Craving fair food without the fair price tag? This simple homemade fried dough gives you that hot, crisp-outside, tender-inside treat in minutes with pantry basics and a couple inches of oil. Dust it with powdered sugar and cinnamon, or brush it with butter first if you want the full carnival treatment.
Fair foods are the things that memories are made of, summer festivals and gatherings with delectable morsels that you have a tendency to eat just once or twice per year. However, as we age, we have a tendency to forgo those fun little carnivals with their delicious tempting smells. Here's how you can still enjoy the flavor, without the -8 price tag…
Growing up in New England, these were referred to as Doughboys, upon moving south I discovered they were frequently referred to as Elephant Ears.
However, upon visiting other areas of the country, I've seen them called Navajo Fry Bread, Cinnamon Sugar pull apart bread, Fried Dough, Johnnie Cakes, Zeppolli, Beaver Tails, bannock or even sopapilla. No matter what you call it in your area, we called it DELICIOUS!
Growing up in New England, these were called doughboys. In other places, you’ll hear elephant ears, fry bread, zeppole, or a half-dozen other names. Whatever your town called them, the important part is that they’re still delicious, still easy, and still far cheaper than handing over festival prices for one paper plate.
- 🥣 Ingredients
- 👩🍳 Instructions
- 🧠 Tips
- 🍯 Serving Suggestions
- 🧊 Storage
- 💸 Price Breakdown
- 🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- ❓ FAQ
- 📌 Pin Recipe
- 🖨️ Print-Friendly Recipe Card
Ingredients for Fried Dough
- 1 cup unbleached flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup water
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Extra flour, for flouring your hands
- Softened butter, for brushing
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- Ground cinnamon, for dusting
This dough stays light because you mix it just until it comes together, then leave it alone. Overwork it and you’ll get something tougher and denser, which is not what anybody wants from fried dough.
How to Make Fried Dough
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder.
- Add the water all at once and stir gently with a fork until a dough forms.
- Flour your hands well, then gather the dough into a ball. Incorporate any dry flour in the bowl, but do not knead. The outside should be floured and the inside should still feel sticky.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.
- Using well-floured hands, gently stretch each piece into a rough disk about 5 by 7 inches. It does not need to be round or pretty. Fair food isn’t known for its geometry.
- Pour a couple inches of vegetable oil into a heavy pot or fryer and heat it to 350 degrees F. Keeping the oil at temperature matters because cooler oil soaks into the dough instead of crisping it. For safe home frying and prompt handling of leftovers, follow USDA deep fat frying guidance.
- Fry one piece at a time until golden brown on the first side, then flip once and fry the second side just until golden.
- Transfer to paper towels to drain briefly.
- Brush lightly with softened butter, then dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon while still warm.
Tips for the Best Fried Dough
- Don’t knead the dough. A light hand keeps it tender.
- Flour your hands, not the dough to death. You need enough flour to handle it, but not so much that it turns dry.
- Keep the oil at 350 degrees F. Too cool and the dough gets greasy. Too hot and the outside browns before the inside puffs properly.
- Flip only once. Constant flipping toughens the surface and makes the dough absorb more oil.
- Serve it hot. Fried dough waits for no one. It’s at its absolute best fresh from the pan.
If you enjoy homemade dough recipes, you might also like MYO Fresh Pizza Dough or a sweet fair-style treat like Fried Cookie Dough Balls.
Serving Suggestions for Fried Dough
The classic finish is a light swipe of butter with powdered sugar and cinnamon over the top. If you want to change it up, try plain powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, a drizzle of honey, or a spoonful of jam.
Serve these warm as a dessert, afternoon snack, or movie-night splurge. One piece makes a generous single serving, though you can cut each one in half for smaller portions if you’re setting out other sweets too.
Storage and Reheating Fried Dough
Fried dough is best eaten fresh, while the outside is still crisp and the center stays tender. If you do have leftovers, cool them completely, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. That storage window is a conservative estimate for cooked leftovers.
