Indian Fry Bread Recipe
The popular Indian fry bread recipe tells the story of pain and freedom loss that is part of Navajo history. Though the Indian fry bread recipe can be found with several Amerindian tribes in the south west of the United States, the Navajos are the ones to have invented it. The story behind the fry bread recipe is to be found in with the Long Walks of the 19th century.
At the time, the Navajo were placed in camps meant for four thousand to five thousand people; nevertheless there were more than nine thousand people living there, and attempts were made to starve them to death. The government sent supplies of lard, flour, yeast, salt and sugar that reached the camp were often rancid. Fry bread was made from these few foods provided during the Navajo captivity. Ever since, it became a popular recipe for most tribes living in the Southwest.
At present, you can eat Indian fry bread at fairs, flea markets, festivals and carnivals. The Indian fry bread recipe is actually used in the making of the base for taco meat, chopped tomatoes and chicken.
There are as many different Indian fry bread recipes and ways to cook the fry bread as there are Indian aunties and grannies preparing the famous dish; some is thick, some is thin, some is yeasty, some is soda based. Nevertheless some cooking tips do remain valid no matter the cook.
A first secret for the making of the Indian fry bread recipe is to get the right dough moisture; to know that the dough is moist enough it should slither off one’s hand when turned sideways. In case it drops off quickly, then it is too dry; if it sticks to the hand, it is too wet.
You can have a lot of fun by mixing the Indian fry bread recipe with your hands, plus you can thus check the moisture of the dough directly. Another important tip here is to knead the bread lightly; that is, when ready to roll the bread for cutting, knead only in enough flour to prevent it from sticking, and do not play too much with the dough.
One final detail to check is the temperature of the oil. When put in the hot oil, the dough should rise up in no more than four minutes, if it doesn’t then the temperature is not optimal. After frying several pieces of bread, allow the oil the time to reach the right temperature.
