temperature, in a sealed container for 1-2 days.Freezing:Alternatively, freeze them in a freezer bag or in a sealed container. Place some greaseproof paper between each naan, so they don't stick together when freezing. Defrost at room temperature (still in the bag, or at least covered with foil, so they don't dry out) for a couple of hours until completely defrosted and no longer cold to the touch.To reheat:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/35oF.
Place the naan breads on a baking tray. It's fine if they overlap a little.
Sprinkle a little water on each naan (about 1/2 tsp per naan)
Cover with foil, and place in the oven for 8-12 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
Brush with melted butter and serve.
Nutritional information is approximate - per individual naan bread.