Easy Healthy Fried Bread Recipe with Baking Powder - My Natural Family (2024)

FAQs

Why does my fry bread come out hard? ›

Don't over-knead—Be careful not to knead the dough too much because the bread will be hard and tough. More flour—The dough is sticky but easy to work with; keep your hands and work surface well-floured. Dough thickness—Adjust the thickness of the dough for your use.

Get it really hot, put the bread in carefully and turn almost immediately to get the oil distributed evenly. Then brown each side. Beat an egg and pour onto a dinner size plate, drop the bread in flat and then turn to coat the other side. Then fry as normal, not much oil is absorbed this way.

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.

Indian frybread is a simple dough made from flour, baking powder, salt, and some type of fat in the form of lard or oil. The dough is shaped into a large thin circle, then deep fried in oil.

Bread right out of the oven produces a lot of heat and steam. When the hot air hits the cold air, the water vapor condenses, or “sweats.” If you cover your bread with a towel or bowl, you can trap that water in your bread, resulting in a softer crust.

Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.

The refined oils that are most often used for deep frying include safflower and soybean oil, the latter of which is often labeled as vegetable oil. Decker says the most stable picks are high in a fat called oleic acid, and recommends using peanut or canola oil.

Typically, store-bought self-rising flour contains a lower protein content than generic all-purpose flour, giving baked goods a tender crumb. (You might notice a very small difference when using this homemade substitute in quick breads and cakes, but it typically won't be noticeable in fried foods.)

Our Navajo-inspired fry bread is easy to make. Simply combine 1 cup of flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/3 cup hot water. When the dough comes together into a large ball, cover it and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Why do Native Americans eat fry bread? ›

Indigenous chef Sean Sherman calls it "everything that isn't Native American food", writing that it represents "perseverance and pain, ingenuity and resilience". Frybread became a symbol of resilience as it was developed out of necessity using government-provided flour, sugar, and lard.

Fry bread—also known as Indian fry bread or Navajo tacos—is made from flour, salt, baking powder and warm water. Plus shortening, in which to fry the dough. These staples were all American Indian tribes had access to when fry bread was first created (more on that later).

The Navajo created frybread in 1864 when the U.S. government initiated the reservation system and food commodities for the tribes after disrupting their way of life.

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).

foil. Storing bread in either plastic, cloth, or foil helps retain the loaf's moisture. This moisture retention is a plus when it comes to the bread's crumb (interior) — but a minus if you're talking crunchy-crispy crust, since wrapping bread will inevitably soften its crust as well as its crumb.

If that moisture reaches the surface and hits cool air – e.g., typical room temperature – it condenses on the outer crust, making it soggy. If it hits warm air (your still-warm oven), it evaporates – leaving the crust crisp.

Put a bowl of water in your oven next to the bread. Also, every now and then spray bread with water. Most likely, your crust is developing too early because it is too dry in there. Your crust needs to stay soft and moist to continue to expand before it is ready.

Overworking the dough can cause the gluten strands to break down, resulting in a tough and dense bread. To ensure a light and fluffy texture, knead the dough just until it becomes smooth and elastic. This usually takes about 7-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer.