This fry bread is a traditional North American treat. Serve with jam or honey.

Fry Bread

shortening

all-purpose flour

baking powder

salt

water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

Heat shortening in a heavy saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in warm water and knead until soft but not sticky.


Shape dough into twelve 3-inch diameter ball. Flatten into 1/2-inch-thick patties, and make a small hole in the center of each patty.


Fry in 1-inch deep hot shortening one at a time until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.


I am a Native American and this is the closest I have come to finding a recipe that tastes like my grandmother's recipe! Be careful you don't knead it too much tho, as too much kneading will make it tough!! We now use this when we crave a taste of the famous 'pow-wow' hamburgers, also use it as a base for 'Indian tacos' topping with seasoned hamburger, and other taco fillings, and so much more! Thanx Rita, it brought a taste of 'home' to me.

My entire family is Native American from the West Coast/and Alaska and this recipe is very close to how we make it.  You know good FRYBREAD, when it tastes good without anything on it yet!  Also, for those that come out with tough dough or crackers, you've kneaded and worked with it too long or added too much flour in.  As for cooking FRYBREAD; I always try and use my old black cooking skillet, it keeps the temperature of the oil or shortening more consistent.

I am a young native american and make fry bread the way my grandmother taught me, with out mearsuring the ingredience. I decided to look for a recipe close to what i use, and I seen and liked this one. I made the bread according to this recipe and enjoyed the results. I only suggest that the salt be upped to 1 tsp. I prefer a little more salt. Every delicious!!!

I usually make my bread without a recipe, because I have made it for since I was a small child, this is the closest recipe that I have found, I will just adapt it to the way I make it, if i am making fry bread for Indian Tacos i do not use sugar, if I am just making it to make to have with butter and jam I use sugar, and sometimes yeast to make it really fluffy, just remember not to over knead or your kids will have Native footballs ha ha,I usually let my dough rest while my oil or grease is getting hot,just remember fry bread is distinctive food and  as native cook and  live in Washington, from Montana,  fry bread is a  food that was made from commodities that were given to us Native's by the US government, we did not have all the extra stuff people are using now, depending on where you live and are from U.S. or Canada you have fry bread or Bannock, Bannock from Canada is made with bacon grease usually, and U.S. made is usually Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, there are some changes with different tribes,some use, powdered milk, maybe yeast,sugar and sometimes baking soda, we didn't have ice water, and kosher salt etc.. , Fry Bread is Fry Bread totally native style, and yes you can use chili con carne as a topper to make tacos, split it and make Indian Burgers, roll the dough around a hot dog make Indian Dogs, or you can top it with pizza sauce and your favorite cheese and pizza toppings you have a Indian pizza, fry bread is adaptable as the stuff used to make it, have fun and en

I am Native and I use this recipe. I add a little more salt, about 3 table spoons of sugar and about 3/4 tablespoon of yeast. I never measure...really, but I get 2-3 batches of frybread out of a package of yeast.  The secret to good fry bread is in the mixing. The only way I have ever eaten good frybread was when my grandmothers or myself pushed all the dry ingredients to the side of the bowl, and poured the water in the middle. Then using your spoon, we just go around the bowl and scrape more flour into the water until all is mixed. Then as soon as it is mixed totally, don't mix it anymore! :) We take pieces out of the bowl and have a little flour on the counter and set it on there to dust it and make it not stick to your fingers. Then just work around the frybread carefully making your circle shape. I've never rolled out my fread, made them into balls, or flattened them into patties. I think the secret is in the hand prep...shaping each individual one with care to not rip it. Good recipe. Thats all you need for frybread! We just like ours all poofy! Don't forget when you make the first one, as soon as it is cool, give everyone around you a bite of the first one. My kids just hover waiting for a piece of the first one. Then, put paper towels (or newspaper! LOL!) into the bottom of a paper bag, and drop your frybread in there when your done. Thats what we have always done in our extended family! :)

I cut this recipe in half to get 6 fry breads. I did add just a little more salt than what was called for. I sprinkled a little flour over the counter before patting my bread balls out to keep them from sticking. They flattened really well, I didn't need a rolling pin. I actually fried these in my cast iron skillet. These turned out absolutely perfect. I grew up eating fry bread as a child--this recipe totally took me back. The kids loved these, they fought over the leftover fry bread. NO LEFTOVERS. This is pure comfort food.

