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Homemade Fry Bread is soft, pillowy dough, gently fried to golden perfection. Use it for savory Navajo Tacos or sweet Elephant Ears. Fast and simple to whip up!
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It’s so easy to make this Homemade Fry Bread! I’ve eaten it sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar my whole life, which is typically called “elephant ears”. Fry Bread is really easy and fast to whip up, and I love the way it smells when it is cooking. I remember smelling it as a kid when my mom would make it and getting so excited! It was always a special treat. We make a whole meal out of it, using the dough as the base for our Navajo Tacos, which is a southwest classic. We use our favorite toppings and taco seasonings to create a delicious meal! Then we fry up the same dough to make scones with honey and butter, or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar as elephant ears. But no matter how you serve it, this is a favorite recipe that everyone will love!
What is Fry Bread?
This homemade fry bread is a simple dough that can be seasoned a million different ways. Sweet or savory, as a meal or as a dessert, this versatile dough comes together with just a few pantry ingredients:
- Flour – start with just under three cups of all purpose flour.
- Salt – two teaspoons
- Baking powder – two teaspoons
- Dry Milk – half a cup. You can find dry milk on Amazon or at most grocery stores.
Is Fry Bread the Same as Fried Scones?
Yes! A lot of people associate the word “scones” with a cookie or biscuit treat that is served with tea, especially in European countries. However, this scone recipe is more like Indian fry bread, typically fried in hot oil. The soft pieces of dough puff up to make it soft in the middle, golden crisp on the outside. The yeasty scone can be made from pizza dough, frozen roll dough, refrigerated biscuit dough or from our mouthwatering homemade recipe below.
Tips for the Perfect Fry Bread
- You can make the dough ahead of time and store covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge overnight before frying. Make sure to bring the dough back to room temperature before frying.
- Freeze leftover scones in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to two months.
- To reheat, it’s best to wrap the scones in foil, then heat in the oven at 375 degrees for about ten minutes until hot. Open up the foil for the last five minutes to get that golden crisp crust back to perfection.
- Try frying in a heavy cast iron skillet on the stove top.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out pieces of dough on a lightly floured surface to the perfect size circles. Or just stretch the balls of dough out with your fingers before frying. To make it less sticky, spray your fingers with cooking spray.
Toppings for Homemade Fry Bread
Honestly, there are so many ways to dress up this fry bread, and every way is delicious!
Serve savory with our Navajo Taco recipe using:
- Ground beef, pork, or chicken
- Cheese
- Salsa
- Guacamole or Avocado
- Black olives
- Tomatoes
- Onions
- Black beans
For a sweet treat try mixing and matching a few of these tasty toppings:
- cinnamon and sugar
- honey and butter
- powdered sugar
- chocolate sauce
- raspberry jam
- fresh strawberries and whipped cream
- maple syrup
Frequently Asked Questions for Fry Bread
Fry Bread can be hard or tough if you over-mix the dough. Mixing or kneading too much can overdevelop the gluten and result in a tougher dough.
You can, just make sure to follow directions on your air fryer. You can also use a deep fryer with vegetable oil.
Yes! store in plastic wrap or a freezer bag overnight before frying. You can make the dough ahead of time and store covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge overnight before frying. Make sure to bring the dough back to room temperature before frying.
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More Delicious Bread Recipes
Making homemade bread or rolls is so easy! Try some of our delicious bread recipes, like this yummy Irish Soda Bread or this simple Dutch Oven Bread. For a sweet treat, make up a batch of our Lemon Zucchini Bread or this Caramel Monkey Bread.
How to Make Fry Bread
How to Make Fry Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup dry milk
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- oil canola or vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat oil to 375 degrees in a frying pan or electric skillet.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- Mix dough thoroughly, you may have to add more flour to get a soft dough consistency.
- Divide dough into 4 equal parts.
- Roll each dough part of dough out on a floured surface making a thin circle.
- Lift it like a pizza dough off the surface.
- Fry the dough in hot oil.
