Polish Fried Dough Strips | Faworki
A twisted, fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar. This dessert is traditionally eaten on Fat Thursday in Poland, alongside Pączki.
Ingredients
- 400 g all-purpose flour 3⅓ cups
- 1 heaping tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp vodka (or other spirit)
- 120-236 ml sour cream ½-1 cup
- 1.5 liters frying oil (canola, soybean, peanut, lard, etc)
- 200-400 g powdered sugar 1¾-2¾ cups
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder, and then make a well in the center.
- Add the eggs, lightly beaten, along with the vodka. Roughly mix this together with a fork.
- Begin adding in the sour cream. Start by using a fork to roughly incorporate the cream into the dough, and then switch to your hands when it becomes too difficult to use a fork. Add a little bit of sour cream at a time, paying attention to how it is affecting the dough. You may find it easiest to dump the contents of your bowl onto the table and knead everything together like bread.
- Knead enough sour cream into the dough to make a smooth, elastic dough that doesn't stick to your hands.
- Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Set these aside at room temperature while you prepare your oil for frying.
- Pour the oil into a large shallow pot and fit the side of the pot with a candy/frying thermometer. Turn the heat to medium to allow it to slowly heat while you roll out and cut your dough. Periodically check your oil to make sure it does not rise above 350℉ / 176℃. Place a couple of baking sheets on the counter next to your pot and line them with paper towels. This will be where your dough will drain after frying.
- Roll out your dough on a well-floured surface into a large rectangle. You want it to be about ¼ inch or 6 mm thick. Cut diagonal strips of dough about 1½ inches / 3¾ cm wide, and 3-4 inches / 7-10 cm long. Make a small vertical slit in the center of each strip. Pick up the dough and thread once side through the slit. Gently pull until the center pulls through into ribbon-y waves. Place your finished strips onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bring your baking sheet with the finished strips of dough to your pot of hot oil. When the oil reaches 350℉ / 176℃, place 5-6 strips of dough into the oil to fry at a time. Keep a close eye on the temperature. If it gets too cool, the dough will become oily. If it gets too hot, they will burn. As you continue to add dough to the oil, it will cool down, so you will need to continually adjust the heat to keep it within 5-10° of the 350℉ / 176℃ mark.
- When the bottom of the dough strips turns golden brown, use a skewer to flip them over for about 30 seconds, or until the top evenly browns as well. Remove the finished pieces with a spider whisk to your paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain and cool.
- When all of your strips of dough have been fried, dust them heavily in powdered sugar, and toss them to coat all sides. Eat these the day they are made, as they will likely lose their crunch the next day.