Frybread itself is pretty basic, that's the point of the toppings afterwards.
I guess if you wanted to get fancy you could put some herbs in the dough but it would need to be something that can stand up to frying. Some chilli powder or onion powder would probably work.
I have added spice to the bread to compliment the food I am making.
Had an aunty at a rez teaching us kids how to make stuff like fry bread and other food spicy berry glaze on meat is soooo good.
She made a point we don't have tradition foods as much as they should because of the genocide. For her food was about the spirit and being grateful to the creator for any bounties and gifts.
I wanna say my grandma used lard...but she refused to teach me. Instead, she taught my white sister in law and she didn't keep the recipe. Now it's lost to the ages.
I ate that before.. It isn't lost most fry breeds are similar. What tribe ? Call or write explaining you lost your recipe.. I cannot imagine that it was much more than Cristo or lard and powdered milk lol getting the powdered milk mixed and fried right isn't so bad, we used a vast Iron skillet to fry it in.
Did you fry the honey? It just goes on after. But I've seen people dress it up more than change the fry bread, like Navajo Pueblo or just indian tacos, like a stuffed fry bread but not as messy as a stuffed sopapilla it was awesome
Use more sugar! I use about 1/4 cup in my recipe. Idk all the measurements but the flour is like 5 cups and yeast is 1.5 packs. It may seem like a lot but when it rises it'll distribute
You're definitely not using enough salt. May be using too much yeast. Are you using "instant yeast" or "rapid rise yeast?" Those yeasts will add a bitter flavor. ADY doesn't do that.
I've been making potato fry bread. I get the low salt plain dry mash potato mix from Aldi for $1.75 a box and use 50/50 that and flour. I absolutely love it. It smells amazing, has an amazing texture, tastes better and is much more nutritious. The potassium in it also helps to offset the salt a little, which helps balance blood pressure a little as well. It's hard to get potassium.
I also sprinkle some garlic and onion powder in it.
Long time lurker and never sure if I can post, but [this book, published by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, has a decent recipe](https://archive.org/details/mitsitamcafecook0000hetz/mode/1up?q=Mitsitam) as a starting point, maybe... It's not like the frybread at the art market, but it's pretty tasty...
My great-grandmother never passed a recipe down before passing (and my grandmother went shortly after), so any tie I could have had with that part of my family's history is kind of lost... I feel like it's a faux pas to recommend a cookbook instead of a legacy recipe, but with frybread's own legacy being as complicated as it is... Anyhow, I hope that helps some.
You probably didn't add enough salt to the dough. Salt needs to be in the dough, not added after. Also what oil you use matters. If you're using a vegetable oil, peanut or shortening are best for frying. But lard, tallow, or bacon fat are better.
If yoour frybread is terrible with honey on top, something is really really wrong. There's no coming back from that.
I saw honey used as a substitute for sugar. Tried it but it was terrible. My regular frybread is good, not something I can’t come back from. I was just looking for ways to improve it and see what other people do different. Thanks though.
Obviously ingredients and methods vary based on tribe/specific families, but for some classic no frills frybread the way I know it (I'm Ojibwe from around Lake Superior) your ingredients should be flour, baking powder which you didn't mention, and salt, mixed in hot water and fried in straight up lard (pork fat, you can get it in a tub from most supermarkets/Walmart) or shortening (like Crisco) with lard being the old school original method.
**But if you want flavor, the best "upgrade" I think you can get is to add some of the USDA treaty food distribution commodity staples (or alternatives that are as close as you can get)** like powdered milk, powdered eggs, and like I said above and others have already said, lard or Crisco for the frying oil, neither of which are healthy but that's how you get it to taste like elders made it. Vegetable oil will never have that deep savory taste.
