Italian Donuts Graffe - Zeppole Di Carnevale

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These fried pillowy Italian donuts Graffe are one of the many traditional fried desserts we eat at Carnival, also called Zeppole di Carnevale. Their dough is made with potatoes, flour, milk, butter, eggs, a small amount of sugar, and yeast. They are flavored with lemon zest, deep-fried in oil, and served with a coat of granulater sugar. This type of Italian doughnut is crispy on the outside and soft inside, and in Naples, it is a special treat for Carnival.

Italian donuts Graffe, Zeppole di Carnevale piled on a basket

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Zeppole di Carnevale vs Zeppole di San Giuseppe
Ingredients
Instructions
Making the dough
How to serve them
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
FAQ
📋Italian Donuts Graffe - Zeppole Di Carnevale

Understanding the difference between deep-fried dough and fried donuts can be confusing.

There are many fried Italian treats in different parts of Italy.

Fried dough is a savory deep-fried pizza dough made with only flour, yeast, and water. Here are the most common recipes made with fried dough: Fried Pizza, Fried Calzone Panzerotto, Crispelle also called Zeppole di pasta cresciuta
Fried donuts are deep-fried sweets. In Italy, there are various versions and recipes of fried donuts completely different from each other depending on the region of Italy where they originated:
- Graffe, Zeppole di Carnevale (NOT Zeppole di San Giuseppe), from Naples
- Bomboloni, from Tuscany
- Castagnole, various regions from the center of Italy
- Bignole, from Piemonte
- Sfingi from Sicily
- Fritole from Venice

Most of them are Carnival treats when Italians indulge in fried and rich food before Lent starts: 40 days of dietary restrictions, prayers, and reflection to commemorate the time Jesus spent fasting in the desert.

I will, with time, give you the recipes for all the Italian doughnuts, but I want to start with my favorites.

Graffe are very different from the other Italian fried donuts as potatoes are also mixed into the dough.

The mashed potatoes give these donuts a smoother, fluffier inside, while the outside remains crispy and firm.

This zeppola recipe is from my Neapolitan friend: Eliana De Matteis, and you can follow her on Facebook.

Other fried desserts you can find in Italy during Carnival are Italian fried bow-tie cookies, struffoli, cannoli with ricotta filling.

Italian donuts Graffe, Zeppole di Carnevale covered with sugar

Zeppole di Carnevale vs Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Even if they have the same name, these Zeppole di Carnevale are not the same as Zeppole di San Giuseppe.

While Zeppole di Carnevale are made with a yeast dough of potatoes and flour, Zeppole di San Giuseppe are made with choux puff pastry, the same pastry used for eclairs or beignets.

While Zeppole di Carnevale are served just coated with sugar and are typical during Carnival in February, the Zeppole di San Giuseppe can be baked or fried and are served filled with custard cream.

These last ones are typical for San Joseph Day when we celebrate all fathers in March.

Zeppole di Carnevale

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Ingredients

To make the dough for the Graffe you need the following ingredients:

Potatoes: here, we use five medium potatoes, which give us a weight of approximately 1 lb - 500 gr.
Flour: all-purpose flour is best for this recipe, but you can also use pastry flour
Milk: the amount of milk will depend on the consistency of the dough based on the potatoes and the flour. It will be added gradually until the right consistency is achieved.
Butter: we use butter for simplicity but traditionally, lard was used
Sugar: in the dough, there are only two tablespoons of sugar. The dough is not very sweet. It is the sugar used for coating the donuts that makes them sweet.
Fresh eggs: I have chickens for my eggs, so indeed, fresh
Lemon zest: make sure you use non-treated lemons. You can also use orange zest.
Yeast: I prefer to buy dried yeast as it last longer. You can use fresh yeast but ensure it is still active
Oil for deep frying: I use sunflower oil as it is lighter and has a higher smoke point than olive oil. You can also use other vegetable oil with high smoke points like canola oil or peanut oil.

See recipe card for quantities.

Hint: the amount of milk will depend on the size and type of potatoes. The amount on the recipe card is used only as a reference.

Instructions

To make these fried donuts, we proceed as follows: first, we prepare the dough and shape the donuts. Once shaped, they have to rest for 2 hours before frying them. Ensure you allocate enough time to make them.

Prepare the potatoes

Boil the potatoes until they are cooked. For medium potatoes, it would take about 20 minutes

grind the potatoes with an electrical grinder

Grind the potatoes while still warm

Hint: here, I use an electric grinder that automatically separates the skin.

grind the potatoes with a manual grinder

If you use a manual grinder, you need to peel the potatoes before grinding them

Let the potatoes cool down slightly

Activate the yeast

DO NOT use all the milk in this step.

