Malassadas de Fim de Semana
Malassadas de Fim de Semana·(mah-lah-SAH-dash de feem de se-MAH-nah)
A Festa: Summer Feasts & The Holy Ghost Tradition
Saturday afternoon, 350-degree oil hits a cast-iron Dutch oven, paper bags pile up, and nobody wants perfectly round spheres. Authentic Azorean malassadas are rustic and irregular—stretched almost translucent in the center to create a shattering, crispy core surrounded by a pillowy rim. Grandmothers used a splash of potent grape moonshine to inhibit gluten and violently repel the frying oil, a chemical miracle we replicate here with cheap vodka. When the cold-fermented dough hisses, roll them in granulated sugar and eat them standing up.
Before you start
Whisk the remaining one and a half cups of sugar and the cinnamon together in a shallow dish.
Set a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet lined with paper towels right next to your frying station.
Ingredients
- warm water1/2 cup
- active dry yeast2 1/4 tsp
- granulated sugar1 tsp
- unbleached all-purpose flour4 1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- kosher salt1 tsp
- lemon1 large
- orange1/2 large
- eggs4 large
- whole milk1/2 cup
- fresh orange juice3 tbsp
- vodka2 tbsp
- unsalted butter4 tbsp
- vegetable oil8 cup
- granulated sugar1 1/2 cup
- ground cinnamon1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Proof the yeast by whisking it with the warm water and one teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl.
Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it foams heavily; if it doesn't, your yeast is dead and you need to start over.
- 02
Whisk the flour, a half cup of sugar, salt, and the citrus zests together in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- 03
Lightly beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then whisk in the warm milk, orange juice, melted butter, and vodka.
- 04
Pour the wet ingredients and the foamy yeast into the dry flour mixture.
Mix on low until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes. It should be wet, soft, and slightly sticky, clinging to the bottom of the bowl. Do not add extra flour.
- 05
Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
This cold fermentation slows the yeast to develop an incredible depth of flavor and firms up the butter, making the sticky dough miraculously easy to handle the next day.
- 06
Heat two to three inches of vegetable oil in a heavy Dutch oven to exactly 350°F.
Maintaining this temperature is critical; too cold and the dough becomes a greasy sponge, too hot and the outside will burn before the interior cooks.
- 07
Pinch off a golf ball-sized piece of cold dough and gently stretch it into a rough, irregular oval.
Using your fingertips, stretch the center of the dough so it is almost translucent and much thinner than the edges.
- 08
Carefully lay the stretched dough into the hot oil, dropping it away from you to prevent splashing.
The vodka will turn to steam instantly and sizzle violently. Fry two or three at a time for 60 to 90 seconds until deep golden brown, then flip and fry for another minute.
- 09
Move the fried malassadas to a wire rack for exactly thirty seconds, then toss them in the cinnamon sugar.
You want them to drain just long enough to shed excess oil, but remain hot enough for the sugar to cling to every craggy blister. Eat immediately.
Notes
The secret to a crisp, grease-free crust is the vodka.
In the Azores, grandmothers used high-proof aguardente. The ethanol inhibits gluten formation and vaporizes violently in hot oil, pushing the cooking fat away and leaving a shatteringly crisp exterior.
The authentic shape is crucial to the texture.
Do not roll these out with a pin or cut them into perfect circles. The irregular, hand-pulled edges and paper-thin center are what give a true malassada its contrasting textures of soft crumb and shattered crust.