How To Make Fry Bread

Fry Bread

Serves 5 to 6

• 2 cups self-rising flour     
• 3/4 cup warm water 
• Vegetable oil
• 1 can of pumpkin puree (optional)
• Powdered sugar (optional) 

PREPARATION: Slowly combine flour and water in a bowl, mixing until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently knead until it becomes smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes to relax dough. Pinch off small handfuls of dough and shape into round, flat patties (about 5 to 6 inches wide) or use cookie cutters to make shapes. Recipe should yield around 10 patties. Heat 1 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat. The oil should be hot but not smoking. Carefully add dough patties to oil, and fry for a few minutes, until golden brown on each side. Once done, remove patties from oil and let the excess oil drip back into the pan. Let patties rest on paper towels to cool and soak up excess oil. To make pumpkin-flavored fry bread, substitute water for 1 can of pumpkin puree. Dust with powdered sugar for a sweet treat or serve with savory meals like ground-beef stew. 

Note: Osceola cooks over an open fire and by feel, not precise measurements, so this recipe has been edited to use cups. Feel free to adjust as needed.

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Meet Sally Osceola and other cooks that are keeping Native culinary traditions alive in this feature story.

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