-
1
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the warm water gradually, mixing with one hand until the dough just comes together into a soft, shaggy mass. Stop mixing the moment the dough is cohesive — it should be soft but not sticky. Overworking at this stage produces tough bread.
-
2
Turn the dough out and bring it together with no more than a few folds. Return it to the bowl, cover, and rest for 15–30 minutes at room temperature. The dough is ready when it yields readily to a finger and feels relaxed, not springy.
-
3
Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, pat — do not roll — each into a round disc approximately 20 cm in diameter and 5 mm thick. Press a thumb or finger firmly into the centre to create a thinner spot; the edges should be perceptibly thicker than the centre. Rolling develops too much gluten and produces a tough bread; the hands only.
-
4
Pour the oil or lard into a wide, heavy pan to a depth of 3–5 cm. Heat to 175°C. This is where the dish lives or dies: the oil must be at full temperature before the first disc enters the pan. Cool oil produces bread that absorbs fat and sits heavy; hot oil produces bread that puffs and seals immediately. The surface of the oil should shimmer and a small piece of dough dropped in should rise and sizzle at once.
-
5
Lower one disc into the hot oil. It will begin to puff within seconds. Fry for 1–2 minutes on the first side until the underside is golden and the surface bubbles with trapped steam. Turn once with tongs or a slotted spoon and fry the second side for 1–2 minutes. The finished bread is crispy and deep golden on both sides, puffed at the centre where steam has formed an interior hollow.
-
6
Lift the bread from the oil and drain briefly on a rack or absorbent paper. The interior should be soft and slightly chewy; a tear should reveal the hollow air pocket created by steam. Fry the remaining discs one at a time, confirming the oil returns to 175°C between each.