Fire Bread

Each year the Mountain Man Rendezvous we attend, we hope they will serve "Fire Bread", then name youngest dubbed it when he saw it being made over the campfire there. They ran out of it this year before we tasted it, so we had to make some at home. We ate Hawthorne berry and Elderberry jam on them made my the Mountain Man Leprechaun.

I searched the internet for an authentic recipe and chose this one to try.

NATIVE AMERICAN FRY BREAD RECIPES

4 cups flour

2 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening (I used oil)

1 cup warm water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add in the shortening and water. Add only enough water to make dough stick together. Knead dough until smooth, make into fist-sized balls. Cover them with a towel for 10 minutes then pat them out into circles about the size of a pancake. Fry in hot cooking oil in cast iron skillet until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels, serve with jam.

Fire Bread

Since our youngest was just tiny, he has called "Fry Bread" at the Mountain Man Rendezvous, "Fire Bread"! It's mainly because he used to watch the Mountain Woman make them over a fire and because he ate them hot!

In anticipation of this event this week, we made them at home. We usually eat them for "Pioneer Day" as well in honor of our Mormon pioneers who ate them frequently along the Mormon Trail to Utah.

I've used the "Tiger Ears" recipe posted September 2007 usually, but decided to use this new one from the book "Boarding the Ark Today" which has recipes to make from your food storage.

Fry Bread
This bread is traditionally used as an edible plate.

2 cups flour, white or wheat
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil or shortening
1/2 to 2/3 cup water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Add oil and water all at once and mix with fork until soft dough forms; knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Form dough into 6 to 8 balls. Flatten each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Deep fry in hot oil until crisp, about 1 minute on each side. Bread can also be baked on a griddle although it does not have the same traditional flavor. Serve with honey, honey butter (see recipe below) or sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
From "Boarding the Ark Today", page 30.

We had these for breakfast one with ham and cheese on it and another with honey butter on it. I served Cantaloupe with them.

You can also use these for lunch or dinner as Najavo Tacos where you top the fry bread with your favorite beans, grated cheese, diced hot peppers and onions, chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce, etc.

Honey Butter
Making good fluffy honey butter is almost a lost art. A must for hot breads.

1 cube butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Whip butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add honey and vanilla. Adding honey too rapidly makes the butter lose its thick, fluffy consistency. Whip 2 to 3 minutes longer; cover and refrigerate. Stores well. Serve at room temperature.
From "Boarding the Ark Today", page 46.

Note: Our local pizza chain serves honey butter so that you can use it on your pizza crusts!