Fried dough

This article is about a particular kind of food that is known by the specific name "Fried dough". For a comprehensive overview of many different foods that are all made by frying kinds of dough, see List of fried dough foods.

Fried dough

Fried Dough Toppings.jpg Various fried dough toppings
Origin
Alternative name(s)	fry dough fry bread fried bread doughboys elephant ears scones frying saucers buñuelos beaver tails
Place of origin	Canada
Details
Course served	Breakfast, dessert, or snack
Serving temperature	Warm
Main ingredient(s)	Yeast dough
Variations	zeppole and others

Fried dough is a North American food associated with outdoor food stands in carnivals, amusement parks, fairs, rodeos, and seaside resorts (though it can be made at home). Fried dough is the specific name for a particular variety of fried bread made of a yeast dough; see the accompanying images for an example of use on carnival-booth signs. Fried dough is also known as fry dough, fry bread, fried bread, doughboys, elephant ears, scones, frying saucers, buñuelos in the case of smaller pieces. These foods are virtually identical to each other, and recognizably different from other fried dough foods such as doughnuts, beignets, or fritters.

In Canada, pieces of fried dough are sometimes called beaver tails. According to Bill Castleman, a writer of books on Canadian word origins, the name referred to quick-baked dough "especially in early 19th-century places where people might camp for one night and where there was no frying pan." In 1978, Pam & Grant Hooker of Ottawa, Ontario founded the BeaverTails chain of restaurants specializing in the sale of fried dough pastries which are hand stretched to the shape of a beaver's tail.

A smaller Italian variant common in North America is the zeppole.

Similar food is found in Europe, also typically from outdoor stands in fairs. For example, in Croatia fried dough is known as languši, in Hungary as lángos, in Austria as kiachl, in Germany as Knieküchle while the oliebol is eaten in the Netherlands.

Preparation

Fried dough is made by deep-frying a portion of risen yeast dough. The dough acquires an irregular, bubbly appearance from being fried.

The dough may then be sprinkled with a variety of toppings, such as granulated sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, fruit sauce, chocolate sauce, cheese, maple syrup, whipped cream, tomato sauce, garlic butter, lemon juice, honey, butter, nuts, or a combination of these.

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  Fried Dough Stand - New England

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  Stretching Dough To Be Fried

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  Mixing Dough To Be Fried

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  Various Fried Dough Toppings

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  Fried Dough Sugar Table Where Toppings Are Added

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  Plating Fried Dough

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  Frying Fried Dough

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  Frying Fried Dough - Uncooked

See also

• Beignet
• Fried dough foods
• Frybread, a food of Native Americans
• Youtiao
• Funnel cake
• List of deep fried foods
• Zeppole

External links

• St. Petersburg (Florida) Times article, Distinction between funnel cakes and elephant ears