On the pastry board make a cone of flour with a cavity on top (a fontana in Italian, i.e. "like a fountain"). Add the yeast previously diluted in lukewarm water, 1 tsp. of salt, the butter (softened and cut in pieces) in the center of the fontana and start to knead with enough lukewarm milk to obtain a rather soft dough. Knead for 15 mins. and then roll it out with a rolling pin, making a disk (or a square). Fold it in quarters, then roll out the dough again, and fold it again, repeating the process a total of five times. Roll the dough in jellyroll fashion and slice the resulting dough in 1 1/2-in. pieces (you can also cut each slice in half) and stretch it with the rolling pin so as to obtain a piece of dough 1/4-in. thick. Then cut into shapes each side 4-in. long (size can be altered if desired).
When you have finished cutting all the dough, heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan and then start frying the pieces of dough. Brown well on both sides. They will puff up and be an even, golden color. Drain, remove the excess fat by placing on paper towels and serve hot.
They can be served with various ingredients such as Parmigiano, prosciutto, salame, etc.; they can also be eaten for breakfast with coffee and milk. |
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