Steps for making SWEET PETTOLE

• In a very large bowl pour the warm water (it’s sufficient to let hot water flow from your tap, no need to heat it on the stove), the sugar, and the crumbled fresh yeast.

  Mix well with a whisk until the yeast is completely dissolved.

• At this point, start adding the flour gradually, always stirring with the whisk.

  Continue stirring even after adding all the flour, for a few minutes, until you get a sticky dough but one that is fairly smooth and especially homogeneous.

  Note: as you may have noticed, I prefer, whenever possible, to start from water and yeast and then add the flour gradually; I find that it is much simpler than starting from all the flour and gradually incorporating the water. I also always get a better result and with fewer lumps without having to go crazy for 15-20 minutes by hand (or with a stand mixer) to make the dough homogeneous.

• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for about two hours.

  Since pettole are usually prepared during the Christmas holidays or in the cold season when house temperatures are quite low, I recommend placing the bowl in the oven turned off with the light on, so that the internal temperature of the oven aids rising.

• After two hours, if you see that the dough has at least doubled in volume and many bubbles have formed on the surface, you are ready to shape the pettole and fry them.

  Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan; make sure the pettole do not touch the bottom of the pan while frying, so you need to ensure a generous amount of oil.

  If you don’t have a food thermometer (but if you like frying, I highly recommend buying one, it costs just a few dollars) to check if the oil is hot, dip the tip of a wooden toothpick, and if it creates many tiny bubbles around it, then the oil is at the right temperature. However, there should be a lot of bubbles; if you see only a few, the oil is not ready yet.

  If you already have a thermometer: the oil should remain between 320 and 355 degrees Fahrenheit: these are the minimum and maximum limits to respect to achieve a good fry; if the temperature drops below 320 degrees, your pettole will be too greasy and soggy inside, while if the temperature rises above 355 degrees, the pettole will be too golden on the outside but raw on the inside.

  This applies not only to pettole, but to all fried foods! 😉

• Prepare a tray lined with absorbent paper near the pot, two tablespoons and a slotted spoon.

  When you have everything at hand, you can start frying: shape the pettole with two tablespoons; use one to scoop a bit of dough and the other to help slide it into the oil with a quick motion.

  To help prevent the dough from sticking too much to the spoons, you can briefly dip them in a small bowl full of water each time.

  The number of pettole you can fry at once varies depending on the size of your pot; generally, I would suggest not exceeding 4-5 pettole at a time, so that the oil temperature does not drop excessively.

  Drain the pettole with the slotted spoon when they are puffed and golden, remembering to turn them at least a couple of times during frying.

• Continue until all the dough is used up, then turn off the heat and, while they are still warm, roll your pettole in granulated sugar to make them sweet.

• And here are your Pugliese SWEET PETTOLE, serve them while still warm if you can!