Navaho or Indian Fry Bread

[Aint2nuts]

I made Fry bread for the first time today. The first one came out thick, burned and raw inside. The last one was beautiful, but still thick. Really good with honey.

 

So, what is the secret to making the bread thin and fluffy? AND cooked inside?

 

I tried a hole in the middle and that helped, but I couldn't get the whole thing flattened out to a thin patty.

[JCK88]

I don't know, Angela...I have never made fry bread. I make bannock cakes, though, with buckwheat and my secret to having them cook all the way through is to use a cast iron skillet that is nicely preheated and spread the dough from the middle to the sides of the pan, so that the middle actually starts cooking first. Keep your heat low, and cook it long, rather than hot and cooking it fast so it burns on the outside.

 

Maybe you need thinner batter so you can spread it better? (don't try to say that fast, LOL)

 

I hope someone who makes fry bread can help more than I am ...

[PoGo]

When I make fry bread, I pat it out on a lightly floured surface until it's very thin, about 1/4 inch or so. When I fry it, it really puffs up and becomes very thick, but still tender. I let it cook to desired brownness, then turn it over to cook the other side.

 

It sounds as if your burnt and undercooked one was because the oil was too hot, which cooked the outside too fast to let the inside cook as well.

[zzelle]

hubby said try a rolling pin it might help

[Fullpantry]

YUMMMMM!! I love Fry bread. Will you please post your recipe?

[MommyofSeven]

you have to really manhandle it when you break off the ball of dough, then flatten it out with your hands. Get them good and flat, like the thickness of cooked pancakes. Start with smaller pieces, too, a bit larger than the palm of your hand, and once you master them, then go on to the bigger ones. WE use the smaller pieces to dunk in stew. OK, I don't make frybread anymore, but when we have a family get together, we do it. Also make sure your oil isn't too hot. You want to cook them low and slow. We use a stockpot, put in a gallon of oil, then we just strain and reuse the oil later. But we can cook a lot at once that way. A big family get together here is like 30 people LOL, so we'd be at it all day if we cooked them in smaller bits. Cause none of the women make frybread anymore regularly (it's bad for the heart, yanno LOL) so the guys go nuts when we do make it. So we make like 120-150 smaller pieces. Leftovers get heated the next morning with honey.

 

Mo7

[Aint2nuts]

So I know what I did wrong now. I made them too thick, the oil was too hot.

 

Tomorrow I will try again. I was going to do it tonight, but the kids surprised me with fajitas, so I ate those instead.

 

 

[PoGo]

Originally Posted By: Fullpantry

YUMMMMM!! I love Fry bread. Will you please post your recipe?

This is the recipe that I use:

Fry Bread
Yield: about 6 pieces

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
Enough milk for a sticky dough.

Mix well. Let rise for 1/2 hour. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Pinch off a handful, place on a lightly floured surface and stretch out and pat to flatten until about 1/4-inch thick. Fry in hot oil until lightly browned, turn bread over and fry other side until lightly browned. With tongs, remove bread from hot oil and drain on paper towels. Keep warm until served.

[Rezgirl]

No matter how much I've tried, I cannot pat out fry bread dough like a native. (I end up dropping it on the floor) The dough is patted back and forth between the palms of the hands and then stretched out over the knuckles until it is the size of a dinner plate. It is VERY thin, almost transparent in the center, and a bit thicker around the edges.

 

Poke a hole in the center, and lay it gently in the hot oil (Snow Cap lard is used here) away from you to avoid the oil from splashing out toward you. The hole in the center allows some oil to come to the top and begin to cook the top side. When you begin to see golden brown around the edges, flip it over using a long handled fork, in the hole. Keep checking the side in the oil, and when it is golden brown, remove to paper towels or a cloth to drain.

 

 

The recipe above looks similar to what is used here on the rez, except that water is used instead of milk. The flour of choice is Blue Bird flour from Cortez Milling Co, Inc. Cortez Colorado. (Actually comes in a cloth sack !)

 

Frybread makes a wonderful shell for all the taco fixings, famous here as Navajo Tacos. Just layer chili beans & meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, shredded cheese and picante sauce, and fold in half. (getting your mouth around it is another challenge)

 

 

[PoGo]

LOL. This is the recipe I use for Navajo tacos, but we pile it on a plate and eat it with a fork.

 

The recipe came from a woman on the Ute Indian reservation in Utah. She said we could use water instead of milk, however, I prefer milk as it seems to brown better.

 

[Fullpantry]

Thanks, Pogo!! Can't wait to try it this weekend!! My mouth is watering already!

[PureCajunSunshine]

Originally Posted By: Rezgirl

No matter how much I've tried, I cannot pat out fry bread dough like a native. (I end up dropping it on the floor) The dough is patted back and forth between the palms of the hands and then stretched out over the knuckles until it is the size of a dinner plate. It is VERY thin, almost transparent in the center, and a bit thicker around the edges.

Practice while standing on a clean sheet! I guarantee you won't drop a single one on that sheet. Remove the sheet and it might be a different story! lol

Originally Posted By: Rezgirl

Poke a hole in the center, and lay it gently in the hot oil (Snow Cap lard is used here) away from you to avoid the oil from splashing out toward you. The hole in the center allows some oil to come to the top and begin to cook the top side.

We like to say that that hole is made for letting the calories out! lol

Our frybread is thick and fluffy (not thin).

[PoGo]

Originally Posted By: Fullpantry

Thanks, Pogo!! Can't wait to try it this weekend!! My mouth is watering already!

You're welcome, but it was Rezgirl's idea!

[Rezgirl]

No doubt I would not drop it if I had a sheet! It's like demanding that someone with hiccups, hiccup in front of you. 9 times out of 10, if you stand there and look them in the eye and wait for a hiccup, they can't do it, and the hiccups are over.

 

Some things I just cannot master like a Native American, and that's OK. My Navajo In-laws send some over when they make it. It is a treat and not an everyday bread. Flour tortillas are the daily bread, and no meal is complete with out tortillas. Tortillas are rolled out with an 8 to 10 inch piece ofdowelrodthe size of a broom handle, on a butcher block cutting board. They are cooked in a dry cast iron skillet.

 

The frybread made in the way I described is fluffy and not flat. As thin as the dough is, it does puff up when fried. No one here uses a recipe that i know of, so the amount of baking powder used is probably more than the recipe above.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted By: Rezgirl

Tortillas are rolled out with an 8 to 10 inch piece ofdowelrodthe size of a broom handle, on a butcher block cutting board. They are cooked in a dry cast iron skillet.

That sounds like something I can do. DH's family rolled out pasta with a "macaroni stick" that really was a cut off broomstick.

[Rezgirl]

When I roll them out they have a shape sorta like Texas.

[PureCajunSunshine]

Before or after Hurricane Ike?

 

 

I know...I know...

[Rezgirl]

both