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Oklahoma Squaw Bread
2 CUPS FLOUR I TABLESPOON LARD, MELTED I TEASPOON SALT 2 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER 1/2 CUPS COLD WATER Roll out thin, cut in squares, punch holes with knife and drop dough squares into hot fat. Turn them over when golden brown and have both sides well done.
This recipe comes from Hominy, Oklahoma, a town name that in itself is fit to eat and gives us confidence in those "oakie" Osage Indian lady cooks who first tried it out, in bear fat, we hope, over a really hot fire of Buffalo chips.
A plain fried quick bread — flour, salt, baking powder, fat, water — of the type usually called fry bread. The dough wants to be soft and barely worked, and the fat wants to be genuinely hot.
- The water quantity is unclearAs printed the amount reads as a fraction of a cup but is written as a plural, so it may be either 1/2 cup or 1 1/2 cups. Two cups of flour normally takes about 3/4 cup water for a soft, rollable dough; add water gradually until it just comes together rather than committing to either figure.
- Fat temperature is the hingeThe frying fat needs to be at 360-375F. Cooler than that and the squares drink oil and turn heavy; much hotter and the outside colours before the baking powder has lifted the inside. A cube of the dough should rise and sizzle briskly within a couple of seconds.
- Why the knife holesPunching through the centre lets steam escape and helps keep the square from puffing into a hollow pillow, so it fries flatter and cooks more evenly. Without it the square is more likely to balloon and cook unevenly in the middle.
- LardThe tablespoon of melted lard is worked into the dough as a tenderiser, not the frying medium. Shortening or butter works; the frying fat itself should be something with a high smoke point and enough depth to float the squares.
- Roll thinThe recipe gives no thickness or size; something around 1/4 inch, cut into squares of a few inches, works. Thicker dough browns outside before the crumb sets, which is the usual failure with fry bread.
- Bear fat and buffalo chipsThe closing note is the author's flourish, not an instruction. Any neutral frying fat over a steady flame gives the same result.
- YieldTwo cups of flour makes roughly a dozen squares — enough for four people alongside a stew or with honey. They are best within minutes of leaving the fat.