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Posts Tagged ‘fry bread’

If you’ve never had fry bread, you’re in for a treat! This is a fair-food staple here in Arizona. Navajo fry bread can be a main course or a dessert, depending on the toppings. But, it’s ALWAYS too big to be a snack!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs powdered milk
• 1 1/2 cups water (approx)

In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add the egg. Mixing with your hands, slowly add the water until it is a sticky dough. And it will be sticky!

Let the dough rest, in the bowl, covered with a damp paper towel. I typically let it sit for about 7-8 minutes or until my cooking oil is hot.

In a skillet, heat cooking oil until a pinch of dough dropped in the oil will sizzle.

Preparing the fry breads:
On a clean cutting board, put down a little bit of flour. Take a palm-sized amount of dough and roll thin, about 1/8 of an inch.

The dough will not roll into a perfect circle but that’s okay.

It is MUCH easier to prepare all the fry breads first rather than trying to fry and roll at the same time!

Gently place the fry bread into the hot oil. The bread will puff up!

When it is golden brown on one side, turn it over and fry until golden brown on both sides.

5 Tips from The Queen Mother:

1. My first fry bread I typically throw away. I’m just too impatient to wait until the oil is really hot.
2. Don’t try to double the dough or cut it down. It just doesn’t work! If I am making this for a lot of people, I make two batches of dough.
3. You might need to add more oil if you’re frying a lot of breads. Don’t add oil to the skillet while it’s on the stove. And be sure to wait until it is hot before dropping in the dough!
4. Drain the fry breads on a couple of paper towels.
5. The dough will keep 24 hours in the fridge. But, I prefer to toss any left over dough and make a fresh batch.

Remember: I melted my plastic tipped tongs making Cheating Fry Bread. I recommend metal tongs like in this photo:

The Outdoor Princess’ Favorite Toppings

• Browned hamburger with salsa
• Pinto beans (NOT refried beans!)
• Shredded cheese (If you put the hamburger and beans down first, it helps the cheese melt. Then put on the “cold” toppings”
• Shredded lettuce
• Chopped tomatoes
• Black olives
• Avocado
• Sour cream
• Guacamole
• Salsa

And, for dessert, top with a bit of honey and powdered sugar!

Here’s a tip:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large zippered bag while you’re at home. Then, in camp, you just add the egg and water and you’re done! But, be sure to LABEL the bag so you know what it is!

Fry bread with cinnamon and sugar is a camping food-food favorite in my family. The Queen Mother has a knockout recipe for fry bread that is even better than what you can get at the fair.

But, it can be a lot of work for preparation, cooking, and cleanup. So Cheating Fry Bread is perfect for when you just need a sweet snack!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can packaged biscuits
• Cooking oil
• Sugar
• Cinnamon

Directions:

Pour oil to cover 1″ deep in a skillet and heat to about 350 degrees. Take each biscuit and flatten between your palms, then slip gently into the hot oil.  It’s a big help if all the biscuits are flattened a head of time OR if you have a helper flattening them while you cook!

Cook biscuits for about 2 minutes or until each side is golden brown. Don’t put more than 3 or 4 biscuits in the oil; you don’t want to crowd them. When the underside is brown, flip over and cook until the other side is brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. You also might want to pat them with the towels to remove excess oil.

I recommend using all-metal tongs since plastic ones melt if you are pushing the biscuits around in the hot oil. I had to throw mine away!

While the biscuits are still warm, shake in a bag with cinnamon and sugar.

Makes 8 fry breads.

By the way: I’ve received permission from The Queen Mother to share her super-secret, super-yummy fry bread recipe with you next week!

Readers Weigh In:

How do you like to eat your fry bread? What are your favorite toppings?

Don’t forget to check out the EatStayPlay.com Outdoor Cooking Forum.