Sweet dough dishes
thin crisp dough pastries boiled in oil
festive home-baking tradition
Flour, eggs, sour cream, thin rolling, deep-frying, powdered sugar, Užgavėnės
Auselės, Crisp žagarėliai
What are žagarėliai?
Žagarėliai are thin dough pastries fried in fat and usually dusted with powdered sugar. The shape is usually made by pulling a strip of dough through a slit.
They belong to the field of festive home pastries: the preparation takes time, but the products are simple. According to the Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia, žagarėliai, like cookies and meduoliai, are baked from shortcrust or semi-shortcrust dough, which is why thinness and crispness are characteristic.
Užgavėnės context
Žagarėliai can be connected with the mood of late-winter and Užgavėnės fried foods, but they should not be called the only or required Užgavėnės dish.
The traditional principle is a filling food fried in fat before Lent.
The secret of crispness
The dough should be thin and the oil hot enough. If the oil is too cool, žagarėliai absorb fat and become heavy.
Rested dough rolls more easily, so there is no need to dust it with too much flour.
Serving and storage
Žagarėliai are best on the same day. They are served with tea, coffee, milk, or as a festive sweet snack.
They should be kept dry and not covered with a damp lid, otherwise they lose crispness.
Recipe
How to fry žagarėliai
For žagarėliai, the main points are very thinly rolled dough and properly heated oil. Dough that is too thick will be hard; oil that is too cool will make them absorb fat.
Ingredients
- 350 g wheat flour
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- 1 tbsp sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp spirit or vodka, if extra crispness is desired
- Oil for frying
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Method
- Beat the eggs with sugar, salt, sour cream, and spirit.
- Add the flour and knead an elastic dough. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Roll very thinly, cut into strips, make a slit in the middle of each strip, and pull one end through it.
- Fry in hot oil until golden.
- Drain and dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Spirit helps the dough absorb less fat, but it is not required.
Store fried žagarėliai in a dry place so they do not lose crispness.
