The real graffe 

Today I am very happy to offer you a recipe that I have been looking for a long time: the real Neapolitan pastry graffa. They are one of those absolute goodness to be indulged especially in summer together with an iced coffee with granita. It is a sweet of German derivation, in fact the word graffa derives from krapfen. They have a nice donut shape, the dough is soft, they are fried in boiling oil which makes them a bit crispy on the surface, and then they are served sprinkled with sugar. Generally the period of maximum production of graffe is during the Carnival.

But throughout the year it is possible to taste them fresh in the two variants which are: simple graffe, donut; doughnut or bomb, round shape filled with custard. The characteristic of the graffe is in the dough that must rise several times. For optimal success the graffe must be fried at the right temperature and turned several times, so as to swell and cook inside and have that typical golden color that contrasts with the white of the sugar with which they are sprinkled.

Ingredients

1 kg Flour

20 g Salt

50 g Sugar

500 g milk or half and half

50 g Fresh brewer's yeast

100 g Butter

2 Eggs

Preparation

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water, add the flour and start the dough. Mix salt with eggs, gradually add them to the dough. Then incorporate the butter, the dough must be tender and dry, let it rise for an hour, work it rather young, do not let it rise more than necessary. At this point make loaves 20-25 cm long. and a couple of cm. diameter.

Close the dough in donuts. Arrange on a baking sheet and let rise for a maximum of thirty minutes. The size of the Neapolitan pastry graffe you can increase or decrease to your liking ... I prefer those beautiful classic ''ciocciottelle'' as in the bar! Fry them in hot oil. During cooking, turn them upside down two or three times so as to obtain regular cooking. Allow to cool slightly and then pass them in granulated sugar and serve. Here are ready your Neapolitan pastry graffe ... you just have to taste them in all their softness and taste.

Tip

If you want in the dough you can also add some aroma... lemon, orange, limoncello etc...