Name: Fry Bake Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8 persons
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 300 g All-Purpose Flour; 1 teaspoon Baking Powder; 1 ½ teaspoon Brown Sugar; 1/2 teaspoon Salt; 2 1/2 tablespoons Dry Active Yeast; 18 g Unsalted Butter room temperature; Water; Frying Oil

Close up shot of Fry Bake on top of cloth

Fried Bake is made with the most fundamental ingredients, yet it is the most delicate dish to master. Many Trini home cooks can share a fried bake journey of making hockey pucks before learning the fluffy puffed-up treat that we all know and love. Fried dough is so popular that it can be found worldwide and comes in both sweet and savory versions. Some examples are Poori or Puri, a fried flatbread from India, or Puff Puff in Nigeria, typical street food of fried dough balls. This recipe, however, is for Trinidad Fried Bake. This fried dough has an iconic puffed-up golden circular shape that is best eaten warm and filled with almost anything. The most famous Trinidad fried bake can be found on Maracas Beach, made fresh before your eyes and filled with chunks of delicious fried shark meat. See our Trinidad Shark and Bake recipe here. We will not debate whether it should be called Bake N Shark or Shark N Bake, but we can agree that this is one of the best ways to eat Fried Bake. This Fried Bake recipe has been tried and tested to make sure you get the most perfect fluffy delicious authentic Trini dish. So how will you have your Fried Bake?

Equipment Needed

Baking Dish

Deep Fryer

Digital Food Kitchen Scale

Large Mixing Bowl

Medium Heavy Bottom Pot

Paper Towel

Rolling Pin

Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons

Thermometer

Author: Rachael Ottier Hart

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

40 mins

Serves

8 persons

Ingredients

300 g All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 ½ teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 tablespoons Dry Active Yeast
18 g Unsalted Butter room temperature
Water
Frying Oil

Instructions

Place the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl and mix thoroughly, making sure all the ingredients are completely incorporated together.

Add the yeast, and again make sure to mix and disperse evenly throughout the mixture.

Add the butter to the mixture by squeezing and mashing it into the dry mix with your hands until it is evenly distributed and the texture crumbly.

The amount of water used to make the dough will differ depending on the type of flour used, so slowly and gradually add water to the dry mix while you incorporate it with your hands and knead.

Once the dry mixture has fully absorbed the water, it will turn into the dough and pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto your workspace and empty the contents of the bowl onto the dusted work surface.

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until it is smooth.

To test the dough's readiness, poke it with your finger: If it bounces back, it is ready. If not, keep kneading and try again until it bounces back like memory foam.

Form the dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl, and cover for 10-15 minutes where they will not be disturbed.

Once the dough has rested, please remove it from the bowl. Cut into eight equal-sized pieces and then roll into balls.

Set these balls aside, cover, and let them rest a second time for 10-15 minutes, where they will not be disturbed.

Prepare your cooling station, where you will place the bakes as they come out of the oil using a drying rack or paper towels on top of a baking tray.

Prepare your cooking station using a heavy bottom pot or a deep fryer. Warm the oil to 350C or 177F using a cooking thermometer.

Once the balls have finished their second resting, place one on your flour-dusted surface and, using your hands or a rolling pin, press the ball out until it is about a ¼ inch thick circle.

Then carefully place the flattened circle into the hot oil and cook for about a minute or until it has puffed up and is golden brown on both sides.

Remove from the hot oil and place onto the cooling station.

Repeat these two steps with each dough ball until all are cooked.

Serve warm, cut open, and have any of your favorite fried bake fillings like butter, cheese like Vegan Swiss Cheese or Vegan Cheddar Cheese, fried shark, and so on.