The total amount of milk to use depends on the consistency of the dough, and it can vary based on the type of potatoes you use.

Only use half of the milk (half the quantity in the recipe card) to activate the yeast.

In a small bowl slightly warm up half of the milk and melt the butter in it

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and let it rest for a few minutes to activate.

Hint: Ensure the milk is at a lukewarm temperature. If the temperature is too high, the yeast will not activate

Prepare the dry ingredients

In the meantime, prepare the dry ingredients by adding the lemon zest to the flour

and the sugar

Making the dough

Adding the dry ingredients to the potatoes

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients to the potato

Stir roughly with a fork and make a well in the center

Add the eggs to the center

Roughly combine them with a fork

Adding milk, butter and yeast in the center

Add the milk with the butter and the activated yeast mixture in the center

Combine with a fork until most of the liquid is absorbed

Roughly combine with a fork until most of the liquid is absorbed

At this point, the dough is dry enough to use your hands

Knead the dough with your hands to feel the consistency

The dough should be moderately stiff and not sticky. If it is too firm, add more milk

The dough is now done

Hint: if you have made other donuts dough before, you will feel this dough is much softer than dough without potatoes

Shape the donuts

Place enough flour on a flat surface

Cut the dough into half, then quarters

Cut into small pieces and roll the dough into strips

Shape them into rounds

or into ribbons

Line them up on the well-floured surface

Line them up on the well-floured surface

Cover with a cloth

Let them rest for 2 hours to let the dough rise

Frying the donuts

You can use a deep fryer if you make a large quantity. Here for simplicity, I used a regular pan.

Place the frying oil in a pan and bring it to high heat, about 355 F - 180 C

Place one donut in the hot oil to make sure the oil temperature is high enough to fry

After a few seconds, the donut will float to the surface

With a slotted spoon, turn it around to cook it evenly on both sides until golden brown.

If the oil is warm enough, you can fry a few donuts at the same time

Place them on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil

Place them on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil

Coat them with powdered sugar while they are still warm

They are ready to serve

How to serve them

They can be served as they are or topped with jam.

They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The potatoes give them an exceptional internal smoothness you do not find in other donuts.

Equipment

These tools will make this recipe easier to make, but they are not essential:

Electrical vegetable strainer and grinder: I use the KitchenAid electrical strainer that separates the skin when straining the potatoes. As an alternative, you can peel the potatoes while still warm and strain them with a manual grinder
Electric mixer with a dough hook attachment to make the dough, but you can easily make it by hand
A deep fryer is convenient if you are frying a large quantity of food; otherwise, you can use a regular pot.

Storage

These donuts do not store well; they are best if eaten the same day.

The next day they are still good to eat, but they will not be as delicious.

Top tip

The amount of milk used in this recipe will depend on the size and type of potatoes. The amount on the recipe card is used only as a reference.
I use an electric grinder in this recipe that automatically separates the skin. If you use a manual grinder, you must peel the potatoes by hand before grinding them.
Do not boil the potatoes already peeled as they will absorb too much water
Only use half of the milk (half the quantity in the recipe card) to activate the yeast.
Ensure the milk is at a lukewarm temperature. If the temperature is too high, the yeast will not activate
Knead the dough with your hands to feel the consistency in case you need to add more milk
If you have made other donuts dough before, you will feel this dough is much softer than dough without potatoes
When you start frying, place only one donut in the oil to make sure the oil is warm enough to fry. After, you can place more donuts at each time, depending on the size of the pan
Coat them with sugar while they are still warm

FAQ

What is the difference between zeppole and fried dough?

Zeppole in the Neapolitan dialect means round, and it is used to describe various food, and not all Zeppole are fried dough. There are 3 main types of Zeppole: Zeppole di pasta cresciuta are savory fried dough made with a fluid yeast dough of flour and water. Zeppole di Carnevale are sweet fried dough made with flour, egg, milk, butter and mainly mashed potatoes, while Zeppole di San Giuseppe are sweet made with choux pastry, also called puff pastry, they are not fried but baked and filled with custard. Fried dough, instead, is a savory pizza dough served as an appetizer. It can be served as pizza fritta Montanara, Panzerotto or crispelle

What does Zeppola mean in Italian?

Zeppola is a wedge of wood or metal to bloc a door, but it is not related to the origin of the dessert's name. The name for the pastry is probably derived from the Latin serpula, which means snake and resembles the shape of the pastry.

What is zeppole dough made of?

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Italian Donuts Graffe - Zeppole Di Carnevale

Zeppole di Carnevale vs Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Ingredients