After a friend posted about this, I was intrigued!

I had never heard of it ever! On reading the comments it was obviously a very popular thing in America and the uses of it seemed endless.

A bread as a dessert, use it as a taco, have it for breakfast, with burger and beans, salads also seemed popular, or simply cinnamon sugar and honey. Following a few searches, it became clear it was worth having a try.

Only 4 ingredients used and one was water. What do they say, “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”. With rising supermarket costs this was an absolute must do!

I have tried making numerous types of bread. Using a bread maker usually works out the best. I have made my own soda bread many times, which is lovely. However, baking is the usual route. Frying it seemed almost alien!

The history of this Navajo Fry Bread, goes back many years.

Navajo frybread originated around144 years ago, when the United States forced the Indians living in Arizona, to make a 300 mile journey known as the “Long Walk” to enable them to relocate to New Mexico. The land couldn’t support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans. The government gave them certain food staples including canned foods and flour to prevent the indigenous populations from starving. As well as flour, sugar and processed lard were also supplied. This was the making of frybread.

What does it taste like?

It takes minutes to make, a few minutes to rest and then you fry it for a minute or so on each side until golden in colour. The result is quite astounding. Crispy exterior with a soft almost cloudlike interior. It is hard to describe it really. All the family tried it, and it went from being described as almost crumpet like, to donut like. But all of us thoroughly enjoyed it.

How to make it?

It doesn’t get any easier than this. Plain Flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl, add water and mix it all together. Dont knead it though, just pull it together. Leave it covered to sit and rest for about 10 minutes. Once rested, divide the dough into 6 fairly equal portions, make them into a ball, roll out to about a 6″ round and make a tiny hope in the centre, this help it stay flat when frying (I just poked it with my nail). Heat up a frying pan, add about an inch of oil (I used sunflower oil), and then once your oil is hot (around 180 deg C) you are ready to fry.

Press it with a spatula as you drop it in so the oil comes over the top. As the edges go golden flip it over to colour the other side. I spooned a bit of the oil across the middle as it fried to make sure it was cooked through evenly.

As I finished each one I sat them between paper towels. If you only want to make a couple at a time, you can leave the dough in the fridge in a plastic bag, or you can freeze them after making them into balls. I haven’t tried freezing them as yet, but I will.

I will add more ideas at a later date, but this is what I have just had for lunch – Warm fry bread salad, with mixed leaves, feta cheese, olives and a honey mustard and red wine vinegar dressing … It was delicious! Before you say it … No it isn’t the norm, but for a vegetarian, worth trying!