Styrian Strauben
The Carnival treat that my grandmother always made was Strauben (štravbe in our dialect). Slit-cut Strauben belong to the broader tradition of fried yeast pastries prepared during Carnival, the weeks preceding Lent. When fried, the slits open into a lattice structure that facilitates even cooking.
Such pastries were historically linked to the pre-Lenten household cycle, during which eggs, butter, and other rich ingredients were used before the onset of fasting.
Recipe
Ingredients:
500 g all-purpose flour
6 g baking powder
8 g instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
75 g sugar
2 tsp vanilla paste (can be replaced with vanilla essence)
240 ml warm milk
30 g butter
3 egg yolks
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp rum
2 tbsp crême fraîche
500 ml of oil for frying
powdered sugar
Instructions:
All the ingredients should be warm, as should the room in which you prepare the dough.
Mix the flour with the baking powder and instant yeast.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar for about 10 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla paste, warm milk, melted butter, crème fraîche, lemon zest, and rum, and mix until smooth.
Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir briefly. Then add the salt and continue mixing for 15–20 minutes.
The dough should be elastic and should not stick to your fingers. If it does, add flour—one tablespoon at a time—until the dough is smooth and uniform.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size (about 60 minutes).
Cut parchment paper into rectangles slightly larger than the shaped strauben and arrange them on a baking sheet.
Once risen, divide the dough into two pieces and roll each piece out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 1 cm. Cut into rectangles. Using a knife or pastry wheel, make several parallel slits in the center of each rectangle, leaving a border around the edges. Place each prepared piece onto an individual parchment rectangle.
Heat oil, at least 3 cm deep, in a large Dutch oven to 160 °C (320 °F). If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the oil by dipping the handle of a wooden spoon into it. The oil is hot enough when small bubbles begin to form around the handle. If the oil is too hot, the strauben will brown too quickly.
Lift each piece together with its parchment rectangle and carefully flip it into the hot oil; then remove and discard the paper. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry for 2–3 minutes on one side, then turn and fry for another 2–3 minutes, until golden brown.
Transfer to a rack or paper towels to drain. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