This is as close as you can get to authentic fry bread unless you learn how to make it from a native american.

Tasty little things! I've added honey and sugar to the batter for a sweeter version &amp; I've tried them with other spices mixed in the batter for more of a flavor to go with dinner (thyme,sage and lemon peel even powdered romano and asiago cheese). Good any way you can make it.

Wonderful recipe.  I agree that this is the closest thing to Native american fry bread out there.  It is wonderful with honey and sugar, and also with a little salsa and lettuce.  ^^ Thanks for adding it!

I'm Navajo and I like using 1tsp. salt. Otherwise it's a little flat. Sometimes I'll add powdered milk or warm milk. Any true Navajo will swear only by using BlueBird Flour - comes in white linen bags.

Shape into the size of a tennis ball. Flatten. Starting from the edges use your fingers to stretch into a larger circle. Shape one hand into a fist and lay dough on top. Using other hand pull and turn like making a pizza. Or if you want to cheat, use a rolling pin to do most of the work.

That was the best fry bread I have ever tasted.

Im part Native American and we grew up with this bread.  My parents have passed on and I was THRILLED to see this recipe with so many reviews.  This is a very easy recipe and also reminds me of Naan (India) bread, soft and yummy. I use expeller expressed coconut oil (no coconut flavor) as it does not smell up the house with oily odor.  I fry in virgin coconut oil (flavorful)
 if I want to sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon.  Tastes like a donut!

We had to add extra water to it and it was really thick after cooking.  Not as sweet as I am used to.

Thank you for bringing me back to my childhood. More importantly, thank you for bringing my father back to his. My grandma use to make this all the time and when she passed away no one made it anymore, maybe once or twice. I made this for my dad and I and it was so sood it made him cry. Just like grandma's. Thank you for the memories!

When I was a little girl, my Dad an I would eat at this restaurant that served Indian tacos. We loved them and were disappointed when the restaurant went out of business, but a few years ago, (It has been 16 years since then), my Dad called me and told me he had heard of a recipe for the tacos. He said I needed Fry Bread, so not having been familiar with this recipes before I was skeptical. But after I made it and topped it with my favorite toppings, the memories came flooding back. Thank you for this recipe! From me and my Dad!

It was ok. Very heavy. I might have over cooked. I'll probably try one more time

This is such an easy and great recipe that my 13 year old has it mastered after 1 try. She made "Indian Tacos" for the family plus guests and had rave reviews. I have been using this recipe for several years and decided that it deserves a top notch review, if my kids are able to get the same results with it. Everyone wants a copy of the recipe. Try it out!

I really can't compare this to authentic fry bread (as I'm sure there are different home bases varieties), however, it seemed much like hard tack. I think you have to be really careful not to overknead, I would guess. Hmmmm. Not quite convinced about this recipe.

This is a great fry bread recipe. I'm Native American, and this is almost exactly the recipe I was taught. For a nice twist, try topping it with your favorite chili and everything you'd put on tacos. It makes an amazing dinner.

This was good.  I was going to rate it a 4 due to the slight baking powder taste I detected, but my daughter insisted that I rate it a 5!!  I wonder if I should have let it rest a while before forming patties and frying- the ones I did last puffed up a little more than the first ones I fried.  All of my kids loved these.  We had these for dinner with Veggie Vegetarian Chili.

I live in NM where there are still a lot of Natives and one of my friends gave me a recipe for fry bread that is very similar to this. The only exception is using 1tsp salt instead of 1/2tsp. Also, add the liquid, whether you use milk or water, gradually, like making biscuits, only mixing until everything is together. You're not making cake, DO NOT USE AN ELECTRIC MIXER. Knead it all together by hand and stop when its all incorporated. When you fry, make sure the oil is at least 365 degrees. When it puffs up and rises, (about 1 min) flip it in the oil for a few seconds, then remove it. The bread is a basic plain bread. Change the oil you cook it in or add herbs if you want it more 'flavorful'. Corn taco shells are very plain until you add toppings, the same goes here. Whether it be cinnamon and sugar or beef and vegi's. Same with cornbread...very plain until you modify. This is a great recipe!

My grandmother taught me no measurements, but this is really close. She would use milk, if availible, but normally it was water. Also, salt to taste. Very good recipe.

