How to Make Ojibwe Style Frybread

Today in America we have many types of food from many cultures. In this article, you’ll find a recipe for Fry Bread, a fluffy golden brown type of bread fried similar to a doughnut, but not as thick or sweet. Fry Bread is a favorite among Native Americans. You can combine many dishes with this delicious treat. You can enjoy Fry Bread with chili or soup by dipping it into the dish (like dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of tomato soup). You can also top with cinnamon and sugar, or just plain butter (like topping your toast with butter, peanut butter, jelly etc.). Fry Bread comes in handy for special occasions, such as family gatherings, powwows and even Sunday dinners. There are many recipes for Fry Bread and we hope you enjoy this one.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups of water and one cup of milk (regular or canned milk)
1 package of yeast or three tablespoons of baking powder (yeast preferred)
1 tablespoon of salt
3 tablespoons of sugar
Cooking oil (about 5 ½ cups)

Steps

1
Pour flour into one of the medium sized bowls. Push flour to the sides of the bowl making a hole in the middle, the hole in the flour will imitate another bowl.
2
Mix milk with water and microwave for two minutes. Pour into the flour bowl.

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3
Add yeast or baking powder and let stand for 3 or 4 minutes, so the yeast can mix with the liquid.
4
Add sugar and salt.
5
Start mixing slowly pulling in small amounts of the flour.
6
Make sure not to let any lumps of flour be present in the mixture
- Mix until too thick to mix with spoon or whisk.
7
Use hands to mix in remaining flour into developing bread.
8
Oil the sides of the 2nd medium sized bowl and transfer dough.
9
Knead for 1 to 2 minutes (do not over knead).
10
Let dough rise for 1 to 2 hours or until it rises to a considerable amount close to double its size (covering the bowl of dough with a towel helps the process).
11
Fill medium sized skillet halfway with cooking oil and heat on medium-high heat
- Throw in a small piece of dough to make sure the cooking oil is ready to fry in.
12
Be careful to not start a fire!
13
Grease your hands because dough will be sticky.
14
Tear a chunk off your dough then start pancaking (like making a hamburger patty) and stretching into a circular shape.
15
Then tear a small hole in the middle to be sure the middle cooks.
16
Fry bread pieces may be whatever size you would like.
17
Place dough in the oil and cook until golden brown. Flip and repeat on the other side until done.
18
Enjoy your bread, top with butter, sugar, honey or good old fashioned taco meat with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes (onions & sour cream optional) to make a famous Indian Taco

Community Q&A

Question

Can I use a deep fryer to make this bread?

Qamar

Top Answerer

Yes. Using a deep fryer to make Ojibwe-style bread is actually preferred, since it is easier to fry in.
Question

How much yeast is in a packet?

Community Answer

Most sachets of dried yeast contain 7g (0.2oz), so recipes almost always assume that you will be using a 7g sachet.
Question

How to store extra dough until I can get back the frying again?

Community Answer

If you're saving it for 'another time', you can wrap dough in wax paper and then enclose it in a plastic baggie or wrap in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Also, if your frying pan is occupied and you want to use the dough on the same day, take a very slight damp cloth and drape it over a bowl where the extra dough is sitting in until you're ready to work with it.