Grostoli (Fried Ribbon Sweet)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Rolling pin or pasta machine
• •Pastry wheel or sharp knife
• •Heavy 3-liter pot or deep skillet
• •Deep-fry thermometer, optional but useful
• •Tongs or slotted spoon
• •Wire rack or paper towels

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the base

   Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and citrus zest, if using, in a large bowl. Whisk for 30 seconds, until everything looks evenly mixed. This spreads the salt and leavener through the flour so you don't get bitter pockets or flat corners. Baking powder here is doing one small leavening job; it's not a packet pretending to be flavor.

2. 2

   Make the dough

   Add the eggs, melted butter, cachaça or vinegar, and 1/4 cup milk. Stir with a fork until the dough turns shaggy, then squeeze it with your hand. If dry flour stays at the bottom, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead in the bowl or on the counter for 5 minutes, until smooth, firm, and barely tacky. Too wet and you'll keep feeding it flour; too dry and it cracks when you roll.

   The cachaça or vinegar helps the dough fry crisp and light. You won't taste vinegar in the finished grostoli, so don't get dramatic over one tablespoon.
3. 3

   Rest the dough

   Shape the dough into a ball, cover it with a clean towel or an upside-down bowl, and let it rest for 20 minutes. When you press it, it should feel relaxed, not tight and springy. Resting lets the flour hydrate and the dough stop fighting you, which means thinner ribbons and less muttering at the rolling pin.

4. 4

   Roll it thin

   Divide the dough into 4 pieces and keep the pieces you're not using covered. Lightly flour the counter and roll one piece at a time into a very thin sheet, about 1 to 2 mm thick, thin enough that the counter color almost shows through. Use only enough flour to stop sticking. Too much loose flour burns in the oil and leaves bitter specks.

5. 5

   Cut and twist

   Cut the sheet into strips about 3 cm wide and 10 cm long. Make a small slit in the center of each strip, pull one end through the slit, and gently straighten it into a twisted ribbon. The twist gives you thin edges that crisp quickly and a thicker middle that still has a tender bite. It also makes the plate look like someone cared, without turning this into a performance.

6. 6

   Heat the oil

   Pour the oil into a heavy pot so it comes about 5 cm up the sides. Heat it to 175°C (350°F), or drop in a tiny scrap of dough: it should bubble right away, rise to the surface, and turn golden slowly, not brown in ten seconds. Oil that's too cool makes greasy grostoli. Oil that's too hot browns the outside before the dough dries inside.

   A thermometer is the honest shortcut here. Use one if you have it. If you don't, test with dough scraps and adjust the heat between batches.
7. 7

   Fry in batches

   Fry 4 to 5 ribbons at a time, turning once, until pale gold with darker bubbled edges, about 45 to 60 seconds per side. Don't crowd the pot. Too many pieces drop the oil temperature, and then the dough drinks oil instead of crisping. Lift them out with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack or paper towels.

8. 8

   Dust while warm

   Mix the 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow bowl. While the grostoli are still warm, toss or sprinkle them with the cinnamon sugar until lightly coated. Warm pastry holds the sugar better; cold pastry lets it slide off like it has somewhere else to be. Eat a few right away. That's not greed, that's quality control.

Chef Tips

• •Roll thinner than your courage tells you. Thick grostoli fry up bready and heavy; thin ones blister, crisp at the edges, and still keep a tender center.
• •The dough can be rolled with a pasta machine if you have one. That's a fair shortcut because it saves time without changing the food. The cost is one more tool to clean.
• •Don't use a boxed fried-dough mix for this. You already have the recipe: flour, eggs, milk, butter, and a little patience. A gente is here to cook, not pay someone to pre-measure flour badly.
• •Let the oil recover between batches. If the next ribbon sinks and sits there sadly, wait a minute. Frying is less about rushing and more about keeping the pot steady.
• •Store only once completely cool. Warm grostoli trapped in a container go soft from their own moisture, and then you'll blame the recipe instead of the lid.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rest in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before rolling so it doesn't crack.
• •Cut and twisted ribbons can wait, lightly floured and covered with a towel, for up to 1 hour before frying.
• •Fried grostoli keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. To refresh them, warm in a 160°C (325°F) oven for 5 minutes, then cool before covering again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 18g)