Frybread Taco Recipie

My husband and I live most of the time among the Navajo, and Frybread is used for everything from desert to tacos to burgers to pizzas.  Here is one of our favorite treats and "easy" to make about any where you dwell.  (Please note, it takes some practice to get fry bread to come out in a pretty circle, but it tastes just as good in odd shapes.)

Yields: 4 servings 

Prep time: 15 min 

Cook time: 8 min

Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon powdered milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup water

Vegetable oil for frying

Extra flour to flour your hands

Preparation:

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 well. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. 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 floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter. Don’t worry about it being round. As Shi'ma Anna would say “it doesn’t roll into your mouth.”

In a deep heavy pot, heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. One can check if the oil is hot enough 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. The oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large heavy pot.

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 approximately 3 to 4 minutes to cook. Place the cooked Fry Bread on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

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.

Toppings:
Cooked Beans (We normally use pinto or Anasazi.)
Lettuce, Chopped
Tomatoes, Diced
Cheddar or Monterrey Jack Cheese (or a combo of both), Grated
Sour Cream
Salsa

Additional Toppings:
Avocados, Diced
Cilantro, Chopped

Enjoy!

~ Michelle