Scald milk and then allow it to cool until it is lukewarm.
Put yeast in the milk and set aside.
Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy and then add salt, eggs and flavorings.
Add flour and the milk-yeast mixture gradually, beating well.
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise until it doubles in size.
Punch it down and then let it rise again.
Place dough on a board and roll it out so that it is about half an inch thick, then cut it to size.
Using a cutter that is about 3 inches in diameter results in making the packzi, a little smaller than the ones typically found in stores, but you can make them as big as you want.
After cutting, let the dough "bench proof" by covering the pieces of packzi dough and letting it rise a little more, about 5 minutes.
Fry the dough in lard- or vegetable oil if you don't have any handy- for about 3 minutes before turning to the other side.
Ideally, the dough should float to the top as soon as it's placed in the oil.
Cooks should only turn the packzi once.
It's best to do this step in a deep fryer, but those without one can use a pan with sides that are at least 4 inches tall.
Basically, you want the oil to cover half the depth of the dough.
Place the fried dough on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb the excess grease and let it cool.
Julia's recipe calls for just a dusting of confectioners' sugar once the packzi have cooled, but bakers can add a filling too. Just place some jam into a pastry bag, poke a hole through the pastry and squeeze the bag until the filling comes out at the end.
Any fruit jam will work, but prune jam is more traditional.
High-quality seedless jam is the best kind to use in this recipe.
Ingredients
Directions
Scald milk and then allow it to cool until it is lukewarm.
Put yeast in the milk and set aside.
Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy and then add salt, eggs and flavorings.
Add flour and the milk-yeast mixture gradually, beating well.
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise until it doubles in size.
Punch it down and then let it rise again.
Place dough on a board and roll it out so that it is about half an inch thick, then cut it to size.
Using a cutter that is about 3 inches in diameter results in making the packzi, a little smaller than the ones typically found in stores, but you can make them as big as you want.
After cutting, let the dough "bench proof" by covering the pieces of packzi dough and letting it rise a little more, about 5 minutes.
Fry the dough in lard- or vegetable oil if you don't have any handy- for about 3 minutes before turning to the other side.
Ideally, the dough should float to the top as soon as it's placed in the oil.
Cooks should only turn the packzi once.
It's best to do this step in a deep fryer, but those without one can use a pan with sides that are at least 4 inches tall.
Basically, you want the oil to cover half the depth of the dough.
Place the fried dough on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb the excess grease and let it cool.
Julia's recipe calls for just a dusting of confectioners' sugar once the packzi have cooled, but bakers can add a filling too. Just place some jam into a pastry bag, poke a hole through the pastry and squeeze the bag until the filling comes out at the end.
Any fruit jam will work, but prune jam is more traditional.
High-quality seedless jam is the best kind to use in this recipe.
