Also from an old Italian cookbook… Pizza Fritta says the cookbook but I think my ex MIL called it Sfingi. To me, they are like a raised doughnut without the hole.
You can use any basic white bread dough. If you don’t have a favorite recipe, try the one below.
Fried Dough / Sfingi / Pizza Fritta
These are similar to donuts, fried yeast dough with a sugar cinnamon topping.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs yeast
- 1 3/4 warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 4-5 cups all purpose flour
- Topping:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix the yeast into 1/4 cup of warm water and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy. Add the rest of the water and the salt. Mix together. Add the flour one cup at a time. You can use your hands or a food processor to mix it, but I prefer my big standing mixer with a dough hook. Mix in the flour until it forms a ball, then knead for 5-10 minutes (3-4 minutes in the mixer).
- Take balls of dough about the size of a small lemon and flatten them until they’re about 3″ in diameter. Place on a floured towel or cookie sheet and cover with another clean towel. Let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer or a large pan until it’s about 375. To test, drop a small piece of dough in. It should puff up and sizzle. While you’re waiting, mix together
- the sugar and cinnamon and put this in a paper bag.
- Fry the dough about 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned. Drain on brown bags or paper towels, then shake in the bag with the cinnamon and sugar. Mmmmmm!
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