Fried dough sticks, as a treasure of our country’s traditional cuisine, are deeply loved by diners from all over the world for their golden, crispy skin and soft texture. It may seem like a complicated home-made recipe, but once you master the key points, you can easily make delicious fried dough sticks at home.

Material selection and proportioning

When making fried dough sticks, the choice of flour is crucial. High-gluten flour has strong gluten and high protein content, making the fried dough sticks very tough. Low-gluten flour has weak gluten and low protein content, making the fried dough sticks crispy. Therefore, the best ratio is to mix high-gluten flour and low-gluten flour in a ratio of 2:1.

Yeast is the key ingredient for fluffy dough sticks. Generally, 5 grams of yeast per 500 grams of flour is sufficient. The yeast is dissolved in warm water or milk at about 30 degrees to fully stimulate its activity. Add a little sugar to provide nutrients for the yeast to ferment quickly.

Dough kneading and fermentation

Pour the mixed flour into the yeast water, and add water while stirring until the flour forms a ball. Do not knead the dough vigorously to avoid excessive gluten formation and affecting the taste of the dough sticks. The surface of the dough is smooth and non-sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to ferment.

The fermentation time depends on the temperature, usually 1-2 hours. Ferment until the dough doubles in volume. There are even small air holes in the fermented dough. If you poke the dough with your hand, the depression will not rebound.

Rolling and shaping

Take out the fermented dough, knead it to deflate it, and then divide it into small pieces. Sprinkle a little dry flour on the cutting board to prevent sticking, and roll the dough into a long strip. Use even force when rolling the dough sticks to ensure consistent thickness.

Fold the rolled strip in half, press it in the middle with chopsticks, and then stretch both ends. Pinch both ends and stretch the dough stick into a twist shape.

Frying and draining

Heat the oil in a pan. When the oil temperature rises to 160-170 degrees, add the fried dough sticks. Use chopsticks to stir gently to prevent the dough sticks from sticking. During the frying process, keep turning the fried dough sticks to ensure even heating.

Fry until the surface of the fried dough sticks is golden and crispy, then remove and drain off excess fat. Freshly fried dough sticks are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, best eaten while hot.

Notes

Moisture content of the dough: Do not use too much water when kneading the dough to avoid the dough being too thin and affecting the taste of the dough sticks.

Fermentation time: If the fermentation time is too short, the internal structure of the dough sticks will not be fluffy; if the fermentation time is too long, the dough sticks will become sour.

Oil temperature: If the oil temperature is too low, the dough sticks will easily absorb oil and taste soft; if the oil temperature is too high, the dough sticks will easily burn.

Frying time: The frying time should not be too long to prevent the fried dough sticks from becoming bitter.

Drain the oil: The fried dough sticks should be drained of excess oil in time to prevent them from softening.