Indian Fry Bread (Hoe Cake)

Indian Fry Bread
ga-do di-gv-tsa-la-nv-hi a-yv-wi-ya

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add warm water in small amounts and knead dough until soft but not sticky. Adjust flour or water as needed. Cover bowl and let stand about 15 minutes. Pull off large egg-sized balls of dough and roll out into fairly thin rounds. Fry rounds in hot oil until bubbles appear on the dough, turn over and fry on the other side until golden. Serve hot. Try brushing on honey, or making into an Indian Taco.
Buttermilk Fry Bread
Substitute buttermilk for water. Follow the same recipe.

Navajo Fry Bread Recipe
by Cynthia Detterick-Pineda

Fry bread is wonderfully lumpy (puffed here and there). It can be served as a dessert or used as a main dish bread. Our family will often take them and stuff them, much like one might use bread or tortilla to dip into their food.

1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying

Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump.

Flour your hands. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. NOTE: You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.

Cut the dough into four (4) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter. NOTE: Don’t worry about it being round. As Grandma Felipa would say “it doesn’t roll into your mouth.”

Heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. NOTE: You can check by either dropping a small piece of dough in the hot oil and seeing if it begins to fry, or by dipping the end of a wooden spoon in and seeing if that bubbles. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large fryer.

Take the formed dough and gently place it into the oil, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Press down on the dough as it fries so the top is submersed into the hot oil. Fry until brown, and then flip to fry the other side. Each side will take about 3 to 4 minutes.

Indian Fry Bread can be kept warm in a 200 degree F. oven for up to 1 hour. They refrigerate well and can be reheated in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Indian Fry Bread (Hoe Cake)

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons shortening
* Enough cold water to make a soft, but firm dough;3/4 to 1 cup liquid

METHOD

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add shortening and cut through with knife until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add liquid to make a dough that is soft but not sticky. If it is too sticky, just add a little flour, two tablespoons at a time, and knead until mixture is the right consistency.

Heat enough fat (any type: lard, bacon fat, vegetable oil, etc.) to cover the bottom of a large skillet.

Form dough into a ball, divide into 4 equal parts. Form each part into a round ball, then flatten with your hands to form a round, flat bread.

Place in hot fat and fry until bottom side is golden brown, then turn and cook in the same manner until the other side is light brown and the cake has puffed. Repeat for each piece of dough until all are done. Serve with butter and/or jam or jelly.

Makes 8 (1/2 round) servings.
Posted by Treebearbear on January 22, 2009 at 2:06pm




Old Fashioned Fry Bread
4 cups flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup warm water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add in the shortening and water. Add only enough water to make dough stick together. Knead dough until smooth, make into fist-sized balls. Cover them with a towel for 10 minutes then pat them out into circles about the size of a pancake. Fry in hot cooking oil in cast iron skillet until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels, serve with jam.

Traditional
1 pkg. dry yeast
3 cups warm water
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
6 cups flour
2 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water then add salt and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes covered with a towel. Add flour and oil to liquid mixture. Mix and put on floured bread board and knead until mixture is smooth. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover with towel and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from bowl and put on bread board, knead in the 1/2 cornmeal. Make dough into 2 balls rolling each into 12 inch circles 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch squares and drop into hot cooking oil. (Works best with cast iron skillet.) Fry 5 to 6 pieces at a time for only a few moments. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with white powdered sugar.

Blackfeet
4 cups flour
1 Tbsp. powdered milk
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
11/2 cups warm water
Oil for frying

Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly. Add water. Knead until soft, then set aside for one hour. Shape into small balls. Flatten each ball into a circle with or rolling pin or by hand. Fry in a skillet half-full of oil until golden brown on both sides.

Cherokee
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk

Mix ingredients adding more flour if necessary to make a stiff dough. Roll out the dough on a floured board till very thin. Cut into strips 2 X 3 inches and drop in hot cooking oil. Brown on both sides. Serve hot with honey.

