One Canned Shortcut Makes Fry Bread So Much Easier

Traditional fry bread is typically made from scratch with flour, baking soda, milk, and salt. Once the ingredients are combined to form dough, the pieces are shaped into discs and fried in oil. The process can take close to 20 minutes start to finish. But, understandably, not every home cook wants to measure out ingredients, heat up oil, and fry handmade dough to put a meal on the table after a long day. Instead, store-bought canned biscuits can come to the rescue and help circumnavigate the entire dough-making process.

To save time and effort, canned biscuits can be rolled out onto a flour surface, sprayed with cooking oil, and cooked in the air fryer. Different brands of store-bought biscuits offer unique flavors to flatten and fry. However, for a sturdier base to hold many toppings, you'll need to show some restraint when you're rolling out the ready-made dough. If you're partial to thinner, crispier pieces to serve and snack on, give the biscuits extra attention and a few extra rolls before placing them into the air fryer to cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for seven minutes — flipping mid-way through.

If you still crave that just-fried taste in your short cut recipe, you can pan fry the flattened biscuit pieces for a quick 10 to 20 seconds per side, or until golden. Once removed from the hot oil, the cooked pieces can be seasoned with your favorite flavored salt for something more versatile, chili powder or smoked paprika for spice, or a quick sprinkle of ground cinnamon and sugar for a touch of sweetness. 

Whether you enjoy using buttermilk or cheese enhanced canned biscuits, you can doctor up your short-cut fry bread by topping it with crispy fried onions, chopped garlic, dried herbs, or a shake of everything but the bagel seasoning, and dip them into your favorite soups and stews. While shredded meats, beans, vegetables, and cheeses can be piled on top of the golden bread, the bread can also lend itself to layers of preserves, sweeteners and syrups, fruit, and powdered sugar for dessert.