Quick pan bread

Chef Vlahos

Servings 2 rounds of bread

Preheat a deep pan with at least 1/2" of oil to 350F
Whisk the dry ingredients together.
Add the water, and stir until completely combined. This makes a wet dough, and I don't see a point in working this into a normal dough because I'd have to drop the "quick" part of the name.
I recommend rolling out the batter on a piece of parchment paper that will fit inside the pan, and roll the dough no more than 1/2" thick. If the dough is sticky, you should lightly flour the work surface and the top of the ball before you roll it out.
Slide the parchment paper into the oil. The dough will pull apart from t he paper as it starts to fry, and you can safely remove the paper with tongs.
When the bottom is golden-brown, flip the bread and fry until it's all golden-brown. Approximately 4 minutes for the first side, and another 3 for the other side.
If you want to work the dough into something easier to manage, keep kneading until a smooth ball forms, cut into pieces, form those into balls, and then roll out to 1/2" thick. Fry as above.

Baking soda helps with browning, baking powder helps with floofiness, and both together balance out the flavor. If you just use baking soda, you'll get that pretzel vibe, which begs the question why you're not just making pretzels. If you do want something that tastes more pretzel-like, you can double the soda, skip the powder, and cook these to a shade darker than golden-brown. Pan frying in just a tablespoon of oil is also recommended if you want that pretzel-like crunchy finish. You'll need to add some more oil after you flip it.
I've skipped straight from the bowl to placing half the dough into my pan, and quickly shaping it with high-temp silicone spatulas, but I don't recommend it unless you're confident this will work for you.
If you want a traditional frybread, you'll need to form a ball of dough, and let it rest for a minimum of 30 minutes, 45-60 is ideal. You might need to add a bit more flour to form a ball. Divide into small balls, form them into smooth balls, lightly flour, and gently roll them out with a rolling pin, or pull/stretch them out like you would hand-form a pizza crust. The resting time is required to be able to roll it out very thin, max 1/8" (about 2 quarters).