Crostoli

Making Crostoli Ahead

Best on the day they are made. Keeps for 2 days in a tin, but loses its crispness.

Crostoli: The Method

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1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt. Add the eggs, butter, wine and lemon zest and knead for 5 minutes into a smooth dough.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

2. Wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

   Mark done Start 30 min timer

3. Roll the dough very thin, in batches, and cut into ribbons about 4 cm wide and 12 cm long. Cut a slit in the middle of each.

   Mark done

4. Heat the oil to 170°C / 340°F and fry a few at a time for 1 minute on each side until pale gold and blistered.

   Mark done Start 1 min timer

5. Drain on kitchen paper and dust with icing sugar.

   Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Worth Knowing

• Roll the dough until thin enough to see your hand through.
• Fry in small batches and keep the oil at 170°C / 340°F.
• Take them out while pale gold; they darken as they drain.

Why the Method Is What It Is

Roll it thinner than seems sensible. Crostoli are fried ribbons of pastry, and they are light and crisp only if the dough goes through the pasta machine, or under the rolling pin, until it is almost see-through. Thick dough fries heavy and tough.

The dough is made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter, a splash of white wine and lemon zest, and it is kneaded smooth and rested. Rest it for 30 minutes before rolling, so it stretches without springing back. Cut it into ribbons with a pastry wheel, make a small slit in the centre of each and, if wanted, pull one end through the slit to make a loose knot. Thin dough is crisp dough.

Fry a few pieces at a time in oil at 170°C / 340°F. They puff and blister within seconds and need only about a minute on each side. Lift them out onto kitchen paper while they are still pale gold, because they continue to darken. Dust them with icing sugar and serve the same day, as the crisp edge softens overnight. Serve with strong coffee.

Good Alongside

Sweet wine · Coffee · Hot chocolate · Fresh orange

If You're Missing Something

• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Crostoli FAQ

Crostoli Nutrition

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (how much frying oil the food takes up cannot be known from the recipe). Why some recipes have none.

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