Chickasaw
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup warm milk

Stir first three ingredients then stir in the beaten egg. Add milk to make the dough soft. Roll it out on floured bread board, knead lightly. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into strips 2 X 3 inches and slit the center. Drop into hot cooking oil and brown on both sides. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Fry Brea d
Add the following to the ingredients shown abov e to make Pumpkin Fry Bread
2 cups fresh pumpkin or 1-16oz. can pumpkin
1 tbsp. milk or water
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Drop into hot cooking oil and brown on both sides. Serve hot with butter or powdered sugar.

Creek
2 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Sift flour,salt and baking powder then add milk and more flour to make dough stiff. Roll out onto floured bread board and cut into 4 X 4 square s with a slit in the center. Fry in hot cooking oil until golden brown. Drain on plate with paper towels.

Navajo #1
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 C powdered milk
1/4 t salt
warm water

Combine the ingredients and slowly add enough warm water to form dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it is smooth soft and not sticky. Cover and let rest 1 hour. Shape into small balls and pat into flat circles about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Set aside.
In skillet, heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil. Brown dough circles on each side and drain on paper towels. Serve with chile beans and your favorite taco toppings for "Navajo Tacos."

Navajo #2
3 cups unbleached flour, sifted
1/2 cup dry powdered milk
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup warm water or milk
2 quarts oil for deep frying

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and knead until smooth and soft, but not sticky. Depending on the altitude and humidity, you may need to adjust the liquid or the flour, so go slowly and balance accordingly. Be careful not to overwork the dough, or it will become tough and chewy. Brush a tablespoon of oil over the finished dough and allow it to rest 20 minutes to 2 hours in a bowl covered with a damp cloth. After the dough has rested, heat the oil in a broad, deep frying pan or kettle until it reaches a low boil (375º). Pull off egg-sized balls of dough and quickly roll, pull, and path them out into large, plate-sized rounds. They should be thin in the middle and about 1/4 inch thick at the edge s. Carefully ease each piece of flattened dough into the hot, boiling oil, one at a time. Using a long-handled cooking fork or tongs, turn the dough one time. Allow about 2 minutes cooking time per side. When golden brown, lift from oil, shake gently to remove bulk of oil, and place on layered brown paper or paper towels to finish draining.
Serve hot with honey, jelly, fine powdered sugar, wojape, or various meat toppings.

Hint:The magic is in frying the bread quickly! The hotter the oil, the less time it takes to cook. The less time it takes to cook, the lighter the texture and lower the fat content.

Osage
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp and a half baking powder
1 tablespoon melted shortening
2 cups warm milk
Shortening for deep frying

Sift flour, salt and baking powder into bowl. Stir in shortening and milk. Knead the dough into a ball. Roll out dough on lightly floured board. Cut into diamond shapes and slice a slit in the center.

Heat shortening in deep fryer to 370 degrees. Fry 2 or 3 at a time until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper to wels.

Seminole
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk gradually making sure the dough is stiff. Put on floured bread board and pat it out with your hands until it is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into strips with a slit in the center. Fry in hot oil until both sides are golden brown.

Sopaipillas (fry bread)

Recipes for sopaipilla/fry-bread foods were known to ancient old world cooks. Deep fried doughs flavored with honey, nuts and spices were enjoyed by people of Greece, Rome and Egypt. In many places they were called fritters.

The Spanish word "sopaipa" (from which sopaipilla is derived) means honey cake. "Sopaipilla. A deep fried fritter usually served with honey. Sopaipillas, whose name is from the Spanish, are a staple of Mexican-American menus...history reveals they originated in Olde Town, Albuquerque, [New Mexico] about 300 years ago...Diana Kennedy, in her Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico (1978), writes "For years I have been denying to the aficionados of the sopaipillas of New Mexico that they have a Mexican counterpart. I have now discovered that they can be found, though rarely, in the state of Chihuahua...I have yet to see them on restaurant menus in the north." A good sopaipilla is supposed to resemble a puffed-up pillow; if cut into a round shape, it is called a "buneulo." "Sopaipilla" was first found in American print circa 1940."

