Indian Fry Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my Indian fry bread tough? ›

Tips for Making Delicious Native American Fry Bread

Don't over-knead—Be careful not to knead the dough too much because the bread will be hard and tough.

Made with simple ingredients, generally wheat flour, water, salt, and sometimes baking powder, frybread can be eaten alone or with various toppings such as honey, jam, powdered sugar, venison, or beef. It is the base for Indian tacos.

Too cool, and the bread absorbs the fat before it fries and makes it soggy. First rule, do NOT use really fresh bread, slightly stale is best. Second rule, get the fat you are using quite hot, not smoking hot, but hot enough to brown a little cube of bread in a few seconds.

Unlike the dry toast you can make in a toaster (or under the broiler in your oven), slices fried in oil are rich and luxurious; that bit of extra fat goes a long way in the flavor department.

Health Problems

Fry bread can be eaten alone or as part of a meal, or can be dessert topped with butter, cinnamon and sugar or perhaps honey. Fry bread is tempting to most people because of the grease/lard/shortening ingredient and therein lies the problem. Not only is fry bread high in fat, it is also caloric.

Poking a little hole in the middle prevents it from puffing up too much.

The flour you used may have contained too much protein. Protein is one of the ingredients that help yeast bread brown. Use bread flour that is purchased at a grocery store or a national brand of all-purpose flour.

To make crusty bread, create steam in the oven.

They have a professional secret: the steam-injected oven. Nothing offers the baker quite as nice a crust as an oven filled with steam for the first part of the baking process.

Is fried bread better with oil or butter? ›

If you are feeling really indulgent, a knob of butter can be added at the end, once you have turned your slice of bread, giving it a nutty and incredibly tasty finish. Ultimately bacon drippings are the most delicious kind of fat to cook your fried bread in.

Fry bread was a survival food for many Indigenous People forced off their land.

The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.

Fried dough is also known as fry dough, fry bread (bannock), fried bread, doughboys, elephant ears, beaver tails, scones, pizza fritte, frying saucers, and buñuelos (in the case of smaller pieces).

However, fried bread is still eaten, particularly in the form of French toast, but sometimes as simply a slice of bread fried in butter.

It is the traditional deep fried bread of the Navajo People in America. According to the Navajo tradition, fry bread was created from the ingredients ( flour, lard, sugar, salt) given by the US government when the natives were relocated to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico from Arizona in 1864.

You want that oil at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, otherwise the dough is going to absorb a bunch of oil and be greasy and heavy versus light and crispy. Use a good quality oil with a high smoke point. This is not the place for extra virgin olive oil. Peanut oil works great.

Reheat – Wrap each fry bread with aluminum foil and place in a 350℉/177℃ oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Now you can toss on your favorite topping or enjoy them as is.

First, make sure your oil is hot enough, but not too hot. You want to achieve the desired toasty brown color on the outside in precisely the same amount of time as it takes to cook the dough all the way through on the inside, and not a second longer.

Fry bread is best when fresh, so we don't recommend making it ahead of time. However, you can mix up the dough and store it in the fridge or freezer until it's time to fry. Dough in the fridge. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer the dough to a Ziploc bag.

Why is my frybread chewy? ›

Tough bread is a result of over-kneading/over-mixing. This develops the gluten protein too much, which makes for chewy, tough bread. Remember to only mix the dough until the ingredients are just incorporated, and to let the dough rest for the needed amount of time.

In the oven: Preheat oven to 200° or Warm setting. Wrap the bread in a damp (not soaking) towel, place on a baking sheet, and pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes. In the microwave: Wrap the bread in a damp (not soaking) towel, place it on a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high for 10 seconds.

Store airtight with the two cut halves facing each other and pressed together. Wrapping bread to retain moisture keeps it soft, though it robs crusty artisan bread of its crispy crust. Wrapping in plastic (or foil) rather than cloth keeps bread soft longer.