Fry Bread
Fry Bread is a flatbread made with simple and accessible everyday ingredients. The dough is deep fried in oil and can be enjoyed plain or with various toppings—sweet or savory.
Servings: 8 fry breads
Cost: $3.12
Equipment
- Deep fryer or a large/deep cast-iron pot with thermometer, see note 1
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder not baking soda!
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon yeast instant or active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk I use whole
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil plus more for frying
Instructions
- Melt butter in the microwave. Let the butter cool back to room temperature (it’s important it’s not hot!). Microwave the milk until just warmed (see note 2) but not hot. Mix together melted butter and milk and set aside. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
- Dough should be rough, shaggy, and fairly sticky, but not so sticky you can’t work with it. Lightly flour your hands and knead the dough just a few times to shape it into a ball, being careful not to overwork/overhandle the dough. In the same bowl used for mixing, drizzle a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Rub oil on the bottom of the bowl and slightly up the sides. Add the dough ball back into the bowl and turn it to coat in the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel. Let it rest for 15–20 minutes. We don’t need the dough to rise, just the gluten to relax!
- Add 1 inch of oil to a large, cast-iron pot and heat to 350°F. Divide the rested dough into 8 equal portions (cut the dough ball in half then half again to get 4 large triangle pieces. Cut each triangle into 2 pieces to get 8 equal triangles). Lightly flour your hands and work with 1 dough piece at a time (keep the rest covered). Holding the piece of dough with your hands, gently work the dough into a circle, pressing it out with your fingers. (Don’t roll it out with a rolling pin or flatten on the table.) The dough should make a thin 5- to 6-inch circle and doesn’t need to look pretty—it’s supposed to look rustic! The thinner the pieces, the better; keep working the dough outward, being careful to not rip it.
- Gently drop only one piece of dough at a time into the fully heated oil. Fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side (if not using cast-iron pot, it will be longer)—fry pieces to a dark golden brown color, flipping the dough with 2 forks (or tongs) halfway through. Use a large slotted spoon (or tongs) to remove it onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat to fry the remaining dough.
Video
Notes
Note 1: Frying equipment options:
-
- Use a deep fryer.
- If you don’t have a deep fryer, you’ll want a heavy-bottomed deep pot (I recommend a large (5 quart) cast-iron pot) and thermometer to gauge the temperature of the oil and ensure it maintains the right heat throughout frying. You want to ensure the temperature stays consistent, which will affect how the bread fries. If you don’t have a thermometer, try this trick: Stand a wooden spoon handle in the hot oil. When bubbles gather around the stick, the oil is ready to fry.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.7g | Protein: 5.2g | Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 8.2mg | Sodium: 16.4mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 2.7g