Light and Fluffy Fry Bread - Parāoa Parai
A light and fluffy fry bread perfect for eating with sweet or savoury!
Servings 18 medium parāoa parai (fry bread)
Equipment
- 1 x Cast iron pan, heavy based pot or a deep fryer
- 1 x Thermometer (is helpful but not essential)
Ingredients
The Dough - Te Pokenga
- ½ C (125 ml) miraka (milk)
- 1 C (250 ml) wai wera (hot water, from the tap)
- 2 tbsp huka (sugar, either brown or white) This can also be swapped for maple syrup or honey.
- 2 tsp (6 g) īhi horo (instant yeast or 4 tsp (12 g) of Surebake/Breadmakers yeast)
- 3 ⅓ C (500 g) puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour)
- 30 g pata kua rewaina (melted butter, cooled slightly). This can be swapped for the same amount of oil.
- 1 ½ tsp tote (salt, fine)
- 1 L noni (oil, rice bran or something similar)
Instructions
Activate the Yeast:
- Add the miraka (milk), wai wera (hot water) and sweetener in to a large bowl. Stir until the sweetener has dissolved.
- Sprinkle over the īhi horo (instant yeast). Then leave it for 5 - 10 minutes until the yeast has activated. The īhi (yeast) has activated when it has floated to the top, like the picture above.
Combine the Ingredients:
- Add the puehu parāoa (flour), pata kua rewaina (melted butter) and tote (salt). Using a bread and butter knife, mix everything together until a rough dough forms.
Kneading the dough (Pokepoke parāoa) - 3 options to choose from.
- There are three options for kneading the dough so choose which one you prefer. The main goal is to not add extra flour to the dough to keep it light. So choose the option that will help you achieve that.
Option 1: Kneading in a Stand Mixer
- Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low - medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
Option 2: Kneading all by hand (prepare for sticky dough goodness)
- Tip the dough on to a lightly floured bench. Watch the video for reference as I use a slightly different style of kneading here. If you are kneading it by hand, it will be sticky but try not to add extra flour. Knead for 4-5 minutes. You can also keep the dough in the bowl and knead it in the bowl if you prefer.
Option 3: Hand knead for 1 minute, then stretch and fold.
- Tip the dough on to a lightly floured bench and knead it for 1 minute until the dough has come together and starts to get stretchy. Return the dough to the bowl and then stretch and fold it. Pull the dough from the side of the bowl, stretch it high and place it in the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat that process 50 times. This should take about 2 minutes. Reference the video for a visual aid.
The First Rise:
- Once you have completed one of the methods above i.e, the kneading or stretch and folding, place the dough in a clean bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave it in on the bench. Note: You don't want it in a super hot place or direct heat or the yeast will over activate and weird things can happen.
- Rise for 30 minutes.
Stretch and Fold the Dough:
- After 30 minutes of rising, stretch and fold it 12 times. Pull the dough from the side of the bowl, stretch it high and place it in the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat that process 12 times. Reference the video for a visual aid.
The Second Rise:
- Cover and rise again for 30 minutes.
Shape the dough:
- Lightly oil a bench and tip out the risen dough. Deflate any big bubbles with your hands and then press out the dough until it is 3 cm thick.
- Cut the pokenga (dough) into squares or use a 8 cm cookie cutter to cut out 18 round shapes. Mould any dough scraps back in to roughly 3 cm thick and cut them out, making sure you use all of the dough.
The Short Third Rise:
- Spread out the cut pieces out on the bench with around 3 cm of space between each one to allow them to rise. Rise them for 10 minutes in the summer months because the yeast tends to be a bit more active. Rise them for 15 – 25 minutes in the colder months as the yeast seems to be a bit slower.
Fry the Fry Bread:
- 5 minutes before the rising time is up, pour all of the noni (oil) in to a cast iron pan or a pot. Note: I prefer a cast iron pan here as it retains the heat in an even way but use what you have an adjust as you go.
- Heat the noni (oil) to 165 °C. If you don't have a thermometer, test the oil with a wooden spoon. Place the handle in the oil and when bubbles rapid bubbles appear around it, it is ready. My stove top has the highest heat of 9, I heat the oil on number 8 and turn it up or down according to how hot the oil seems.
- If the oil starts over heating, remove from the heat for a minute or so to bring the heat down. If you don't have a thermometer, eye ball it. As a guide, if one side of the fry bread browns before a minute of being in the oil, it is too hot and may result in the middle being under cooked.
- Test one piece of the risen fry bread to gauge if your oil is at the right point. If you the test is a winner, fry four or five pieces at a time for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Eat and Enjoy:
- Remove them from the noni (oil) and shake off any excess oil before place them on a cooling rack. Eat them as you wish and let me know how you enjoy eating them!I love them with hāmana (salmon), kirīmi tīhi (cream cheese), aniana whero (red onions) and a few greens.
Video
Notes
Tips for frying:
You want the oil to reach 160 degrees celsius. If you don't have a thermometer, test the oil with a wooden spoon. Place the handle in the oil and when bubbles rapid bubbles appear around it, it is ready.
My stove top has the highest heat of 9, I heat the oil on number 8 and turn it up or down according to how hot the oil seems.
If the oil starts over heating, remove from the heat for a minute or so to bring the heat down. If you don't have a thermometer, eye ball it.
As a guide, if one side of the fry bread browns before one minute of being in the oil, it is too hot and may result in the middle being under cooked.
Test one piece of the risen fry bread to gauge if your oil is at the right point. If you the test is a winner, fry four or five pieces at a time for 2-3 minutes on each side.