Fried dough is a
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n food associated with outdoor food stands in
carnival
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
s,
amusement parks,
fairs,
rodeos, and
seaside resorts. "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
Frybread (also spelled fry bread) is a flat dough bread, fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. Made with simple ingredients, generally wheat flour, sugar, salt, and fat, frybread can be eaten alone or with various toppings such a ...
(
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
beignets, and recognizably different from other
fried dough foods such as
doughnut
A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...
s or
fritter
A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...
s.
Regional variants
In
Canadian cuisine, 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 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
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, a province in Eastern Canada, fried dough is referred to as a "touton". A touton /ˈtaʊtən is produced by frying bread dough on a pan with butter or the leftover fat from "Pork rind, 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 cuisine, Italian variant common in North America is the ''zeppole.''
Similar food is found in Europe, also typically from outdoor stands in fairs. For example, in Croatian cuisine, Croatia, fried dough is known as ''languši'', in Hungarian cuisine, Hungary as lángos, in Austrian cuisine, Austria as kiachl, in German cuisine, Germany as Knieküchle while the oliebol is eaten in the Dutch cuisine, Netherlands. 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 or Pişi.
In New Zealand and other areas such as Hawaii, the Māori people cook Parāoa Parai,
a fry bread that is a traditional part of a Matariki feast.
Preparation
Fried dough is made by deep frying, deep-frying a portion of risen yeast 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, cinnamon, fruit sauce, chocolate sauce, cheese, maple syrup, whipped cream, tomato sauce (with optional grated Parmesan cheese), garlic butter, lemon juice, honey, butter, nut (fruit), 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
See also
* Beignet
* Funnel cake
* Puri (food), Poori
* Shelpek
* Youtiao
* Zeppole
* List of deep fried foods
* List of fried dough foods
References
External links
St. Petersburg (Florida) Times article Distinction between funnel cakes and elephant ears
{{Doughnuts
American desserts
Fried dough, !
Canadian cuisine
Canadian desserts