- When you see the dough turning a golden brown – about 20-30 seconds. Flip over and cook the other side. It's normal to see big bubbles in the dough.Remove from oil when both sides are a golden brown. Drain off excess grease on a paper towel. Keep warm in oven (200 degrees) until ready to serve.
FOR NAVAJO TACOS
- Top fry bread with hot chili, cheese, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.
FOR ELEPHANT EARS
- Brush with butter then sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and/or honey.
Notes
- You can make the dough ahead of time and store covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge overnight before frying. Make sure to bring the dough back to room temperature before frying.
- Freeze leftover scones in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to two months.
- To reheat, it’s best to wrap the scones in foil, then heat in the oven at 375 degrees for about ten minutes until hot. Open up the foil for the last five minutes to get that golden crisp crust back to perfection.
- Try frying in a heavy cast iron skillet on the stove top.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out pieces of dough on a lightly floured surface to the perfect size circles. Or just stretch the balls of dough out with your fingers before frying. To make it less sticky, spray your fingers with cooking spray.
Can you make this in the air fryer?
Thanks for the recipe!!
I haven’t tried that yet, if you did I would still brush the bread with vegetable oil.
Absolutely delicious!
I love making bread at home and for some reason have never made Fry Bread! I think we need to add this and Navajo tacos to our dinnertime lineup. Can’t wait to try!
Is it better to sift flour before mixing dough?
How many people does this serve?
It can make 5-10 servings depending on how big you make each fry bread. Hope this helps!
in the mid Louisiana country they call them cleppies
Never heard of that one before! Cleppies… I like it 😉
Can I use regular whole milk?
Regular milk would add too much liquid. You can try substituting the warm water for warm milk but I can’t guarantee it will be the same since I have never tried it that way before. Hope this helps!
Is it AP Flour or Self Rising?
All-purpose 🙂
Can you make the dough, put it in the circles and freeze it for easy prep when camping?
I have never frozen this dough, but there is no reason why you can’t. Be sure to wrap it well in cellophane and then seal it in an airtight container or plastic freezer bag. Have fun camping!
I always use bread dough for this,and stretch it until it is this.It takes a bit of practice
Recipes look wonderful
I’ve used frozen bread dough before and then after frying sprinkle with icing sugar.
They are also Beaver Tails – a little take out restaurant across Canada.
Do.you have to use dry.milk? Or can you use some thi.g else?
I have always used the dry milk.
the dry milk is what most Navajo use but you can leave it out if you like. I have always used it so i am not sure what the difference in taste is.
First off I have to say….DELICIOUS!! This is the only fry bread I will ever make again. But I do have a question. When I mixed all of the ingredients it was way too runny to be a bread dough. Do you add more flour at the end? My other recipe said to continue adding flour until you get a dough consistency so that’s what we did. Not sure how much it took though. Like I said, it was FABULOUS but I am a little recipe challenged and usually need things spelled out for me. Thank you for all of your recipes! My family is very grateful I found your site!!
Thanks Amanda, you are absolutely right. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I adjusted it on the recipe!
I had this on the menu for tomorrow's dinner but didn't get the powdered milk when I was at the store. Any substitutions for it or do I need to make another trip?
Most of the Navajo women I know leave out the salt AND the dry milk. They also cover the dough and let it rest about 30 minutes before patting it flat and frying it. 😀
Thank you for the tip! I will try this next time I make it!
oh okay! thanks!
You need to roll the dough out REALLY thin, as thin as you can go. It puffs up when you fry it. It will make it light and fluffy.
i tried it and my fry bread was so dense and heavy. any suggestions?
let the dough rest 30 minutes before you start to roll it. it gives the leavening a head start and makes for more tender bread. Also rolling it out thinly is important. The Navajo lady who gave me my recipe always poked a hole in it near the center before frying.
How many does it make?
YUM!!! Can't wait to try this recipe. I haven't had fry bread in years.
This is my family's favorite! Always a hit at home when I make some.
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