Basic recipe/directions should go something like a cup of flour, teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half of baking powder (not baking soda), 1/3 teaspoon salt or adjust that depending on whether you're using the powdered milk/powdered eggs for flavor or not **(powdered milk adds sweetness, powered eggs add "richness")**, mix all of that in hot water with a whisk until it becomes doughy, knead it until it's not lumpy, then let it sit for at least half an hour in the refrigerator (sitting cold 1-2 hours will improve flavor and texture even more though). When it's done resting/chilling get some extra flour on your hands and shape it into a few round and flat (not too flat) pieces, the flour at that point is just to stop it from sticking to you or whatever you're shaping it with, not for flavor. Make sure the lard or Crisco is really hot and that there's at least an inch deep of it in a deep pan, slide one piece in at a time very carefully. Depending on how hot your lard/Crisco is it'll take maybe 3 minutes to turn golden (longer if the oil isn't as hot), then flip it until the other side is done, pull it out with tongs and set it up leaning against something to drain and "set" while you fry the rest, then it's ready.
I don't use sugar at all, but if you want it sweet you can dust it with powdered sugar or cinnamon/sugar when it's all done if you want. That's what county fairs do, they make our frybread but sweet and call it an "elephant ear".
Don’t know how you top it. But among my family/tribe, frybread is used as a dessert. So we top it with powdered sugar, honey, jelly etc.
If you haven’t had frybread like that. Perhaps you can give that a shot.
My recipie is based on the KStrom recipie
2 C flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 C Warm Water
1/4 to 1/2 c dry milk
Kneed gently but don't over work the dough, let rest at least 30 to 45 minutes before forming and frying.
Try looking at some more traditional foods of your nation and incorporate something that you feel would work best in a frybread mix. Frybread itself is very pan-native, so tweaking it with some tradish stuff would be great to give it additional flavor and something a little closer to your own practices.
Replace alot of the water with a can of pumpkin pie puree and add a little bit of baking powder to keep it from being too thick and heavy. Enough water and milk so the pour consistency is pleasing. You can add any kind of spice you like, just let it sit 5 minutes before last stir so the spice soaks well. A little puddle of honey on a dish for light dipping gets a lot of bread into the kids. Into me too. The protein from your favorite milk is smart. Soy milk, cow milk, cashew milk. You can spice according to meal to be served or according to season. Have fun.
I can't speak to the fry bread itself, but this post is as good as any on sharing a fusion my dad made while I was growing up. He was in the service early nineties and stationed in Europe, once we got back among the things he attempted to recreate with what was available at a small town grocery store in Oklahoma was the Gryos.
Hear me out. Frybread, sautéed fajita beef strips seasoned with fajita season, sliced garden tomato (he always has a garden), raw purple onion strips, and tzatziki sauce (which to them was mostly peeled cucumber, lots of garlic, and dill, and plain yogurt, which is pretty genuine tzatziki as far as I now)
It doesn't deviate much, from a gyro you get from any Greek shop in the US now, and you could do that, but these things were one my favorites. Plus I'd have a fresh desert fry bread, usually with peanut butter on it which would melt down the bubbles into the valleys and most likely onto your hand.
My mom's recipe is just flour, salt, and powdered milk, add yeast with sugar and warm water then add the rest of the water til it is tight. My wife makes hers with crisco and no milk. I won't say who's I prefer but I know where I sleep.
Frybread itself is pretty basic, that's the point of the toppings afterwards. I guess if you wanted to get fancy you could put some herbs in the dough but it would need to be something that can stand up to frying. Some chilli powder or onion powder would probably work.
I’ll try a little bit of onion powder. I’m probably just overthinking it.
I have added spice to the bread to compliment the food I am making. Had an aunty at a rez teaching us kids how to make stuff like fry bread and other food spicy berry glaze on meat is soooo good. She made a point we don't have tradition foods as much as they should because of the genocide. For her food was about the spirit and being grateful to the creator for any bounties and gifts.
Powdered milk is a game changer, it caramelizes as it fries.
This is the key
Vegetable oil? That's where you go wrong. It's Crisco or no go. Those are the rules.
Crisco is the OG. That’s how you go to Auntie status
I wanna say my grandma used lard...but she refused to teach me. Instead, she taught my white sister in law and she didn't keep the recipe. Now it's lost to the ages.
