Placinta - Fried Dough

My mom would make these as a treat when we were young.  She would use dough leftover from making cinnamon buns.  I didn't know how to spell "Placinta" so I turned to Goggle.  It turns out, that Placinta is often stuffed with pumpkin or plums or some savory mixture.  We never had the stuffed ones, so I only have a recipe for the plain fried ones. According to recipes I found on the Internet, most stuffed Placinta are baked but some may be fried.

Placinta (a Romanian word) has many names around the world - fried dough, fry bread, elephant's ears, beaver's tails, doughboys, dough gobs and many more. 

They sometimes turn up at fairs and exhibitions and are covered with pie filling.  Most often they are sprinkled with sugar or a sugar/cinnamon mix.

I use the recipe from my Purity Cookbook for Basic Sweet Dough.

Ingredients

1 c milk

1/3 c plus 1 tsp sugar

2 tsp salt

1/3 c shortening

1/2 c lukewarm water

1 pkg yeast

1 egg

5 1/2 to 6 c flour

Scald milk and pour into a bowl with shortening (I use marg), salt and 1/3 c sugar.  Stir until shortening is melted and cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve 1 tsp sugar in 1/2 c lukewarm water.  Sprinkle on yeast and let stand 10 minutes.

Stir briskly and add to milk mixture along with beaten egg.  Stir well.

Beat in flour until able to turn onto floured board and knead for 5 minutes.  (I use my Cuisinart and add flour bit at a time until the dough forms a ball and doesn't stick to the sides.  I then let it knead for 5 minutes.) 

Shape into a smooth ball.

Place dough in greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until double in a warm place.  (I put mine bowl in the oven with the oven light on - it stays warm and is out of drafts.)

Cut off a small chunk of dough and roll it into a flattened circle.  You don't have to be exact.

I roll mine all out before I start frying them so the grease doesn't smoke too much.  I get 9 pieces from the above recipe.

In a deep frying pan melt 1/2 c of lard and keep it at a high heat.  The amount of lard depends on your size of fry pan as you want it halfway up the side of your Placinta when you are frying them.

Do not leave the pan for a second.  These take less than a minute a side.  Be careful when you turn them so you don't splash yourself with the hot grease.

  

Continue frying and flipping them until they are all cooked.  You can see how the shapes are different so perfect circles don't matter.

Drain them on paper towels to remove excess grease.

Sprinkle them with sugar or sugar and cinnamon and eat warm.

As I mentioned at the beginning, some places serve them topped with pie filling.

I like mine with sugar.  Some people also eat them with jam or honey. 

Try some Placinta, Elephant Ears, Doughboys or whatever you want to call them.  Enjoy! ;)