# Flat Breads?



## Simply_Nikki (Sep 24, 2008)

I made an attempt to make Indian fry bread... but I just can't seem to do it right. My bread never puffs up. Anyone have experience making quick flat breads before? I need help, my bread either tastes like a salty biscuit or like plain dough.


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## Solus Christus (Sep 24, 2008)

I wish I could help you Nikki, the only experience my wife had was making Chappati which is more like a tortilla. Maybe you can just leave it as a salty biscuit and call it something else


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## Grymir (Sep 24, 2008)

Hi Nikki. The owner of the business that I own is from India. I make bread for her. It doesn't puff up much like the breads I'm used to. Its supposed to be kindof tortilla like. It's used to dip in soups and dishes. It sound's like it's probably comming out just right. Of course if I could be privy to the recipe, I'd know more, but I bet $$ it is right, just not what were used to in the USA.


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## gene_mingo (Sep 25, 2008)

What is your recipe. I make a good fry bread or at least the wife says I do. I will dig up my recipe for you.


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## Simply_Nikki (Sep 25, 2008)

Well I just used flour water a pinch of salt a pinch of sugar make dough out of it, flatten it with a rolling pin to about 4 inches in diameter and then put them in a pan with some canola oil until it starts bubbling then I flip it on the other side. Then I put some butter on it once i take it out the pan. But I've see other people's breads puff up. Mine never does, and so it's not as soft and fluffy.


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## Grymir (Sep 25, 2008)

No baking powder/yeast? Mine uses a little of both, plus some yuckgert (yougurt)


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## gene_mingo (Sep 25, 2008)

Sorry can't find it at the moment, but it is something like this:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup water

now i usually add a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar to it as well.

part of the trick is to make sure your oil is really hot. I usually reserve a small ball of dough to test the oil before I drop in my bread. I put a small hole in the center of all the bread so they won't puff up to much, its hard to balance all the bean goodness on a large bubble.


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## gene_mingo (Sep 25, 2008)

Simply_Nikki said:


> Well I just used flour water a pinch of salt a pinch of sugar make dough out of it, flatten it with a rolling pin to about 4 inches in diameter and then put them in a pan with some canola oil until it starts bubbling then I flip it on the other side. Then I put some butter on it once i take it out the pan. But I've see other people's breads puff up. Mine never does, and so it's not as soft and fluffy.



Ah! you need baking powder.


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## Simply_Nikki (Sep 25, 2008)

Hmm.. I do have baking powder and yeast, perhaps I'll try it with baking powder tomorrow.


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## Grymir (Sep 25, 2008)

Baking powder will give it rise in the pan. I let mine rise a little before hand, hence the yeast. I technically make something called Naan. The way you and gene described what you are doing, baking powder will do the trick. Post the results. We wanta know what happens.


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## Simply_Nikki (Sep 25, 2008)

Grymir said:


> Baking powder will give it rise in the pan. I let mine rise a little before hand, hence the yeast. I technically make something called Naan. The way you and gene described what you are doing, baking powder will do the trick. Post the results. We wanta know what happens.



Will do  ... hmm.. where is my camera?


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## Quickened (Sep 25, 2008)

Simply_Nikki said:


> Grymir said:
> 
> 
> > Baking powder will give it rise in the pan. I let mine rise a little before hand, hence the yeast. I technically make something called Naan. The way you and gene described what you are doing, baking powder will do the trick. Post the results. We wanta know what happens.
> ...



Yes i too would be interested in the results. And since you mentioned the camera I would love to see any pics of the product


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## Scott1 (Sep 25, 2008)

Here is one recipe with an ingredient you may not be using:

Navajo Fry Bread II - Allrecipes

Make sure you use non-aluminum baking powder (eg Rumsfords) because baking powder with aluminimum is not good for you.

The trick is in the temperature of the oil. In days past, lard was best, but don't do that, it's not good for you.


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## turmeric (Sep 25, 2008)

There's also an East Indian bread that puffs up as well as the Native American frybread. I had the Indian variety once as a child. I think this is what Nikki is trying to make. Timothy's recipe sounds correct.


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## Augusta (Sep 25, 2008)

I really like pita pockets with chicken salad or tuna salad in them. This gals recipes might help you. They are made with yeast but you don't have to do all that letting it rise stuff. 

Farmgirl Fare: Pita, Pita, I Too Much Eata!<br>How To Make Pita Bread & My Search For The Perfect Recipe


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## brymaes (Sep 25, 2008)

Instead of frying the whole circle of dough, try cutting it crosswise into quarters and frying the smaller parts individually. Perhaps less mass will let it rise better.


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## LadyCalvinist (Sep 25, 2008)

Nikki I feel your pain, I too am "bread-impaired."


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## jwithnell (Sep 25, 2008)

It seems like most cultures have a flat bread with seemingly endless variations. 

I recall meeting a Navajo woman who let me taste some of her thin, crispy bread and she described using a blue corn dough that gets smeared by hand directly on a very hot rock or skillet. I can't figure out how she kept from burning herself! The puffy Indian bread you describe is also a Navajo bread, developed after the Spanish arrived. You need about 1 teaspoon of baking powder for each cup of flour and about an inch of oil for frying to get it to puff.

Quick rule of thumb, use quick risers (baking powder) for stove top breads and yeast for oven flat breads. This doesn't hold entirely true, but it's a start. For oven breads, rolling the dough very thin and using a very hot oven will make pita-type breads puff. I love the nobby chewiness with na'an that you get by rolling the dough fairly thin, then dimpling it with your finger tips. The same kind of principle gets used with focaccia, topped with olive oil and herbs. 

Can you guess I absolutely love anything to do with bread?


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