This traditional Albanian fried dough has a sweet and savory combo that's sure to switch up the usual brunch menu.
Almost every Albanian can remember waking up on a Sunday morning to the smell of krofne when they were a kid. Krofne (or petulla) can be made as a donut or a simple fried dough that's typically served for brunch with a side of ajvar, feta cheese, or jam (as seen above).
Ingredients
5.5 Cups of Flour
⅓ Cup of Yeast
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
5 Tablespoons of Vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon of Salt
1 Cup of Warm Milk
2 Eggs
1 Cup of Water
*Serves 6 people
Mix it together. . .
To yield the best results, I like to begin by mixing all of the wet ingredients first, such as the water, milk, oil, and eggs. Next, I take my dry mixture and slowly begin pouring small amounts into the mixture, simultaneously stirring as I add more.
Let it rise. . .
When the ingredients are mixed together, the dough shouldn’t feel too sticky or be difficult to ball up. If that's the case, just add more flour. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, allowing it to rise.
Roll it out. . .
After 30 minutes, take the dough out of the bowl and place it onto a floured surface (to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface).
Divide the dough into 4 equal sections. Take 1 of the sections and roll the dough out until it is about a centimeter thick.
Cut them into circles or any fun shapes.
Keep repeating these steps until all of the dough is cut up.
Time to fry them!
Once again, you're going to leave the dough to rise for another 15 minutes on the floured surface. If it takes you a lot longer to do the previous step, you can start by grabbing from the first krofne you cut since it's had time to rise.
In the meantime, you can start preparing your frying pan (Please make sure this is out of a child’s reach. Hot oil is dangerous and can severely burn your skin). Fill up about 1/4 of the frying pan with vegetable oil (this just depends on your pan's size and if there's enough oil to fry the krofne).
When the oil is hot, begin adding as many krofne into the pan. Just keep an eye on the pan as these hollow donuts fry quickly. When they are done, the krofne should have a dark, golden brown color. Place them on a plate with paper towel to soak up any excess oil.
Finishing touches!
If you want a sweeter dish, sprinkle the krofne lightly with sugar right after they're done frying. You could also leave them as is since they're already a little sweet. I like serving krofne with Ceylon tea, as well as ajvar, feta cheese, or jam, as mentioned earlier.
I hope that you will enjoy this dish with your family and friends like I do!
Enjoy! Ju bëftë mirë!
Images by Vesa.
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