Calzones rotos

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 100 gsugar
• 80 gbutter, softened
• 3egg yolks
• 1whole egg
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• the zest of 1 orange or lemon
• about 80 ml milk

Sometimes added

• 1 tablespoonpisco or brandy
• 1/2 teaspoonground cinnamon

To fry and finish

• oil, for deep frying
• icing sugar, for dusting

To serve

• black tea
• or coffee

Directions

1. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the softened butter in small pieces. Rub it in with your fingertips. It should look like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and the whole egg.
2. Add the citrus zest and the pisco if using it. Add the milk a little at a time. Bring it together into a firm dough. Kneading it briefly is enough. Turn it out onto a floured surface.
3. Knead it for about five minutes. It should become smooth but stay firm. Wrap it and rest it for thirty minutes. Rolling it out takes some effort.
4. Divide the dough into two or three pieces. Roll each one out on a floured surface. Take it down to about three millimetres thick. Thin dough gives a light crisp pastry. Keep the surface well floured as you go.
5. Cut the dough into strips with a knife. Aim for strips about ten centimetres by four. Leave a good margin at each end. The slit should be about half the length. Pull it through and let it sit twisted. Set each one on a floured tray. Frying them needs the right heat.
6. Pour oil into a deep pan to six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat the oil to about 180C for frying. A scrap of dough should sizzle up at once. Fry them for about ninety seconds a side. Turn them once with a slotted spoon. They should be pale gold rather than dark.
7. Lift them out onto a wire rack. A rack keeps both sides crisp. Dust them very generously with icing sugar. Use far more than seems necessary. Do it while they are still warm.

Technique

• Once is the Chilean afternoon tea taken around five, and these are among the pastries served at it.
• A popular story explains the name through a woman selling them in old Santiago, but it is folklore rather than documented history.

Substitutions

• The pisco can be left out entirely without much difference.
• Orange or lemon zest both work, and some cooks use neither.

Variations

• Some cooks add ground cinnamon to the dough.
• A version cut into simple diamonds without the twist is also made.
• Similar twisted fried pastries are eaten across Latin America and Scandinavia.

History

A tea-time pastry of Chilean homes; the name means torn underwear.

Frequently asked questions

What is Calzones rotos?

Calzones rotos is a bread & pastry from Chile: twisted strips of fried dough dusted with icing sugar. A tea-time pastry of Chilean homes; the name means torn underwear.

How long does Calzones rotos take to make?

Calzones rotos takes 40 minutes plus resting of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 30 pastries. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Calzones rotos?

Yes, within limits. The pisco can be left out entirely without much difference. Orange or lemon zest both work, and some cooks use neither.

What is the most important thing to get right in Calzones rotos?

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the softened butter in small pieces. Rub it in with your fingertips. It should look like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and the whole egg.