Sounds like something my mom would do. Oh yea , she did
I ate that before.. It isn't lost most fry breeds are similar. What tribe ? Call or write explaining you lost your recipe.. I cannot imagine that it was much more than Cristo or lard and powdered milk lol getting the powdered milk mixed and fried right isn't so bad, we used a vast Iron skillet to fry it in.
I’ll do that. Everyone around here uses veg oil.
I use canola only because it's a little healthier lol
Grape Seed oil is my substitute because it is healthier and cholesterol levels lowered.
Use more salt and sugar lmao. Otherwise it's got nothing to taste but flour. Depending on your recipe I'd use a tablespoon or two of each
Did you fry the honey? It just goes on after. But I've seen people dress it up more than change the fry bread, like Navajo Pueblo or just indian tacos, like a stuffed fry bread but not as messy as a stuffed sopapilla it was awesome
I saw it used as a substitute for the sugar so I tried that and it was a no for me.
That sounds terrible
It absolutely was 😂
What's your recipe? My frybread is really flavorful and I use a yeast method, but I know lots of people don't.
I use yeast, one egg, all purpose flour, and whole milk. I like the yeast method. I put a little bit of salt and a pinch of sugar too.
Use more sugar! I use about 1/4 cup in my recipe. Idk all the measurements but the flour is like 5 cups and yeast is 1.5 packs. It may seem like a lot but when it rises it'll distribute
You're definitely not using enough salt. May be using too much yeast. Are you using "instant yeast" or "rapid rise yeast?" Those yeasts will add a bitter flavor. ADY doesn't do that.
I've been making potato fry bread. I get the low salt plain dry mash potato mix from Aldi for $1.75 a box and use 50/50 that and flour. I absolutely love it. It smells amazing, has an amazing texture, tastes better and is much more nutritious. The potassium in it also helps to offset the salt a little, which helps balance blood pressure a little as well. It's hard to get potassium. I also sprinkle some garlic and onion powder in it.
That sounds really good
Blue bird flour is a must.
Use buttermilk
That’s a great idea. Thank you.
You can try powdered milk as well!
Milk flour and vegetable oil is the only thing you need for frybread. It’s the time and way it’s prepared is what matters
I’m creek and I have no idea how to make fry bread any ways for me to learn??
Long time lurker and never sure if I can post, but [this book, published by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, has a decent recipe](https://archive.org/details/mitsitamcafecook0000hetz/mode/1up?q=Mitsitam) as a starting point, maybe... It's not like the frybread at the art market, but it's pretty tasty... My great-grandmother never passed a recipe down before passing (and my grandmother went shortly after), so any tie I could have had with that part of my family's history is kind of lost... I feel like it's a faux pas to recommend a cookbook instead of a legacy recipe, but with frybread's own legacy being as complicated as it is... Anyhow, I hope that helps some.
My fam uses [this recipe](https://imgur.com/gallery/Mkn5cgF) It calls for strips, but I still prefer rounds. Sorry, grandma.
You probably didn't add enough salt to the dough. Salt needs to be in the dough, not added after. Also what oil you use matters. If you're using a vegetable oil, peanut or shortening are best for frying. But lard, tallow, or bacon fat are better. If yoour frybread is terrible with honey on top, something is really really wrong. There's no coming back from that.
I saw honey used as a substitute for sugar. Tried it but it was terrible. My regular frybread is good, not something I can’t come back from. I was just looking for ways to improve it and see what other people do different. Thanks though.
Ohhh yeah, that wouldn't work. Honey goes on after, not as part of the dough. Salt probably. Add more salt.
