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1
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a wide bowl. Add the warm water gradually, mixing with the fingers until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Stop as soon as the dough comes together — the dough is ready when it holds its shape but still clings lightly to the hand.
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2
Rest the dough, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes. After resting it should yield easily under a fingertip and no longer spring back when pressed — if it resists, rest it further.
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3
Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Working one piece at a time, pat and stretch each piece by hand — never with a rolling pin — into a round approximately 0.5 to 1 cm thick. Poke a single hole through the centre of each round with a finger. The dough is correctly patted when the centre is marginally thinner than the edge and holds its shape without tearing.
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4
Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan to 175–180°C. This is where the dish lives or dies: the oil must be fully at temperature before any dough enters it — a cube of bread dropped in should colour in roughly 30 seconds. An under-temperature oil will saturate the frybread with fat and prevent it from forming its characteristic crust; check the temperature between batches.
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5
Lower one round at a time into the oil — no more than two rounds in the pan at once. Fry 2 to 3 minutes per side. The frybread is ready to turn when the underside is an even golden brown and small bubbles at the surface edge begin to slow; after turning, it is done when both sides are uniformly golden and the surface is dry rather than glistening.
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6
Lift from the oil and drain upright or flat on a rack or absorbent paper. The finished frybread should sound faintly hollow when tapped at the thicker edge and feel light relative to its size.