My family loved these.  I add a little sugar to the dough when making them for dessert.  Also, make sure to not work dough too much or they will turn out tough.

Just like my Auntie showed me. We use this recipie for Indian tacos as well as Sweet fry bread for breakfast.

Turned out great!! The dough is really easy to work w/ unlike some fry bread dough's I have delt with. So easy my 4 yr old help me make it. Nice and puffy, not thick jus the way I like it :)

Very good basic recipe.  I tried it with part wheat flour which also turned out very good.  I disagree with the yield being 12.  But I also like to make them larger for Navajo tacos in which case I would say the yield is more like 6-8.  For anyone saying that they turned out hard and/or crisp, they probably stretched the dough out too thin.  I did this on my first one, so the next one I didn't stretch out as much and it was perfect.  Very tasty.

Awsome and very easy. my husband is native and loves it. Make it with indian soup and i have to have the bread with it to eat it, Makes the meal.

Delicious!  Very tasty with black beans, lettuce, tomato... basically a taco.  Yum.  Also good as dessert with cinnamon and sugar.  My 3 year old loved it.

Quick, easy, inexpensive, and delicious! :)

GREAT recipe! Between 2 adults and 2 kids, we ate it ALL! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

I've had better, but perhaps this is the most authentic in that it uses shortening/lard and water. Slightly heavy. It does taste much better made with milk. Went well with the chile verde from this site.

This recipe sounded the closes to my grandma's. So I tried it and it turned out thick and not so good. But I think I over worked the dough. I tried it again the next night and it was PERFECT! I LOVE fry bread and this is a nice simple recipe just the way its suppose to be.

This is a great fry bread recipe. But its not just Native North American cuisine;) Eastern Europeans eat the same thing with versions slightly modified depending on family traditions and country. I would love to see (more like eat) a fry bread showdown between one Bosnian grandmother vs. one Navajo grandmother:)Happy Eating!! 

I have a recipe I always use. But I wanted to try something different. I don't know what I did wrong. I made two batches, that didn't turn out. The dough was really lumpy and sticky. When I tried to make a ball, it stuck to my hands, I had to use flour to get the dough off, then it was too tough. I'll stick to my old stand by.

Super simple, tasted great, exactly what I was looking for!  Thank you for sharing!

My husband loves fry bread and has eaten it many times and said this was very good.  

This fry bread is so good. My family loves it so much we have indian tacos at least twice a month. Thank you for the recipe.I also upped the salt to a teaspoon. but the rest is the same.

Just made it tonight for my wife and my little boy with some chili and THEY LOVED IT!!!

Very good fry bread, nice flavor!  I will definately try this recipe again!

OMG I love love love this recipe!! I made homemade chili beans tonight and I was in the mood for navajo tacos... so i decided to try and make fry bread, it came out perfect!!! no more trips to the state fair to buy them once a year!

Used milk in place of water, starting with 1 cup of warm milk, and then adding approx 1/3 to 1/2 more.  Let it rest for 45 minutes before forming.  Pretty good, but i think 1/2 tsp salt is not enough.  Next time I will use 1 tsp.  Hubby really liked it.

I made this 2 times so far and the first was so good I added about a tablespoon of sugar in with the flour and they were so good we had them with soup, they were very light and fluffy very much like a sopapilla(spelling) the next time I made them I used to hot of water and tried adding in to many flavors and they wer flat and nasty, but sticking with the orignial its great

Excellent!  Appreciated suggestions in reviews for other things that can be done.  We topped with a bit of honey sprinkled with a tiny bit of nutmeg!

after my second time making this i came to a conclusion that this is none the less a fried biscuit... the ingredients say just that

This is the same recipe that my grandma gave me and let me tell you its amazing!!!! my daughter loves it with cinn/sugar mix!

Good, but I think 1/2 inch might be a little thick. 1/3 inch is better.

Very easy and quite tasty just as it is. I use this recipe to make some delicious Indian tacos with refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream. My family begs me to make this dish. I personally found that over working it does make the texture chewier, however, the finished product is less greasy and easier to handle so, I purposely over knead it.  

was good, tasted just like the ones we had at a community pow wow. Topped 'em with chili and taco toppings, not honey and cinnamon.  No way would I use that much shortening, I just coated the bottom of a fry pan with oil- maybe 1 cup total.

