Twyla Sorrells's Recipe

Salish Style Indian Fry Bread

Category: Biscuits & Bread

Ingredients

1 pkg. dry yeast
3 cups warm water
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 cups flour
2 tablespoons veg. oil for frying

Dissolve the yeast in warm water then add salt and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes covered with a towel. Add the flour and oil to the liquid mixture. Mix together and pour out onto a floured bread board and knead until the mixture is smooth.

Then put the dough in a greased bowl, and cover with a towel; let rise for 1-1/2 hours.

Remove from bowl and return to bread board. Knead until all the air is pushed out.

Form into 2 balls, rolling each into circles or rectangles about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch squares, and then cut a slit in middle of each.

Drop into hot oil in a preheated iron skillet. Fry several pieces at a time to a golden brown on each side. Drain on towels.

For a sweet treat, sprinkle with powdered sugar or butter and honey like sopapillas. Or you may also use this bread for Indian Tacos, topping it with a thick chili, refried beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, minced onion, shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream... or as desired.

I did not create this recipe, and in fact it's probably older than America. This particular flat-bread is from the tribe of my Pawpaw's paternal grandmother's ancestors, the `Flathead` or `Salish` Natives.

How To Use:

To serve fry bread, you can use it like a tortilla with any meal, but it seems to better match other Native foods and Mexican or Tex-Mex foods. The most popular use is to make Indian Tacos.

To make Indian Tacos

Freshly made fry bread is left flat and eaten like a tostada, topped with:

Vegan Taco Filling or Chili
Shredded Lettuce
Chopped Tomatoes
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
Sliced Black Olives

Just layer as you like and dig in!