Sweet Carnival pizzettes are soft fried dough treats rolled in sugar, made with leftover pizza dough. They are simple yet very delicious, often made in my home alongside other typical Carnival sweets, such as chiacchiere and sanguinaccio, but also on special occasions, like birthdays and name days. I often prepare them specifically for Saturday nights or Sunday after lunch.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 5 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 15/18
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Carnival
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 tsp fresh yeast
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 packet vanillin
- as needed vegetable oil for frying
- as needed granulated sugar for dusting
Tools
- 2 Bowls
Preparation
Pour half of the room temperature water into a large bowl and dissolve the yeast in it. Add the sifted flour and give it a quick stir. Then add the rest of the water, fine salt, a generous teaspoon of granulated sugar, and the vanillin (these are both optional and I only add them if I’m making this dough specifically sweet for the pizzettes) and knead well until you get a soft and smooth dough. Since not all flours absorb liquids the same way, you may need to add another tablespoon or teaspoon of water to the dough.
Form it into a ball, cover it very well and let it rise until doubled (the times depend greatly on room temperature, in my case it took about 4 and a half hours).
When the dough has risen, carefully turn it over onto a lightly floured work table and shape it into a rope from which we’ll cut balls weighing about 1 oz each (they will double in volume when fried). Round them with your hands to form small spheres and let them rise for another hour, well covered and spaced apart.
After an hour, heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick pan with high sides.
Put the sugar in a small bowl.
When the oil is hot, take a ball and flatten it with your fingers, as if to give it the shape of a mini pizzette, and drop it into the hot oil. Turn it several times until it is puffed and golden (a couple of minutes), without letting it darken too much, as they would become hard on the outside. Continue until all the dough spheres are used up.
When each pizzette is ready, drain it from the oil, roll it in the granulated sugar, and then place it on a serving plate.
Tip: Since granulated sugar absorbs moisture, after the third or fourth pizzette it will become soaked with oil and tend not to stick to the surface of the treat anymore. That’s why it’s better to roll each individual pizzette in a teaspoon of sugar added at the moment.