Indian Fry Bread Recipe
This is a fantastic and very simple way of making Indian Bread.

Ingredients

2 qt. peanut oil
3 C. flour (all-purpose) sifted
1 Tbs. baking powder

1 C. warm water

Directions
Combine flour, baking powder in large mixing bowl, add warm water in small amounts and knead dough until soft but not sticky. (Sometimes more flour or water will be needed). Cover bowl and let stand for about 15 minutes. Pull of large egg-sized balls of dough and roll out into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Punch hole in center of each round, piercing several times with fork to allow dough to puff. In heavy skillet fry rounds in peanut oil until bubbles appear on dough. Turn over and fry on the other side until golden brown. Top with your favorite toppings.

Icon or hazard? The great debate over fry bread

Treat synonymous with American Indian heritage comes under attack

Laura Rauch / AP

Marissa Pablo, 5, holds up a piece of fry bread in the empty lot where her aunt, Margarita Gonzalez, sells the homemade treats in Sells, Ariz., in June.

By Angie Wagner

updated 6:33 a.m. PT, Sun., Aug 21, 2005

SELLS, Ariz. - When you first see it, plopped down on a paper plate in all its caloric bliss, the round, doughy treat is so appealing, so alluring it’s hard to believe this wondrous sight can cause anything but delight. But fry bread, that fluffy concoction American Indian women lovingly make in their kitchens and people line up for at powwows and western fairs, has come under attack as a hazard to health.

Suzan Shown Harjo, a Cheyenne and Muscogee Indian, wasn’t trying to cause a debate. She just was exhausted with yet another one of her relatives dying of diabetes. She zoned in on fry bread as a culprit and whipped out a January column for Indian Country Today declaring it junk food that leads to fat Indians.

She made a New Year’s resolution to abstain from fry bread. Then she did something some Indians consider insane: She asked them to give it up, too.

Word spread through Indian Country. Outrage! The nerve of Harjo! What started as a woman’s disdain for the yummy delicacy suddenly became the great fry bread debate. Ask any Indian about it and you’ll either be greeted with rolled eyes — or sparkling, hungry eyes. After all, fry bread is synonymous with Indian culture. South Dakota has just made it the official state bread. And many Indians don’t want anyone coming between them and their hot, greasy skillets.“It’s like giving up turkey at Thanksgiving,” said Gayle Weigle, an Anishinabe Indian who runs a Web site celebrating fry bread stories and recipes. “It is a tradition.”

Delicious and loaded with calories

By Angie Wagner and White Buffalo Calf Woman as well as other contributors.

Indian women like Margarita Gonzalez on the Tohono O’odham reservation here rise before dawn to start making fry bread. Gonzalez makes four dozen each morning and makes her living selling them in an empty lot in Sells.“It’s like a craving you get for it, the aroma of

it. You have to try to keep yourself from it,” she said, taking a break from serving the lunch crowd.To say fry bread is tasty isn’t doing it justice. It’s scrumptious, sweet, and puts a crazy spell on anyone who craves it. But it’s loaded with pesky calories — at least 700 for one paper-plate size piece — plus a whopping 27 grams of fat, according to a nutritional analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.“Those things are awesome,” tribal police officer Mario Saraficio said, getting excited at the thought. “It’s bad, but it’s good. If the doctor told me I had to give it up, I’d say probably not.”

Fry bread came to be by necessity. When the government moved Indians off their land and onto reservations in the 1800s, they were kept from their traditional foods such as elk, corn, deer and rabbit. In their place were rations of flour, salt and lard, and Indian women did what they could with it, creating the wonderful fry bread that would become part of their culture.Ingredients vary today, but the main ones are still white flour, salt, sugar and lard. Some call it a popover, and options are endless for how to eat it. There’s the Indian taco, fry bread with red chili and beans, or the extra sweet version with powdered sugar or honey on top.

South Dakota designated fry bread as the official state bread in 2005. Also known as "squaw bread" in some areas, fry bread is a Native American food - a flat dough (usually leavened with yeast or baking powder, but need not be used) fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard.

