Directions: |
Directions:Sift flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Scald half the milk and cool to lukewarm, add a pinch of sugar and dissolve the yeast in the mixture. Pour into the well, mix with the flour and let rise for a half hour or so in a warm place.
Melt the butter, add the rest of the milk to warm it, then add to the sponge along with the sugar, salt and eggs. Beat well until the dough is very light and elastic. It shouldn't be a stiff dough, sometimes a little more milk may be needed. The beating is very important.
Let the dough rise again for about 45 mins in a warm place until doubled. Measure this on your bowl, don't try to use the fingertip test as you would with bread dough.
Work the dough down. On a floured board, roll out a small portion of the dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness. With a pastry wheel, cut dough into strips two inches wide. Then cut each strip diagonally into three or four pieces. Rest the cut kuechels on a clean towel in a warm place for about 10 mins to rest. A slight crust forms over the top. In the meantime, heat the deep fat in which they are to be fried. The fat should be hot, but not so hot it smokes. Drop in one keuchel to test. It should puff up immediately and brown on one side in about a minute. If it tests all right, put in about 6 at a time to fry.
Put the keuchels into the fat upside down, so that the more elastic side is uppermost in the fat. This is so the kuechels can puff up easily without cracking.
When the kuechels are nice and brown, it takes about a minute on each side, but may vary so watch them carefully, take them out with a slotted spoon and drain on plates lined with paper towels. Roll them in granulated sugar. |
This recipe for Fastnacht Kuechels is from