One of foods I can never pass up is pizza. It doesn't matter if it is a slice or a square (for us Chicago people), thin crust, Sicilian, or deep dish, with red sauce or just plain white. Sometimes though, pizza just doesn't quite hit the spot and I have to heat up some oil and fry some dough!
When you fry dough, you are either making Pizza Frittes (savory) or Zeppole (sweet). Zeppole is usually tossed with sugar and cinnamon and served warm. My dad used to say that my grandmother put the hot Zeppole in a paper bag with just regular sugar and shook up the Zeppole to coat them. That is actually, a very good system (for you Goodfella fans out there)!
You can make your dough or buy it from your favorite pizzeria or Italian store, but I tend to lean towards making my own. Notice I use the word tend because last night I had a craving and limited time, so I picked up some dough from Caputo's in Naperville when I made my Easter antipasto run!
Here are the ingredients for the pizza dough I make, handed down to me by Grandma Pat!
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose (unbleached) flour (I use King Arthur's)
- 1 package (or 2 1/4 teaspoons) active, dry yeast (I use Red Star)
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of sugar
- Canola oil
First, you need to activate your dough, so put your yeast in the warm water with a pinch of sugar and let it hang out. Once it starts to bubble, you are ready to go (about 5 minutes). Put the yeast and half of the flour in a standing mixer with the dough hook attachment. Once the flour starts to get incorporated, add the oil, salt, and the rest of the flour. Continue to mix the dough until it starts to form a ball and there is not a lot of excess flour remaining to be incorporated. Remove the dough from the bowl of the mixer and place it on a floured surface. Flour your hands before doing this step. Next, knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until the ball of dough is nice and smooth. Place the dough in a bowl that has been rubbed with oil, set it on top of your stove, and place a towel over the top. Let is sit for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
After an hour, flour your hands again, remove the dough and place it on a floured surface. Knead the dough again, just for a few minutes. Then, make the sign of the cross in the dough, place a towel on top and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Yes, the sign of the cross is a requirement and makes a difference!
Next, get out your Pizza Fritte pot and fill it 3/4 of the way up the side with canola oil. What's a Pizza Fritte pot? Just a small pot that you don't mind beating up a bit. I got mine from Grandma Pat and you can tell that I have had to scrub it many times with steel wool. Still, it is the ONLY pan I will use for frying Pizza Frittes. I've used larger pots or multiple pots, but they don't come out the same. So I have stopped messing with different methods and stuck with what works!
Before you start to fry your dough, flour the bottom of a glass. Flatten each ball of dough before you fry it. Some people like the dough in the ball shape, but I think the dough cooks better this way and leaves more surface area for the "pizza" part of Pizza Frittes.
When the oil is hot enough that you can see it shimmer and touching a piece of dough causes a sizzle sound, go ahead and start frying your dough. The dough will puff up as soon as you drop it in the oil; that's OK. Watch the dough and when the bottom gets golden brown, flip it. Keep an eye on the dough and when the next side starts to brown, remove the dough and let it drain on paper towels. The second side takes half as long as the first side. Given my pan, I do one piece of dough at a time. It takes longer, but each piece comes out perfect!
I usually serve my Pizza Frittes room temperature with a side of pizza sauce that I doctor up with extra oregano and pepper and top them with some shredded mozzarella. You can dip the Pizza Frittes in the sauce or sauce the Pizza Fritte like a real pizza. I prefer to tear mine open and put the sauce and mozzarella inside the Pizza Fritte. This is your personal Pizza Fritte, so there is not right or wrong answer here! My favorite sauce is also another recommendation from Grandma Pat - Pastorelli's.
So next time you are considering pizza, why not give Pizza Frittes a try instead? I promise you, you will love them!
Enjoy!