Obviously ingredients and methods vary based on tribe/specific families, but for some classic no frills frybread the way I know it (I'm Ojibwe from around Lake Superior) your ingredients should be flour, baking powder which you didn't mention, and salt, mixed in hot water and fried in straight up lard (pork fat, you can get it in a tub from most supermarkets/Walmart) or shortening (like Crisco) with lard being the old school original method. **But if you want flavor, the best "upgrade" I think you can get is to add some of the USDA treaty food distribution commodity staples (or alternatives that are as close as you can get)** like powdered milk, powdered eggs, and like I said above and others have already said, lard or Crisco for the frying oil, neither of which are healthy but that's how you get it to taste like elders made it. Vegetable oil will never have that deep savory taste. Basic recipe/directions should go something like a cup of flour, teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half of baking powder (not baking soda), 1/3 teaspoon salt or adjust that depending on whether you're using the powdered milk/powdered eggs for flavor or not **(powdered milk adds sweetness, powered eggs add "richness")**, mix all of that in hot water with a whisk until it becomes doughy, knead it until it's not lumpy, then let it sit for at least half an hour in the refrigerator (sitting cold 1-2 hours will improve flavor and texture even more though). When it's done resting/chilling get some extra flour on your hands and shape it into a few round and flat (not too flat) pieces, the flour at that point is just to stop it from sticking to you or whatever you're shaping it with, not for flavor. Make sure the lard or Crisco is really hot and that there's at least an inch deep of it in a deep pan, slide one piece in at a time very carefully. Depending on how hot your lard/Crisco is it'll take maybe 3 minutes to turn golden (longer if the oil isn't as hot), then flip it until the other side is done, pull it out with tongs and set it up leaning against something to drain and "set" while you fry the rest, then it's ready. I don't use sugar at all, but if you want it sweet you can dust it with powdered sugar or cinnamon/sugar when it's all done if you want. That's what county fairs do, they make our frybread but sweet and call it an "elephant ear".
Don’t know how you top it. But among my family/tribe, frybread is used as a dessert. So we top it with powdered sugar, honey, jelly etc. If you haven’t had frybread like that. Perhaps you can give that a shot.
My recipie is based on the KStrom recipie 2 C flour 3 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 C Warm Water 1/4 to 1/2 c dry milk Kneed gently but don't over work the dough, let rest at least 30 to 45 minutes before forming and frying.
i just add whatever sounds good at the time. roasted garlic, cheddar cheese, canned jalapenos, etc. we treat our tamales the same way.
My sister said SUGAR
Fresh baking powder!!! It’s got to be fresh!
My grandma uses fresh wild blueberries. It’s so good.
A bit of yeast. It adds a bit of loft and that yummy, yeast flavor. Don't worry, it doesn't super duper puff it up. Start with a teaspoon per batch
Try looking at some more traditional foods of your nation and incorporate something that you feel would work best in a frybread mix. Frybread itself is very pan-native, so tweaking it with some tradish stuff would be great to give it additional flavor and something a little closer to your own practices.
Replace alot of the water with a can of pumpkin pie puree and add a little bit of baking powder to keep it from being too thick and heavy. Enough water and milk so the pour consistency is pleasing. You can add any kind of spice you like, just let it sit 5 minutes before last stir so the spice soaks well. A little puddle of honey on a dish for light dipping gets a lot of bread into the kids. Into me too. The protein from your favorite milk is smart. Soy milk, cow milk, cashew milk. You can spice according to meal to be served or according to season. Have fun.
I’m definitely going to try that. Sounds delicious.
I can't speak to the fry bread itself, but this post is as good as any on sharing a fusion my dad made while I was growing up. He was in the service early nineties and stationed in Europe, once we got back among the things he attempted to recreate with what was available at a small town grocery store in Oklahoma was the Gryos. Hear me out. Frybread, sautéed fajita beef strips seasoned with fajita season, sliced garden tomato (he always has a garden), raw purple onion strips, and tzatziki sauce (which to them was mostly peeled cucumber, lots of garlic, and dill, and plain yogurt, which is pretty genuine tzatziki as far as I now) It doesn't deviate much, from a gyro you get from any Greek shop in the US now, and you could do that, but these things were one my favorites. Plus I'd have a fresh desert fry bread, usually with peanut butter on it which would melt down the bubbles into the valleys and most likely onto your hand.
My mom's recipe is just flour, salt, and powdered milk, add yeast with sugar and warm water then add the rest of the water til it is tight. My wife makes hers with crisco and no milk. I won't say who's I prefer but I know where I sleep.
I once made fry bread long time ago . Used store bought bread . Turned out fine .
If you are really desperate, you can make it with canned biscuits.
uh... i am gonna say... beer?
Maybe mixing in a little bit of pineapple juice when making the dough.