Sopapillas
COUNTRY - MEXICO | REgion - Northern Mexico & Tex-Mex
Yield: 16 Prep Time: 50 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Ingredients
The Dough
204 g Water
1 Star Anise Pod
1 Cinnamon Stick
340 g All-Purpose Flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Kosher Salt
25.5 g Shortening
Recommended: Crisco
Norwegian Alternative: Delfiafett
300 - 400 g Frying Oil
Recommended: Vegetable, Rapeseed, or Canola Oil
The Topping
Note: These are recommended amounts. Use as much as you desire drizzled on top.
2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Honey
Recipe
In a small saucepan add the water, star anise pod, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil then cover with a lid. Let simmer for 15 minutes then remove from the heat and keep the lid on.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Using your fingers, pinch the shortening into the dry ingredients until the shortening clumps are smaller than a pea. (Similar to making a pie dough and rough puff pastry)
Ensure the water in the saucepan has cooled to about 43°C (or 110°F) and is warm to the touch but not hot. Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick pieces.
Laila’s Tip: If your water is much lower than the expected temperature then put it over heat for a few more seconds to warm it back up. If its too warm then place it in the fridge for a few seconds to cool it down.
Pour a small amount of the warm water into the dough. Start to work the dough with your fingers until the water is incorporated. Continue to work in small amounts of water until a bumpy and sticky dough is formed.
Place the dough on a floured surface and begin to knead it until it becomes smooth. (Roughly 6 minutes.)
Form the dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap or a towel. Let it rest on the counter for at least 25 minutes.
Laila’s Tip: To form a dough ball take two sides of the dough and fold them backwards so they meet. Pinch these together. Rotate the dough 90° and do this motion again. This creates a smooth top and a pinched bottom. Rest the dough ball on the pinched bottom.
After it has rested cut the dough ball into 4 pieces and form into smaller balls. On a lightly floured surface begin to roll out each ball with a rolling pin until they form a disc about 15 cm (or 6 in) wide and 33 mm (or ⅛ in) thick.
Cut each disc down the middle vertically and horizontally to form triangular pieces. There will be 16 pieces in total.
In a large pot, heat the frying oil over medium-low heat until it reaches and stays around 177°C to 182°C (or 350°F to 360°F).
Line a plate with paper towels and keep it nearby for the finished sopapillas to rest on.
Carefully place a few dough pieces into the oil. They should immediately start to inflate. Flip them once the corners start to turn golden brown. Take them out once fully cooked and light brown. (Approximately 1 minute per side.) Place them on the paper towels.
Laila’s Tip (Crowding): I highly recommend cooking one piece first to see if you need to make any adjustments before cooking the rest. Also don’t overcrowd the pot as cooking too many pieces at once can cause uneven cooking.
Laila’s Tip (Inflating): If your dough does not fully inflate and look like a balloon ready to pop then your dough is not thin enough or your oil is not within the temperature range.
To make the dough thinner, roll over your dough pieces with a rolling pin but be careful not to scrunch or overlap the dough (this would later cause issues with inflating evenly).
To make the oil the right temperature, adjust the stove’s heat and check the temperature of the oil with a instant-read thermometer. The oil will also cool down once dough is added so stay on the hotter end of the temperature range if you’re seeing a drastic temp change here.
Dust the sopapillas with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle over with honey or set it on the side for dipping. Serve immediately.
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Happy Baking!