by Dennis Weaver

We're always up for fresh bread away from home and we like the versatility of these sopaipillas. They are great at home or in an RV -- as an accompaniment for meals, a vehicle for our favorite Mexican foods, or dipped in cinnamon and sugar and served as a snack for the kids. But they also work as camping food.

For road food, consider mixing up the ingredients ahead of time as a mix to cut down on prep time on the road.

We've wandered through the woods with youth and scout troops on backpacking trips in the Rockies and Minnesota and they work as great, fresh bread on a camping trip. And keep them in mind for emergency bread-they can be cooked over any heat when the power goes out. Best of all, they are quick and easy.

Santa Fe Sopaipillas

Directions:

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening with a pastry knife. At this point, you have a mix. Store the mix for no longer than thirty days in the pantry, six months in the refrigerator, or two years in the freezer.
2. To make the mix, place the ingredients in a medium bowl. Form a depression in the middle and pour in the water.
3. Cut the water into the mix. The dough will be crumbly and dry. Remove to a clean surface and knead for two minutes. You will have a stiff dough.
4. Form the dough into balls the size of golf balls. Smash the balls flat with the heel of your hand until they are no more than 1/4-inch thick.
5. Heat cooking oil in a heavy fry pan or Dutch oven. The oil should be 3/8-inch deep and hot enough that there is a slight sizzle when the dough is placed in the oil.
6. Fry each side until brown. Dip in cinnamon and sugar if desired.

This recipe will make about a dozen three-inch sopaipillas

Dennis Weaver -- having burnt food from Miami, Florida to Point Barrow, Alaska -- is RTA's road food expert. He has logged thousands of hours on the roads, trails, and waterways of America including many of Alaska's wilderness rivers and has consistently been elected the trips' "chief cook and bottle washer." Dennis is currently general manager at The Prepared Pantry, a company in Rigby, Idaho, that produces ready-to-eat meals and baking mixes packaged in Mylar. Weatherproof, bug-proof, and critter resistant, they're ideal for both roadtrips and back woods camping. Dennis may be reached at dweaver@preparedpantry.com.

This article was submitted by Dennis Weaver of The Prepared Pantry. Click here to see more recipes from The Prepared Pantry.