Fried dough is a North American food associated with outdoor food stands in carnivals,

amusement parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

fairs A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

rodeos Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

, and

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

s. "Fried dough" is the specific name for a particular variety of fried bread made of a yeast dough; see the accompanying images for an example of use on carnival-booth signs. Fried dough is also known as fry dough, fry bread (

bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...

), fried bread, doughboys, elephant ears, beaver tails, scones, pizza fritte, frying saucers, and '' buñuelos'' (in the case of smaller pieces). These foods are virtually identical to each other and some yeast dough versions of

beignet Beignet ( , also , ; ) is a type of ''fritter'', or deep-fried pastry, usually made from yeast dough in France, possibly made from pâte à choux and called Pets-de-nonne, nun's fart, in France, but may also be made from other types of dough, i ...

s, and recognizably different from other

fried dough foods This is a list of fried dough foods. Many cultures have dishes that are prepared by deep frying dough in many various forms. Doughnuts are a type of fried dough food that are covered separately in the Wikipedia article List of doughnut varieties. ...

such as doughnuts or fritters.

Regional variants

Canadian cuisine Canadian cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices of Canada, with regional variances around the country. First Nations and Inuit have practiced their own culinary traditions in what is now Canada since time immemorial. The adve ...

, pieces of fried dough are sometimes called beaver tails. According to Bill Castleman, a writer of books on Canadian word origins, the name referred to quick-baked dough "especially in early 19th-century places where people might camp for one night and where there was no frying pan." In 1978, Pam and Grant Hooker of Ottawa, Ontario, founded the

BeaverTails BeaverTails is a Canadian restaurant chain, specializing in pastries known as BeaverTails, that is operated by BeaverTails Canada Inc. Its namesake products are fried dough pastries, individually hand stretched to resemble beaver's tails, wit ...

chain of restaurants specializing in the sale of fried dough pastries which are hand stretched to the shape of a beaver's tail. In Newfoundland, a province in Eastern Canada, fried dough is referred to as a "

touton Touton (or toutin) refers to a popular traditional dish from Newfoundland, most usually thought of as a pancake-like bread dough commonly made with risen dough. Although pancakes are rarely made from homemade bread dough in Newfoundland, the me ...

". A touton /ˈtaʊtən is produced by frying bread dough on a pan with butter or the leftover fat from " scrunchions" (fried preserved pork) and served with dark molasses, maple syrup, or corn syrup. It is traditionally made from leftover bread dough and pan-fried, as opposed to deep-fried. A smaller

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

variant common in North America is the ''

zeppole A zeppola (; plural: zeppole; sometimes called frittelle, and in Sardinia the italianized ''zippole'' or ''zeppole sarde'' from the original Sardinian ) is an Italian pastry consisting of a deep-fried dough ball of varying size but typically ...

.'' Similar food is found in Europe, also typically from outdoor stands in fairs. For example, in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, fried dough is known as ''languši'', in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

lángos Lángos () is a typical Hungarian food. Today it is a deep fried flatbread, but in the past it was made of the last bits of the bread-dough and baked at the front of the brick or clay oven, to be served hot as the breakfast of the bread-baking da ...

, in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

as kiachl, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Knieküchle Knieküchle is a traditional Austrian/German fried dough pastry that is very popular in Old Bavaria, Franconia, Western Austria, South Tyrol and Thuringia. Depending on region it has several other names, including ''Auszogne'', ''Krapfen'', ''Kü ...

while the oliebol is eaten in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In north Spain is typical of Carnival season and has a spiritual connection with it, just like 'roscón' in Christmas or 'arroz con leche' in Easter. A type of soft, fried dough ball frequently coated in sugar can be found in some Chinese restaurants in New York. These dough balls are referred to by any one of a number of names, including but not necessarily limited to "sugar biscuits", "Chinese doughnuts", or the simpler "fried bread". Turkic countries in Central Asia also have a similar food called

Boortsog Boortsog or bawïrsaq ( ba, бауырһаҡ, kk, бауырсақ; baýyrsaq , ky, боорсок , mn, боорцог , uz, boʻgʻirsoq , tr, kabarcık, pişi, bişi, tuzlu lokma, halka, tk, pişme) is a type of fried dough food fo ...

Pişi Boortsog or bawïrsaq ( ba, бауырһаҡ, kk, бауырсақ; baýyrsaq , ky, боорсок , mn, боорцог , uz, boʻgʻirsoq , tr, kabarcık, pişi, bişi, tuzlu lokma, halka, tk, pişme) is a type of fried dough food fou ...

. In New Zealand and other areas such as Hawaii, the

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several c ...

cook Parāoa Parai, a fry bread that is a traditional part of a

Matariki ), signalling the Māori new year., litcolor=, observedby=New Zealanders, nickname=, official_name=, alt=, image=M45 Pleiades Pbkwee (cropped to core 9 stars).jpg, relatedto=, date2022=24 June, date2023=14 July In Māori culture, Matariki is the ...

feast.

Preparation

Fried dough is made by

deep-frying Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Normal ...

a portion of risen

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

dough. The dough acquires an irregular, bubbly appearance from being fried. The dough may then be sprinkled with a variety of toppings, such as granulated sugar,

powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, p ...

, cinnamon, fruit sauce,

chocolate sauce Chocolate syrup is a sweet, chocolate-flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping or dessert sauce for various desserts, such as ice cream, or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk or blended with milk and ice cream to make a chocolate m ...

, cheese, maple syrup,

whipped cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, an ...

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (also known as ''salsa roja'' in Spanish or ''salsa di pomodoro'' in Italian) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are c ...

(with optional grated

Parmesan Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' ...

cheese),

garlic butter Garlic butter, also known as ''beurre à la bourguignonne'', is a compound butter used as a flavoring for many dishes or as a condiment.'' Larousse Gastronomique'' (1961), Crown Publishers(''Translated from the French, Librairie Larousse, Pari ...

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

, nuts, or a combination of these.

Gallery

File:Fried Dough Stand.jpg, Fried dough stand, New England File:RJ Stretching Tara's Fried Dough.jpg, Stretching dough File:Mixing Tara's Fried Dough.jpg, Mixing dough File:Fried Dough Toppings.jpg, Various toppings File:Fried Dough Sugar Table.jpg, Fried dough sugar table File:Seving Fried Dough.jpg, Plating fried dough File:Frying Tara's Fried Dough.jpg, Frying dough File:Stretching Tara's Fried Dough.jpg, Frying dough, uncooked

References

External links

St. Petersburg (Florida) Times article
Distinction between funnel cakes and elephant ears {{Doughnuts American desserts ! Canadian cuisine Canadian desserts

Regional variants

Preparation

Gallery

See also

References

External links