Taos A to Z Excerpt: Fry Bread

An extremely popular Native American food, found throughout the United States, fry bread is a flat dough pan- or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. The dough is generally leavened by yeast or baking powder. Topped with additions such as beans, ground beef, or shredded cheese, fry bread is then served as “Indian tacos” or “Navajo tacos.” Fry bread is also served sweet, with powdered sugar on top.

Some say that fry bread came from the time when about 8,000 of the Navajo people were imprisoned at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, during the 19th century. It is said that the Navajos were just given wheat flour and lard to eat, two commodities that were quite foreign to their bean and corn-based diets. Others say that the Navajo and folk of other tribes made the bread because they didn’t know what else to do with the government-granted wheat and fat they were provided on the reservations. Regardless, once you’ve tasted fry bread in any of its forms, you’ll want to come back for more! ~Jean

Read more about Taos, Santa Fe, and Northern New Mexico on Taos A to Z