Naan (Eastern Indian) is the same flat bread with some form of milk added, but slapped against the inside of the oven and baked. Stone, clay, cast iron skillet all surfaces you could throw your dough up against. And why not bake this bread against hot rocks in the sunshine and call it a Tortilla. Or better yet, get some stones next to the fire and make yourself a rock griddle. Of course if you have your trusty skillet with you, you can use this too! And if you have some favorite seasoned lard or oil, you can make yourself go beyond your wildest expectations!

Fry Bread or Flat Bread can then be loaded with "beef and beans" or "beans and cheese" (remember we do not mix meat (mother) and milk (child) together to make a "Taco". Indian Fry Bread is best known served as a dessert, especially topped with powdered sugar or honey. Traditionally served in the home and at gatherings like state fairs and powwows. It has been stereotyped as a Native American food, though it has crossed cultural and ethnic lines in its popularity. It's not a particularly healthy food because it is deep fried with hydrogenated fats. You can take some of the sting out of it by using a healthier oil such as peanut oil in your frying, better yet use organic coconut oil or buffalo/cow lard. Best combination, would be adding as an ingredient of coconut oil and deep frying with peanut oil, also since this may be the most cost efficient.

White Buffalo Calf Woman Adds her Recipe: Fry Bread that is Healthy Nutrition for our Family!

Starting with Organic Foods and following Written Laws of Heaven.

HEALTHY, nourishing delights of Fry Bread (Flat Bread). Never has anyone not like this bread. It's to live for!

Flour: High gluten organic white. Can use half white flour and the rest another grain. But to make the lightest and most delicate of breads, use organic high gluten white flour. When you have a hearty meal to prepare, use other grains. In fact I often use Nut flour and Organic Shredded Coconut. These make nutritious yummy treats for the whole family. In the frying pan why not put two together and melt some chocolate or nut butter in between. Eat warm or cold. I often add cheese and cooked vegetables and melt in the frying pan, turning over once. Great tasting every time.

Butter: Never used as an Ingredient, as this should be eaten as a live food (if you have margarine, throw it out, this is hydrogenated fat which your body has no idea how to get rid of it and it can pool as Cancer in the Cells. Thus butter should be eaten without cooking of any kind. In our house, we use organic unsalted butter, serve cold and put on hot bread. Let it melt and to live for... the famous tradition of Fry Bread.

Oil: Organic Coconut Oil. This fluid from the Gods can tolerate high temperatures without destroying the oil or tasting rancid. When oil is cooked at a "too high of heat", it will deplete all nourishment. The value of sustaning your own life is diminished, while increasing your risk of other health hazards. Coconut oil has other benefits as well. It is anti-fungal, anti-septic, anti-bacterial and what is greatest you can use it all over your body to feel repaired including internally to restore intestinal flora, the good bacteria. Peanut oil tolerates high temperatures and is unique to this. It can be used over and over again, because rarely does the oil become rancid from the high temperatures. It, Peanut Oil, tolerates heat well, even boiling. Canola, Olive oil or other vegetable oils, if you have nothing else, need be used once only and is good as one of the ingredients, if called for, but not for the use of deep frying. I would not even use canola or any other vegetable oils, especially corn oil for frying because they do not tolerate heat and become valueless, where taste and nutrition is given up. Corn Oils are the liqueurs of the Gods and should be used as raw as possible and served cold. No light should ever touch the essence of any oils used. Oil is best stored in a tin can or glass jar way in back of the refrigerator, where there is no light touching it. Oil is best bought in large metal containers, where no light diminishes it's richness of flavor and essence of the Gods.

