Vegan Italian Zeppole
These golden, sugar-dusted, fried dough bites are a classic Italian street food sweet, but can easily be prepared at home.
March 18, 2024
If you don’t feel like making homemade dough, store-bought pizza dough works great as a swap in for this recipe from the Plantiful cookbook. Eat immediately after dusting with sugar for the hot, melt-in-your-mouth classic zeppole experience.
What you need:
½ cup water, warmed (between 100 and 110 degrees)
1 (¼-ounce) packet active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for greasing
2 cups canola oil, for frying
¼ cup powdered sugar, for topping
What you do:
- Into a bowl, add water and sprinkle yeast over top. Add sugar and set aside to proof for 10 minutes, until foamy.
- In a large bowl, whisk flour and salt. Once yeast is foamy, add to bowl with olive oil. Mix with a wooden spoon, then, using hands, knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes, until a smooth ball forms.
- Oil a large bowl, and place dough in bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Once risen, in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, warm canola oil to 350 degrees. To form zeppole, scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a 1-inch ball. Repeat until all of dough has been used.
- Into saucepan, place zeppole and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, ensuring all sides are fried. Once golden, remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining zeppole.
- Place zeppole in a paper bag with powdered sugar and shake to coat. Enjoy warm straight from bag.
For more plant-based recipes like this, read:
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