The Fried Dough Ho

Over a month ago, I waxed poetic about the discovery of Polish Pączki (May 3rd, to be exact). I was so enthusiastic about these morsels of fried goodness that I decide to make them myself. It was part of my birthday celebration to create the most exceptional form of fried dough for my friends that are humanly possible.

And yet here they show up in the New York Times. And I take Edward Schneider to task on describing their construction with a brioche dough. A BRIOCHE dough? You have got to be kidding! Sorry, Ed. You are so very, very wrong. Maybe that shop in New York is cutting corners by creating a Pączki with brioche dough, but the real recipe calls for alcohol. And a fondant? No, no, no. A bit of a dusting with sugar or possibly honey. Even the site you linked to shows a version that is glazed, not covered with fondant. Oh, you crazy New Yorkers…

Coincidence or conspiracy theory? Is it that the Fried Dough Ho is predicting a trend? Yep – forget cupcakes. Who cares about frozen yogurt? Organic and sustainable is yesterday’s news.

It is all about doughnuts. Or donuts. Whatever.

The crystal ball is out and the tarot cards have been cast. I predict the rise of the popularity of the doughnut and for me, it happened the day that the New York Times road my coattails through a vat of hot oil to be drained and glazed and consumed.

Welcome, brethren, to the Secret Brotherhood. Secret decoders rings will be made and available for sale shortly. Order yours early; supplies are limited.

As part of the planned events surrounding the Birthday of The Ho was my abject desire to fry my own dough for the first time. At first, I thought of just trying some basic recipe just for experimentation purposes. Then I stumbled upon a Polish festival and learned about a glorious fried dough known as Pączki. I learned that the incredibly rich, egg-based, alcohol-laden pastries are rarely seen these days, even in “the old country.” The Poles I spoke with told me that because of the need for mass-production, very few pastry shops even bother with the authentic recipe and I knew that I had to. I hunted around and found what seemed a fairly decent recipe…

Ingredients
12 egg yolks (or six whole eggs)
1 teaspoon salt
2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup room temperature butter
1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
4 1/2 cups all purpose flower
1/3 cup rum or brandy
1 cup scalded whipping cream
1 1/2 cups preserves or cooked prunes, cooked apples, or poppy seed filling

oil for deep frying

1. Whisk egg yolks with salt with electric mixture on high until it lightens, approximately 7 to 10 minutes.

2. Please yeast in warm water to soften.

3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until sugar completely dissolves and mixture is light and fluffy.

4. Slowly add in the softened yeast.

5. Stir in one cup of flour with the rum/brandy and half the cream. Continue stirring until smooth.

6. Add another cup of flour and the remaining cream, beat until smooth.

7. Add another cup of flour with the egg mixture and beat until well-blended, at least two minutes.

8. Continually add in the remaining one-and-one-half cup of flour while blending until the dough begins to blister.

9. Cover and set in a warm place to rise, until dough has doubled in bulk.

10. Punch down and let rise again, until doubled in bulk.

11. Roll the dough out to 3/4 of an inch thick and cut into 3″ rounds.

12. Place a tablespoon of filling the center of one circle and top with a second circle. Seal with a bit of water.

13. Place on a lightly floured surface, cover, and let rise another 20 or 30 minutes.

14. Heat oil to 350º and fry the paczki  until they are golden brown on both sides.

15. Drain and sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with honey.

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