Sfingi (fried dough)

Here is a recipe for a traditional Italian donut, called sfingi (makes approximately 28 donuts):

Pizza dough:

-  2 cups all-purpose flour

-  2 teaspoons granulated sugar

-  3/4 teaspoon salt

-  1 teaspoon active dry yeast

-  1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

-  2/3 cups warm water

Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, and yeast) in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Add in water and olive oil and knead.  Place in a separate bowl coated with extra virgin olive oil (in addition to the amount listed in the ingredients above), cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until the dough almost doubles in size.  This should take approximately 30 minutes.

Now it is time to fry the donuts.  You will need these additional ingredients:

-  vegetable oil for frying

-  1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

-  1 tablespoon granulated sugar

-  brown paper bag

Heat oil in a medium size sauce pan until it is hot enough for frying.  Separate the dough into small round piece and fry until lightly brown.  Remove from sauce pan and place onto a plate lined with a couple piece of paper towels to drain off excess oil.  Place the cinnamon and sugar in a brown paper bag and shake the warm dough in it, coating all pieces well.  Serve warm and enjoy!  Manga, manga!

*  Ingredients list 1 tablespoon each of the ground cinnamon and granulated sugar.  This is the total amount needed for all donuts.  If you place the donuts in bag as they are done frying and not all at once, use the cinnamon and sugar gradually.  Also, you can adjust the amount to your liking.