Categorized | Bits and Bites, Vegetarian
A rustic fry bake recipe.
Posted on 07 August 2009
Last week while briefly helping my sister in the kitchen at the King and Queen of Caribana event, I saw how easy it was for my mom to make up batches of fry bake to stuff with saltfish and/or shark. She made it seem so effortless I was convinced that I could easily master this. The “one” problem though.. I can’t knead flour. Then I remember that when the girls and I make pizza we would get the dough already premade from the grocery store. Could this pizza dough work?
Typical fry bake does not contain yeast , but pizza dough does have this active ingredient. Don’t be alarmed though, the pizza dough gives it the normal crispy/crunchy outside but I find with the yeast the inside is much more fluffy and the dough itself is very easy to work with.
Fry bake is very similar to fry roti and the only difference I could see between the two is the shape. When my mom would make fry roti she would use the rolling pin to make a huge circle, then cut that circle in 4 wedges (like how you would slice pizza) and deep fry it the very same way as you would fry bake. Same thing, different names!
Note: We all know the warnings about eating too much fried foods, so try to use an oil that’s low in cholesterol and saturated fats.
You’ll need…
1 package of pizza dough (I think it’s about 1 lb)
Vegetable oil for frying (about 3-4 cups)
flour for dusting
If you’re making the dough from scratch you’ll need…
4 cups flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups water
* (Knead and allow to rest for about 30 minutes at least)
Using the pre-made pizza dough, remove from the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature. Then open from package and divide into tennis ball size dough balls. Dust your counter, hands and rolling pin with flour so the dough does not cling or stick while working with it.
Since 3 is more than enough for me I put the remaining dough in a freezer ziplock bag and into the freezer it goes for the next time I feel like having some fry bake. The next step is to put the oil to heat in a frying pan and start making the dough balls into the required circle shape. Using the rolling pin (remember to dust with flour) work back and forth, flipping to the other side until you form a circle about 6 inches in diameter.
When the oil is heated place the dough you just worked into a circle. Remember to place it in the hot oil in an action so it’s away from you to prevent getting burned with the hot oil. As soon as you place it in the hot oil (within a few seconds), using a fork try to flip it to the other side in a quick motion. I was told that this helps it get that even surface and allows it to swell so you have that pocket that you can stuff. Continue flipping every 30 seconds or so until it’s swollen and gets to a nice golden brown colour. Remove from the oil at this point and place on paper towels to get rid of some of the excess oil used in frying. Repeat these steps for the remaining dough you have.
Serve hot so your guests will get that crunchy exterior that’s so wonderful. To stuff, all you have to do cut it open as you would slice a bagel and stuff with whatever you feel like having. Typically it would be stuffed with saltfish buljol and/or deep fried tidbits of battered shark meat and topped with coleslaw, slices of tomato, cucumber and some sort of hot sauce and/or garlic mayo.
If you ever visit Maracas Bay beach in Trinidad you must try the bake and shark at Richard’s.. this joint is so popular with locals and tourists alike, it was even featured on Andrew Zimmern show, Bizzare Foods. Andy also listed it as one of the top 10 food he’s ever had.
Besides being something you can stuff, fry bake is our version of bread at breakfast and can also be used to eat with stews and curries. We’d just rip a piece and dip it into the wonderful gravies from curry and stewed dishes as I’ve featured here in the past.
30 Responses to “A rustic fry bake recipe.”
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Nice recipe. I am going to give fry bake a try this weekend!
I would like to see the process of making bakes from scratch. I can’t find it anywhere on the internet.
Thanks for the tip on buying the pizza dough…..Many peoples don’t have the time to prep…..And i just want to say your the best, because many of these other cooking websites don’t have step by step with pictures. I just want to say this helps out a lot when u don’t somethings…….Thanks Chris…….May be you should make more videos on your recipes that would be even perfect……Once again Thanks
Re: Donna, here’s a link from a fellow blogger who shows the full recipe for fry bake from scratch http://www.trinigourmet.com/index.php/fried-bake-n-fish/ Sarina has a lot of passion for cooking and does an excellent job sharing the culinary culture of the islands with everyone.
