BEAVER TAILS

Baker Boulanger

A doughnut dough. Not too sweet, not too rich, stretched and briefly fried (forget a deep fryer - I use my wok and tongs).

A bread machine does a great job with this recipe.

Dough: Also: 1/2 cup warm water Oil for frying 5 tsps dry yeast Granulated sugar for dusting Pinch of sugar Cinnamon 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup warm milk 1 tsp vanilla 1-1/2 tsps salt 2 eggs 1/3 cup oil 4-1/4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour In a large mixing bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast and pinch of sugar. Allow to stand a couple of minutes to allow yeast to swell or dissolve. Stir in remaining sugar, milk, vanilla, salt, eggs, oil and most of flour to make soft dough. Knead 5 to 8 minutes (by hand or with a dough hook), adding flour as needed to form a firm, smooth, elastic dough. Place in a greased bowl. Place bowl in a plastic bag and seal. (If not using right away, you can refrigerate the dough at this point). Let rise in covered, lightly greased bowl, about 30 to 40 minutes. Gently deflate dough, (if dough is coming out of the refrigerator, allow to warm up about 40 minutes before proceeding). Pinch off a golf ball sized piece of dough. Roll out into an oval and let rest, covered with a tea towel, while you are preparing the remaining dough. Heat about 4 inches of oil in fryer (a wok works best but you can use a Dutch oven or whatever you usually use for frying). Temperature of the oil should be about 385F(195C). I toss in a tiny bit of dough and see if it sizzles and swells immediately. If it does, the oil temperature is where it should be. Add the beaver tails to the hot oil, about 1 or 2 at a time. BUT ...... before you do, stretch the ovals into a tail, thinning them out and enlarging them as you do. Turn once to fry until the undersides are deep brown. Lift beaver tails out with tongs and drain on paper towels