I grew up in Arizona where we had this all the time as a kid. We would get it at school and every fair or festival we went to, and we ate it with powdered sugar and honey. I've been craving this for awhile, and this was very similar to what I remembered. The instructions didn't give very much info on size, so I think mine turned out a little bigger than I would like. I'm sure it will get easier to judge size each time I make it. The recipe itself is so easy I already know I won't need the instructions next time and can make it by memory.

it was ok, but i still prefer rhodes rolls that have been stretched out a bit and fried up.  I found this recipe to be a bit tough and flavorless.  

Just tried it. I'm native and when I saw the recipe I didn't think it would work so I tried it. Guess what - it didn't work

This Native family loved the fried bread.  We like it with a little more salt, but the taste and texture rocked!Great recipe, thanks!

I have had fry bread all of my life, and I never once used so much shortening!  You could also use a nice light oil...

This recipe really lacks any flavor and why not just fry up a tube of premaid biscuits.  

I too was raised on fry bread, and this recipe reminds me of my grandmother's. I use a cup of sifted whole wheat flour in this and fry it in coconut oil. Hardly traditional I know, but it is so light and delicious. My husband loves this. Reminds him of back home.

This was a great recipe, the kids helped make it. We doubled the recipe and made  Indian Taco and then drizzled honey over the few we had left. With 12 kids it's hard to find something everyone enjoys; this has become a new favorite if all.  Even fussy Daddy loves it.

this was a very good frybread recipe. It was a little tough, but i think that was my fault :) i used bread flour instead of all purpose and let it sit too long (something came up). But i will b trying it again.

Perfectly delicious and very authentic tasting! :-)

My first attempt at fry bread, and it turned out fantastic!! Thank you.

This is the best reciepe I have found. The taste is outstanding. We have a very strong Native American Background of Cherokee heritage that goes back from parents to grandparents. This tastes like family.

This fry bread was really good.  I made Indian Tacos with it.  Soooo good. Thank you for sharing!!

My 4th recipe that i tried. Not bad. Mine were a little flat. Still yummy and very easy.

Made this tonight to go with dinner and they came out great. The key is to make sure the oil is hot enough. They are great with honey.

my frybread turned out super flat and hard :/ I followed the directions...but I used canola oil instead of shortening... can that really make that big of a difference?

Easy to make and tastes good.

Who cares whether or not it's "authentic"

For my picky girl, I added Cinnamon and Sugar to make it sweet for her, and she ate it as is.  Plus with a little powder sugar on top.  Good dessert for her.

Pretty good.  It was a bit bland, even though it was fried.  Also the finished bread ended up tough, which could have been my fault if I over handled the dough.  We ate the bread with Taco Soup and it was good dipped in the soup.

I made this 2 times and both times it came out hard and chewy,.

Watch out!  If you don't serve this right out of the oil, it seems to get a bit tough.  Very tasty, though!

Yum! I was craving something from the bread/biscuit family and quick! Found this recipe and used milk instead of water and my 3 year old rubbed butter on the outsides when they were done. Will absolutely make again!

On the indian reservation they make thesefor Pow Wows topped wih Chili, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream. They make the size of a 7-8 inch paper plate. I know they put cream of tarter in them as well. I tried it this time with the recipe as stated, next time I'm gonna put equal parts cream of tarter and some sugar to sweeten them up.

good, though i made mine too thick, they still came out okay.  Really cripsy on the outside and soft inside.  I'll have to use the rest of teh dough later but make them thinner this time

I was looking for something similar to what I had in a restaurant years ago with taco toppings. This was nothing like that. These were heavy and tasteless. As they cooled they turned hard. I guess I am just a biscuits and scones type of gal.

So good! Mix the dough together slowly with nice folds, make your disks thin before frying. I think the next time I make it I will add a tablespoon of sugar!

This was great it was so easy to make the family was eaten before i could put it on the paper towel this was an excellent recipe! thanx

My frybread did not "puff up" like the picture shows.  I'm ending up with flatbread...

This came out great. I cut these in half like a pita bread and filled the middle with taco fillings for indian tacos. I used the rest of the fry bread with honey for sopapillas. A great recipe. I did let it rest about 10 minutes before forming the breads after I kneaded it approx 5 min. It even made 12 as specified.

