Elephant Ears

Elephant ears…..

We had fun with that name …

The first time I remember eating them was in St. Augustine Florida….  A piece of fried dough the size of a small baby came out on a plate…

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My three oldest larva was pretty small then and was thoroughly upset when we told them that it was real elephant ears we were eating… I am sure a few of them were crying and I am pretty sure I was laughing…. It took a few minutes to convince them we were joking and soon they were scarfing them down….

And as horrible parents we are, we would repeat the cycle the next time we would get them…

So as I was trolling for recipes a few days ago I came across “fried  dough”. Those memories of Elephant ears came flooding back and since the best Pizza Joint around is over 900 miles away, I had to make them myself… 

I wont bother sharing my first attempt since it was a flop and a waste of flour, but the second attempt was way better…. Not perfect but close enough

Milk and butter

Melted milk and butter… I got distracted and my milk got pretty hot so I set it in a pan of cold water to cool the whole shebang down…. It took about 3 minutes

Add the yeast

Give it a good stir  and let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes

This only took about 4 minutes since it is about 900 degrees outside and yeast in my house is having a party… ( the more you bake bread, the more yeast spores are living in your kitchen… creating a faster rising time and friendlier bread environment)

Add the yeast mixture and one cup of flour in mixing bowl

Add one cup at a time your flour until all mixed in..Cover and let rise until doubled

After 15 minutes of rising….

30 minutes of rise time it is doubled… ( I thought I was gonna have more time to lay around)

Divide into 8 equal pieces and roll out to ¼ thickness

In two inches of oil, fry for 60 seconds on each side…

Drain on paper towels or if your like me and too cheap to buy them, a colander

What happens when you are on the phone while you try and make these…

Dust with powder sugar or if you want savory omit the sugar….

Print Recipe

Recipe:

1 1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. salt

2 tablespoons dry yeast

2 tbsp. sugar

6 tbsp. butter

4 c. flour

Oil for frying

Powdered sugar, sifted

Cinnamon/sugar mix

Heat but do not boil milk, sugar, and butter until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm. Add yeast and stir until dissolved. Add salt and stir in flour 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after reach addition.

Put into greased bowl. Cover with damp cloth, let rise until double. Dust hands with flour. Pinch off pieces of dough size of golf ball. Stretch into 6-8 inch circle. Drop into hot oil in pan large enough to fry 6-8 pieces. Fry until pieces rise, turn with tongs and fry until light brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with desired topping