Source: Based Cooking (community recipes)
Torta frita is a fried dough where the dough itself is the structure — there's no filling, no lamination, just flour, fat, salt, and water built into a supple paste that puffs when it hits hot oil. The controlling principle is developing enough gluten to trap steam without overworking the dough into toughness.
Combine 500g flour and 55g softened lard or butter in a bowl. Work them together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs — the lard coats the flour particles and shortens the gluten strands, which is what keeps these crisp rather than chewy. Dissolve 5g salt in 120ml cold water, then add it slowly to the flour-lard mix whilst incorporating with a wooden spoon. Once it starts holding together, switch to your hands and kneading|knead for eight to ten minutes. You're looking for a smooth, slightly tacky dough that springs back when pressed — the gluten network needs to be strong enough to retain steam during frying, but not so developed that the tortas become dense. If it's dry and cracking, add water a teaspoon at a time. If it's sticky enough to cling to your palm, dust with flour.
Rest the dough for one to two hours at room temperature, covered. This allows the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate, both of which prevent the tortas from shrinking when you flatten them.
Divide into 12–16 balls roughly 35g each. Flatten each one on a work surface to a disc about 5mm thick, then poke a hole through the centre with your thumb — this prevents the centre from puffing up and creating a dome, and ensures even cooking throughout. Some cooks skip the hole; don't. You'll end up with a chewy pocket of undercooked dough in the middle if you do.
Heat 5–7cm of deep-frying|deep-frying oil to 180°C — no hotter, or the outside burns before the inside cooks through. Slide each torta into the oil without crowding. It will sink, then float within thirty seconds. Fry for two to three minutes until deep golden-brown on the underside, then flip and cook for another two minutes. The second side browns faster because the dough is already set. Fish them out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels whilst still warm. The residual heat will continue crisping them.
Dust with caster sugar and ground cinnamon, or salt and dried oregano. Eat within an hour.
Cook this recipe with FoodMind — your personal cooking wiki.
Cook this in FoodMind