I used to eat this as a child and this recipe is the closest I've come to it. It brings back fond memories.

I thought this recipe was really good. I increased the salt, as other reviewers suggested and loved the flavor. Being that I've never made fry bread before, nor have I seen anyone else make it, I knew I'd have to experiment to get this to work for me. 

As soon as the dough came together, I split it in half so that I could experiment in small batches. You need to be careful not to overwork the dough or your bread will come out dense. Also, you want to fry at a high temperature in order to get the bread to bubble and rise. 

I think I might also try frying in oil rather than shortening next time because I'm hoping that will make the bread a little lighter. 

We used the bread as a base for pulled pork sandwiches and it was great. I will try the tacos next time. If I can get the dough to work out better next time, I'll change my rating to 5 stars, but until I work with the recipe more, I'm not sure if the density of the dough is my fault or if the recipe needs more tweaking.

This was easy to make and turned out wonderful!  I made enough fry bread for 22 people last night.  I did not use anything near the amount of oil for frying it called for.  (which is Great)

Man, that was good! I fried it in Canola oil because we didn't have enough shortening, but I still covered it with honey, and it was awesome. In fact, I think I'll go have me another piece.

AMAZING!! Nothing I want to change - great snack, desert, dinner, breakfast, lunch, you name it's  great! Thank you for posting this recipe, Rita.

I made this using olive oil - I know, I know - it's not ideal, but it's the only oil I had on hand. I also remember making fry bread using whole wheat flour at a friend's house, on the Cherokee reservation (her mother worked for the BIA). Anyways, this recipe brought back some bread memories and I highly recommend. But also, don't think that olive oil will give your bread that golden-brown asthetic. Over-fried the first batch (as I neglected the 'one at a time' rule) waiting on that color. No worries, the other ones came out great. Just lighter in color than one would expect

Used 3 C white flour &amp; 1 C whole wheat flour, fried 1.5 minute on each side in vegetable oil. Hubby &amp; kids said they were too thick, but still good ! ? Used it for tacos but would go good with honey too. Got this recipe from a Cree friend.

Yes I've made it again. This will be my go to. I have tried others but this one turned out nice and puffy and crispy especially when reheated. I did increase the salt, probably about 1teaspoon total. I don't really measure.

I really liked this recipe for Fry Bread!  I've been looking to find a good recipe for a while as I've been trying to connect with my heritage.  You just have to make sure you flatten out the dough enough before you fry it!

Spot on for us we enjoyed them as a base for tacos.

This was how we made it on red in four corners area important to use bluebird flour ands snow cap lard to get the best test and use clabber girl baking powder and this was how a blind lady made her fry bread was best I ever had so she showed me how to make the best they don't use milk.

Too much flour. Very dry and bland. It was so tough to chew, I almost choked trying to swallow it. We ended up throwing out the rest of the dough. :(

The Smithsonian's recipe is better (3 c. flour, 1  1/4 c. warm water, 1T baking powder, 1 tsp salt... knead and let sit covered for 10 min. before cooking).

Although edible &amp; fast to make, this was totally flavorless &amp; disappointing. Must eat hot &amp; add tons of toppings to make it worth eating IMO. I’d recommend adding a sweetener or garlic + salt depending on what type of fry bread you’re making.

I really liked the easiness of the recipe for these, and I'll definitely try it again to get the texture right. Mine turned out really dense and a bit tough, but the flavour was really nice (I added fresh rosemary from the garden). I found the instructions a little unclear, so I'm not sure if I overmixed the dough, if I didn't flatten the breads enough before frying, or if I fried them for too long and that's why they turned out a little wonky. 

Nothing a little trial and error can't fix, but I would have liked more clear instructions about the size \shape of the dough prior to frying and how long they should be left in the oil.

Not really like fry bread, more like fried flour.

5 stars as written. I have also made it gluten free by subbing gf flour blend, upping the baking powder and liquid, and adding yeast and sugar. With the changes it's about a 4 star rating...

I made  this but I scaled it down to two servings. The dough is very sticky, it takes some kneading to make it soft. Try to get most of the flour off before you place in the shortening otherwise the pan will start to smoke. But yes I give it five stars. Butter them while they are hot.

fry bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total: 40 minutes

Author : Rita

Ingredients

Instructions

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