Acorn Flour Native American Fry Bread

Tonight I made Native American Fry Bread, experimenting with cold processed acorn flour that I made in the fall. The recipe I found for Native American Fry Bread called for salt, water, oil (for frying), baking powder (primitive purists could use wood ash as a leavening agent in the wild), and flour (I chose half wheat flour and half acorn flour, since acorn flour doesn't stick together well alone). Mixed it all together into a dough, and let it refrigerate in a bowl for half an hour. I rolled out the dough and cutout flat circles, then fried them in medium heat oil for about 3 minutes each, flipping once. Cut X's in the centers of the dough so they will fry flat. This is really tasty bread by itself! You could also add butter, honey, maple syrup, jam, etc. I will definitely be making this again sometime! I'll attach pictures when I can. :)

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Originally Posted by SeleneSurvivalGoddess

Tonight I made Native American Fry Bread, experimenting with cold processed acorn flour that I made in the fall. The recipe I found for Native American Fry Bread called for salt, water, oil (for frying), baking powder (primitive purists could use wood ash as a leavening agent in the wild), and flour (I chose half wheat flour and half acorn flour, since acorn flour doesn't stick together well alone). Mixed it all together into a dough, and let it refrigerate in a bowl for half an hour. I rolled out the dough and cutout flat circles, then fried them in medium heat oil for about 3 minutes each, flipping once. Cut X's in the centers of the dough so they will fry flat. This is really tasty bread by itself! You could also add butter, honey, maple syrup, jam, etc. I will definitely be making this again sometime! I'll attach pictures when I can. :)

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Sounds good. Have you ever tried acorn coffee? During the Civil War, the Confederates had a hard time getting "real" coffee past the Union Blockade, so they used many different plants, including acorns, to make it. I think that it might be a good option for coffee while out in the field...

No Rendezvous is complete with out at least a fry-bread or two.
Made with regular flour and sugared and cinnamon.
Large fruit preserves are also a favorite....apple, strawberry, raspberry.....

What kind of acorns did you use?.....Some have more tannin than other kinds.

Have tried the mash-up acorns,..... put in old wool sock, leave in river a day or so....made a kinda of ash cake, rolled into ball, smashed flat, tossed into the coals ....and yeah, need something to hold the "flour" together.
Kinda a tasteless "puck"......but hey?

Trying to do a wilderness food, only....so no ingredients from home.

if your going to make fry bread try indian tacos thier great. you only get those at powwow that is unless you make them yourself.

Zack, I did not know that about soldiers during the Civil War. Pretty cool. I knew a coffee substitute could be made with dandelion roots, but I will have to try making acorn coffee this fall when I have more acorns!

Hunter63, I used a combination of red and white oak acorns. The red oak acorns contained more tannins, so I had to leach the tannic acid out of my flour for about 10 days. I have heard of leaching acorns in streams and would like to try that. I lived in an apartment near Charlotte last fall when I harvested and made acorn flour, so I just had to work with what I had available. But I’ve recently moved to a small house near Beaufort and would like to try new methods this upcoming fall! I also wanted to save the tannic acid to use for other things. I’ve read that tannic acid can also be used as a primitive mouth wash as well as used to help with tanning deer hides (a natural alternative to using brains for tanning). The Fry Bread is very filling and can certainly be spruced up with other ingredients. It’s nice “ready to go” food for outdoor adventures. I would also like to try making deer jerky and pemmican! :)

Hayshaker, do you have to be Native American to attend a powwow? I’ve always thought that would be awesome. I’d love to try making Indian Tacos too!

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Dang, girl, that looks good enough to eat. Great job!

Thank you kindly, Rick. I wasn't sure what to expect, if they would be just bland pucks, but I thought the bread was pretty good! Could be even better with more seasonings, like Hunter said. :)

Fry bread is great! I like it with sausage and maple syrup for breakfast.
And you do not have to be native to attend powwows, they appreciate everyone that comes to visit.

selena ,no one does not have tobe native american to goto powwow
see drumhop.com for national powwow schedual.
and try a indian taco.

Looks like you did a whole lot more "cooking/baking" than I/we did......because those look a whole lot better.

Well, I didn't have acorns and they don't look nearly as good as Lauren's but I made some none-the-less. More of an Indian Chapati bread. Here's the recipe I used.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ready In: 30 Minutes

Servings: 10

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup hot water or as needed

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts, or less if you want bigger breads. Roll each piece into a ball. Let rest for a few minutes.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, about 30 seconds, then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough.

I divided the dough into six equal portions. Each rolled out to the size of the cast iron skillet. Taste wise is a little doughy but toward a cracker. Great with a little pure honey!

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q...pshenaiif8.jpg

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Originally Posted by Rick

Well, I didn't have acorns and they don't look nearly as good as Lauren's but I made some none-the-less. More of an Indian Chapati bread. Here's the recipe I used.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ready In: 30 Minutes

Servings: 10

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup hot water or as needed

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts, or less if you want bigger breads. Roll each piece into a ball. Let rest for a few minutes.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, about 30 seconds, then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough.

I divided the dough into six equal portions. Each rolled out to the size of the cast iron skillet. Taste wise is a little doughy but toward a cracker. Great with a little pure honey!

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q...pshenaiif8.jpg

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Those look pretty good! It looks like the ingredients are light enough to take in a backpack for a nice lunch or snack while out hiking. I may just have to try these!

(chuckle) I left them out last night and this morning I have hardtack frisbees. I didn't realize it at the time but the recipe I used was essentially a hardtack recipe. A little easier to eat than hardtack because they are thin.

frybread should be kinda lumpy and fluffy not flat just saying. google how to make navajo frybread.
oh and read the history of fry bread sad but interresting.

Yeah, I used a chapati (flat bread) type recipe. They came out exactly as they should have. I just didn't expect them to harden up over night. I had some with lunch and they were fine. Much like a cracker.

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Originally Posted by Rick

Yeah, I used a chapati (flat bread) type recipe. They came out exactly as they should have. I just didn't expect them to harden up over night. I had some with lunch and they were fine. Much like a cracker.

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I see that there's olive oil in the recipe. In the recipe I used when I made hardtack for the first time not too long ago (I found it on wikihow.com), it said that if you add olive oil, it makes the hardtack much softer and adds a slight flavor. But it cuts the shelf life way down.

It probably goes rancid after a while. I don't use it in my hardtack recipe but otherwise it's pretty much the same recipe so I should have expected it to get hard. I just didn't think about it.

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Originally Posted by Rick

It probably goes rancid after a while. I don't use it in my hardtack recipe but otherwise it's pretty much the same recipe so I should have expected it to get hard. I just didn't think about it.

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I didn't use it either.