Made from our Perfectly Tender Flatbread Mix, this easy fried dough recipe yields airy, tender, and sugar-coated fried bread that will make you feel like you’re at the state fair. This recipe makes six medium-sized breads, each manageable to fry (and eat) at home, but if you’d like to make the larger-than-life carnival-sized treats, you can always make four. Finish them with cinnamon sugar or a generous dusting of confectioners’ sugar (or Snow White Non-Melting Sugar if you want the sugar to linger).
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To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flatbread mix, water or milk, and yeast. Knead the dough for 5 minutes on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough will be very soft and will not clean the sides of the bowl. It will resemble thick pancake batter at this point but will thicken as it rests.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a very well-floured surface. Using well-floured hands, pat it into a 10" x 8" rectangle, and divide it into 6 pieces.
Using additional flour on your work surface and hands, shape each piece into a ball, then gently flatten and stretch them into 5" circles about 1/4" thick.
To fry the fried dough: In a heavy-bottomed pot with sides at least 2" deep, fill the pot with at least 1" of oil. (If you are using a 10" diameter pan, you will need about 2 cups of oil.) Heat the oil to 350°F to 375°F.
Once the oil is hot, pick up one piece of dough and carefully lower it into the oil. Let it fry for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown on the bottom before turning it over and continuing to fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. When done, the fried dough should be puffy and golden brown all over.
Remove the fried dough from the oil and set it on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the frying and draining process until all the dough is fried.
To make the topping: In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
While the fried dough is still warm, toss them one at a time in the cinnamon sugar to completely coat. Serve warm.
Storage information: Store any leftover fried dough, lightly covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. Fried dough is best reheated in a 350°F oven until warm, about 10 minutes.
Tips from our Bakers
For larger pieces of fried dough, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces in step 3, stretch to 6" to 7" circles, and fry as described above.
