Traditional South African Fried Vetkoek
A traditional vetkoek is essentially a deep fried ball of dough that can be eaten as is or with practically any filling of your choice.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Cake Flour
- 2 to 3 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 x 10g packet Dried Yeast To ensure success when making vetkoek, the ideal amount of instant dry yeast is 10g (one standard sachet) for every 1kg of flour. If you are using a smaller batch, such as 4 to 5 cups of flour (approx. 500g–600g), use 2 teaspoons (roughly 7g to 10g) of instant dry yeast.
- 600 ml Water warm
- Butter
- Oil
Instructions
- Add the salt and yeast to the flour and stir with one hand and then mix with the lukewarm water. OR Mix warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to bubble slightly about 5 minutes.
- Sift flour and salt together in a large bowl.
- Pour water over flour mixture, butter your hands and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic 5 to 7 minutes. Or use your mixer with a dough hook and mix the dough at low speed (1-2), takes roughly 2–5 minutes, saving manual effort while ensuring smooth, elastic gluten development. Use a slow, consistent speed to avoid overheating dough or overwhelming the motor. Dough is ready when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If there are pieces of butter on your hands, just knead it in. Dough is ready when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth, and let the dough rise in a warm corner until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes, make sure it has doubled enough in volume.
- Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- When the dough is ready, knead it again, buttering your hands again, break a piece off, make a ball according to the size you want and quickly flatten. Fry flattened pieces of dough in the hot oil, 2 to 3 pieces at a time, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. When it feels light, you will know it is cooked.