Lard: Needs to be organic, which means no harm to animal, but not blessed. The Jews and Islam follow strict laws according to Heaven, that a Cow must be killed without fear or knowing. Because there is a chemical release that toughens the meat when fear is known. Death is quick and the blades are kept as Sacred Instruments of God. The main artery is removed from the chest to the hind quarters. In the USA, most grocery stores are Christians who have not yet learned this Heavenly standard from brothers around the world. So, what do you do when you have little option...choose the the upper chest. Chuck can be used, which comes from two different areas. You need to make sure it is from the shoulder or chest, the most upper front quadrant of the body. Prime Rib, which is expensive is best area, meaning clean but not blessed. Now, the Chuck I am speaking of is next to the Prime Rib and tastes the same, but 1/3 the price. Beware there is a higher and lower cut of Chuck, be sure to get the highest part, which may be a few cents more.

Here we are. We still have more options, but have we chosen the cow which is organically fed or herded naturally and raised. This is an important ingredient of eating cow meat. Sacred blessings and respect for all life begins when understanding love, comes from suffering for others and gifting reduced suffering for the ones we heal. Be a Healer, give your cow respect and honor. Bless your food.Okay, back to lard. Ask your butcher what he can do to help you out, but I would cut out the fat from the Chuck Roast and use as Lard or Cooking Oil. This is much better than vegetable oil as it can be used more than once (having nourishment) with the exception of Coconut Oil. Melt your fat in a pan, cook until done. Drain into a heat proof container and use when needed. You can store it in the refrigerator for longer life.

Salt: Sea Salt or Lake bed salt. high mineral content. This is necessary for your improvements of rising the dough without synthetic agents, for there is a small and natural amount of bi-carbonate soda (baking soda) within good quality salts. Now, how can this be enough bi-carbonate soda? Well if you think about other rising qualities, high gluten flour, hot water.

Water: High mineral spring water will increase your rising ability too! What is easily available across the USA is Crystal Geyser water. Many bottled waters are only cleansed of impurities. We are seeking a quality water to begin with, where added minerals are gifted from the Highest of the Mountain top. Now, I have to say, the best water I have ever tasted came from a well in Idaho, for the greatest aquifer is the pureness of the cleansing of layers lived many thousands of gentle years. The Rocks are the Eldest Spiritual Beings in the World. This water is no longer on the market, but there is good quality waters around the world. This is your key ingredient to purity. And don't forget to bless the water! The tears that flow, we gift to know, the trail that gifts us life...dream brotherhood. Where pure waters go is true to our sacred flow.

Baking Powder is: Tartaric Acid, Cream of Tarter

High in grapes, bananas

Baking Soda is: Sodium Bi-Carbonate

High in minerals, dryed up salt water lake beds.

Note: Make sure you have no preservatives in your ingredients for your household foods. We understand that if we do not use organic ingredients for babies, then babies get sick. All baby food is organic. This is necessary for life. Let us continue to keep this standard as we grow up. Just common sense really. Don't we deserve whole nourishing foods too? Aren't we big kids? Can we save a lot of money for our own pockets when we stop paying for unnecessary chemicals at the grocery stores. We need the laws of heaven and earth to show us the way. All we must do is follow our hearts.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (high gluten, remember is the best, puffy and flaky, like using a rising agent)

1/2 tsp salt (high mineral content assists rising)

1/4 cup oil (coconut oil is creamy like lard. blessed buffalo/cow fat is a very good substitute)

1/2 cup hot water (blessed, heat and high mineral content to assist rising)

Directions: Add all ingredients except the water. I like to hand blend the oil and flour together like flakes. Make sure all your ingredients add up to the sum above. I often double the mix to last longer than one day. But if you have a family, they will always ask, "When you making (fry or flat) bread again." Now it is time to add the hot water. I boil the water, then let it rest for a few minutes, blessing the water all along the way. Add hot water directly into the mixture. Mix with wooden or large handled spoon. Roll out on a smooth surface round circle, like a hoop. No flour needed. There is sufficient oil to roll them out and it will feel elastic. Fry in your oiled pan or deep fry for extra richness. Turn over in a hot griddle. Bread is a Complete meal when adding extra ingredients. Grain provides complex carbohydrates, lard or coconut oil provides fat, nut flour provides protein, shredded coconut provides, fruit simple carbohydrates (carbs).

Enjoy life with healthy and hearty fry bread.