Re: Casandra.. thanks for your kind comments.. It’s appreciated. Here are a couple links you may eb interested in:
Videos I make: http://www.youtube.com/caribbeanpot (work still in progress)
Picture collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caribbeanpot/
Happy Cooking
Chris
.-= Chris De La Rosa´s last blog ..How to make green Mango Chutney. =-.
Love the results you got with the pizza. I made a large batch of these this past weekend. I was hosting a birthday brunch. All was gone in no time. I served mine with buljol.
.-= Cynthia´s last blog ..About Cooking Shrimp & An apology =-.
Thanks for the suggestion of using pizza dough. I can knead flour but my bake dough was never consistent to get that nice puffy look when fried. I’ll aim to pick up some pizza dough and try these in the next week or so. Thanks for sharing.
Chris, tried these today and they came out wonderful! Thanks so much for suggesting using the pizza dough. They were tasty and so easy. I served mine with smoked herring fillets (made up like buljol). Delicious!
Hey Chris:
Thanks for the sizzle recipe from time to time. I am a novice cook. I am just learning to cook. For your stew chicken ( with or without curry), you said to marinate overnight. My question is: Is it to marinate for this recipe overnight also? What about your other recipes? Shorter marinate or overnight? Which is better? What will you suggest to a novice cook?
Thanks< Debbie
hey chris i was making pizza dough for over 28 years but i have to try yours recipe
Thank you, they came out perfect! Last time I went home I got the Naparima Girls’ Cookbook which basically has the same recipe as you do, but somehow they always ballooned. Thanks for sharing the secret of flipping them as soon as you put them in.
Jenelle, thanks for stopping by. I learned that tip watching my my make it a few years back.
happy cooking
chris…
It is also called fry Bread where we are here in Arizona. you can top it with red beans meat or chicken and fave cheeses……….hope everyone enjoy’s
Shannon, nice to have you here and commenting. If ever I make it down to Arizona, I’ll be sure to try it as you guys do.
happy cooking
chris…
Thanks so much for the recipe, it is simple and delish! I
I'm very happy your enjoyed it Selena.
happy cooking
chris…
hi chris, do you hav the recipe for dalphuri roti?
sorry not yet as I need my moms help for that one. But I did post a sada roti and buss up shut one.
Hey Chris, I have always wanted to know how to do that. Bake and shark is my favorite thing to eat at cricket in trinidad. I will most definetly do those so they can become my favorite thing at home in Barbados too. thanks a million.
You won't believe how much bake and shark sandwiches my sister sells at Caribana and all the events leading up to it. For me.. Richards at Maracas bay in trinidad is the true home of great bake and shark. I'm sure there's some tasty options in Barbados as well.
I just love fry bakes. I will give this one a try next Wednesday evening as I'm having guests.
So easy and very tasty.. just can't go wrong.
I ate fry Bakes since i was small but could never get the dough right like my Mom used to do so well.
The pizza dough is an excellent idea.
I tried it and it's great with Buljol,Smoked herring etc.
Thanks Chris.Makes cooking a bit easier..
guys.. if you ever had a hard time cooking something just visit me….
ill give you your request!! http://tinyurl.com/4neun3j
thankssss
My husband only eats wheat flour. Have you ever tried making this recipe with wheat flour?
So i am just sitting here thinking of making frybake and thinking i have to look up a recipe for it when i get your email on how to make fry bake….coincidence? i think not…fate? i think so!
Thanks so much…you always know what i am feeling to eat!
Fry bake and tomato choka…mmm…
I Love fry bake and really appreciate the tip on using the pizza dough because sometimes I really dont feel like mixing the dough from scratch……. My mother would sometimes roast the dough instead of fry it.
never seen the pizza dough in Barbados
neither seen it in Grenada
but am trying from scratch in the morning will let you know how it came out
oh my rustic bakes was good am trying it again. i also made it part of my combining food life style eat it with some lettuce or celery. it contains no fat. i love it. oh i also roast instead of fry