Do not leave cooked fried dough at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Reheat in a 350 degree F oven or toaster oven for 5 to 8 minutes so the outside crisps back up better than it would in the microwave. You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months for quality, though the texture won’t be quite as lovely after thawing.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Fair Foods: MYO Fried Dough
🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- All-Purpose Unbleached Flour, 5 lb
- Iodized Salt, 26 oz
- Instant Nonfat Dry Milk, 25.6 oz
- Baking Powder, 8.1 oz
- Vegetable Oil, 48 fl oz
- All-Purpose Unbleached Flour, 5 lb
- Salted Butter, 16 oz
- Powdered Sugar, 32 oz
- Ground Cinnamon, 2.37 oz
Not sure exactly what this batch costs you per serving? Here’s how to break down the real cost of any recipe so you know before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions about Fair Foods: MYO Fried Dough
You can, but it’s better the same day. If you need a head start, mix the dough, cover it tightly, and refrigerate it for a few hours, then let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before stretching so it doesn’t fight you.
Your oil was probably too cool. When the oil drops below 350 degrees F, the dough absorbs oil instead of sealing quickly on the outside, so use a thermometer and fry one piece at a time to keep the temperature steady.
Not in the same amount without adjusting the liquid. Since the recipe is balanced for 1 teaspoon powdered milk plus 1/2 cup water, the easiest swap is to leave the powdered milk out entirely if you must, rather than adding a splash of milk and ending up with sticky glue.
All-purpose flour is the right choice here because it gives you enough structure without making the dough tough. Bread flour can make it chewier, while cake flour tends to be too soft for that classic puffy fair-style texture.
Aim for about 5 by 7 inches per piece, just as written, with the dough stretched thin enough to puff quickly but not so thin it tears. If it springs back, let it rest for 2 or 3 minutes, then try again with floured hands.
Absolutely. Cinnamon sugar, honey, jam, or even a light smear of butter with plain sugar all work well. Add toppings while the bread is still warm so they stick instead of sliding off onto the plate where only the ants benefit.
Yes, and it doubles cleanly. Use 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons powdered milk, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 cup water, then divide the dough into 8 pieces so they fry evenly.
Nope, a heavy pot works just fine. You only need a couple inches of oil and a thermometer, which matters far more than fancy equipment when you’re trying to keep the dough light instead of oily.
Yes, but skip the microwave if you want decent texture. Reheat it in a 350 degree F oven or toaster oven for 5 to 8 minutes so the outside crisps again instead of going soft and rubbery.
In a lot of places, they’re basically the same idea with different local names. The biggest differences usually come down to shape, toppings, and regional habit, not a dramatic change in the basic method.
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🖨️ Print-Friendly Fair Foods: MYO Fried Dough
Fair Foods: MYO Fried Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup water
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Extra flour for flouring hands
- Softened butter for brushing
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Ground cinnamon for dusting
Equipment
Instructions
- Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder in a large bowl.
- Add the water all at once and stir gently with a fork until a dough forms.
- Flour your hands and gather the dough into a ball without kneading. The inside should remain sticky while the outside is floured.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.
- Stretch each piece with floured hands into a rough 5 by 7 inch disk.
- Heat a couple inches of vegetable oil in a heavy pot or fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Fry each piece until golden, flip once, and fry the second side until golden brown.
- Drain briefly on paper towels.
- Brush lightly with softened butter and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon while warm.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
Notes
Estimated amount-used costs: flour $0.30, salt $0.00, powdered milk $0.02, baking powder $0.11, vegetable oil $0.69, butter $0.08, powdered sugar $0.05, cinnamon $0.02.
Prep and cook times are estimated from the written method.
Fried dough is best fresh, but leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days or frozen up to 3 months for quality.
In years past, you may also have seen them referred to as Knee Patches because the ladies would have a cloth on their knees, and pull the dough thin on their knee.
Anne R