Coccoli: The Perfect Party Dish
Coccoli are a traditional Italian deep-fried bread balls. Soft and insanely delicious these coccoli are perfect to eat with cheese and salami, making them an ideal choice for an appetizer with family and friends.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 227kcal
Equipment
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 Fork
- 1 Little bowl to wet the hand and the spoons
- 1 pan for deep-frying top diameter of 20 cm / 7.87402 inches and a base of 11 cm ⌀/ 4.33071 inches
- 1 Cooking thermometer
Ingredients
- 250 gr white bread flour (13% protein) 8.9 oz
- 2 gr fast active dry yeast 0.071 oz
- 190 ml water at room temperature 6.7 fluid oz
- ½ tsp maldon salt
For deep frying
- 1 and ½ litre peanut oil or sunflower oil
Instructions
- Add the flour and the yeast into a medium bowl. Give a mix with the fork to combine the yeast into the flour.
- Add the salt to the water and give it a stir. Pour the water into the flour and with a fork combine until water is absorbed. Finish combining by hand until you have a soft and sticky dough and no dry bits are left in the bowl.
- Wet the hand and release the bottom of the dough using your hand. *Grab the middle of the dough and stretch it high and fold the dough over itself and tuck. Repeat again. Do the same for the opposite side of the dough and repeat. Repeat again.
- Leave to *rise for 2 hours at 26°C/78.8°F, covered with a cling film. Repeat the coil folding technic for 3 times every 30 minutes. Wet the hand for every folding, to help you manage better the dough. The dough is ready when is double in size and has a few bubbles on top.
- Once the dough is ready to fry heat the oil in a pan. Check the temperature with a thermometer and when reaches 175°C to 180°C /347°F-356°F it is ready to use. Once the oil has reached the right temperature, turn the heat down to medium. Remember to keep the same temperature for all the frying steps by checking with a thermometer.
- Use two spoons to pick up the dough. Be sure to dip the spoons into the water each time you scoop out the dough, and use a tall glass filled with water to help you with it. This way the dough won't stick to the spoons and will be easier to slide into the oil.
- Scoop the dough with one spoon and very gently slide the dough into the oil with the help of the other spoon. Don't overcrowd the pan with too much coccoli. Just fry three coccoli for each batch for an even result. Be careful when managing hot oil.
- The dough will float immediately into the oil. Fry the coccoli for a total of 5 minutes for each batch. Be sure to turn the fried balls occasionally.
- They will be ready when they will have a golden color and are double in size. Drain the coccoli from the oil with a skimmer and drop them into a tray with some kitchen paper.
- Serve them when still hot with cheese and cured meat.
Notes
*Grab: here is the link to a visual action of the coil folding technique.
*Rise: an oven with a light on should do the work.
*Calories: the calories calculated in this recipe are just for the raw ingredients and don't calculate the oil absorption during the deep frying.
Can I fry the coccoli in the air fryer?
No, I wouldn't recommend it. The dough is very liquid and for this reason, it needs deep frying.
How to see if the oil is ready to deep fry the coccoli?
To see if the oil is ready to deep fry you can follow these steps:
- Thermometer: the most accurate way to see if the oil is ready, is to use a thermometer. I recommend choosing one that is suitable for frying. The oil is ready once the temperature reaches 175°C to 180°C /347°F-356°F. Remember to check and maintain the right temperature during the frying to prevent the food from burning.
- Bread test: if you don't have a thermometer, you can use the bread as a tester method. Drop a small piece of bread into the oil. If it immediately starts sizzling and browning, the oil is ready. While if it sinks and doesn't sizzle, the oil is not hot enough. On the other hand, if it browns too quickly or burns, the oil is too hot.
- Wooden test: another way to test, is to use the handle of a wooden spoon or a wooden chopstick. Once the oil is preheated place the handle of a wooden spoon or a wooden chopstick into the oil. If small bubbles start forming around the spoon's handle, the oil is hot enough. If the bubbles are very vigorous it means that the oil is too hot and needs to cool off a bite. On the other hand, if no or few bubbles pop up, then the oil is not hot enough.
Coccoli