My wife's family call them featherbeds. They used a slightly
sweetened version of their heavy white bread dough [with milk and
Crisco but no egg] that had been made the day before and refrigerated
until an hour or two before the oil was heated up.

Then the tricky part was to tear off pieces and pull them into
paper-thin bits before dunking in hot oil.

These are closest I see out there-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St...ried_Dough.jpg
Mimi would have let them slide-- but hers would not have had those
thick spots in the centers.

Some eat them with butter- some with confectioners sugar- some with
maple syrup- and some with cinnamon & sugar.

I like one plain - hot out of the oil.

I've never heard anyone else call them 'featherbeds'. [and my mom
never made anything that involved yeast- so I never had them growing
up]

If anyone called them featherbeds, do you know where the name came
from? It is supposedly a handed down recipe-- but I'm curious
about whether it came from the English, Irish, German, Canadian,
Quaker, ?Native American?- or 'NY redneck' branch.

Jim

On Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:22:33 UTC+10, James Elbrecht wrote:
>
> If anyone called them featherbeds, do you know where the name came
> from? It is supposedly a handed down recipe-- but I'm curious
> about whether it came from the English, Irish, German, Canadian,
> Quaker, ?Native American?- or 'NY redneck' branch.

There are breads like this from Eastern Europe, usually called "langos" or similar (from the Hungarian name). E.g., http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Sand...an.Langos.html

Similar is found throughout Central Asia, with Turkish, Caucasian, Kazakh, Mongolian, etc. versions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boortsog

Also Indian puri.

Wikipedia tells me there is a Navaho version, which I had never heard of befo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread

On 3/27/2013 7:22 AM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
> My wife's family call them featherbeds. They used a slightly
> sweetened version of their heavy white bread dough [with milk and
> Crisco but no egg] that had been made the day before and refrigerated
> until an hour or two before the oil was heated up.
>
> Then the tricky part was to tear off pieces and pull them into
> paper-thin bits before dunking in hot oil.
>
> These are closest I see out there-
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St...ried_Dough.jpg

Looks like fried pizza dough! Wonderful stuff. I never heard of
anything like featherbeds, though.

nancy

On 3/27/2013 9:55 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
> On 3/27/2013 7:22 AM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
>> My wife's family call them featherbeds. They used a slightly
>> sweetened version of their heavy white bread dough [with milk and
>> Crisco but no egg] that had been made the day before and refrigerated
>> until an hour or two before the oil was heated up.
>>
>> Then the tricky part was to tear off pieces and pull them into
>> paper-thin bits before dunking in hot oil.
>>
>> These are closest I see out there-
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St...ried_Dough.jpg
>
> Looks like fried pizza dough! Wonderful stuff. I never heard of
> anything like featherbeds, though.
>
> nancy

They might bear some resemblance to Mexican sopapillas, which are
usually eaten dipped in honey etc. I seem to have heard them called
"sofa pillows" :-)

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

Nancy Young wrote:

> Looks like fried pizza dough! Wonderful stuff. I never heard of
> anything like featherbeds, though.

Really, this seems to be the brother of "pizzette fritte" (little fried
pizzas):
http://www.forchettina.it/public/it/...l-pomodoro.jpg
http://blog.giallozafferano.it/ricet...ritte-MOD1.jpg
They are made with or without potatoes in the dough, in my family we like
them with potatoes, then fried and then topped with a tablespoon of tomato
sauce and some grated cheese.
--
"Un pasto senza vino e' come un giorno senza sole"
Anthelme Brillat Savarin

ViLco wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:
>
>> Looks like fried pizza dough! Wonderful stuff. I never heard of
>> anything like featherbeds, though.
>
> Really, this seems to be the brother of "pizzette fritte" (little fried
> pizzas):
> http://www.forchettina.it/public/it/...l-pomodoro.jpg
> http://blog.giallozafferano.it/ricet...ritte-MOD1.jpg
> They are made with or without potatoes in the dough, in my family we like
> them with potatoes, then fried and then topped with a tablespoon of tomato
> sauce and some grated cheese.
> --
> "Un pasto senza vino e' come un giorno senza sole"
> Anthelme Brillat Savarin


fried pizza ... now why didn't I think of that??

On 3/27/2013 11:19 AM, ViLco wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:
>
>> Looks like fried pizza dough! Wonderful stuff. I never heard of
>> anything like featherbeds, though.
>
> Really, this seems to be the brother of "pizzette fritte" (little fried
> pizzas):
> http://www.forchettina.it/public/it/...l-pomodoro.jpg
> http://blog.giallozafferano.it/ricet...ritte-MOD1.jpg
> They are made with or without potatoes in the dough, in my family we like
> them with potatoes, then fried and then topped with a tablespoon of tomato
> sauce and some grated cheese.

Looks yummy! I've never actually made pizza with fried dough,
usually I make fried dough with any leftover from making pizza.

nancy

On Mar 27, 6:56*am, Timo > wrote:
> On Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:22:33 UTC+10, James Elbrecht *wrote:
>
> > If anyone called them featherbeds, do you know where the name came
> > from? * * *It is supposedly a handed down recipe-- but I'm curious
> > about whether it came from the English, Irish, German, Canadian,
> > Quaker, ?Native American?- or 'NY redneck' branch.
>
> There are breads like this from Eastern Europe, usually called "langos" or similar (from the Hungarian name). E.g.,http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Sand...an.Langos.html
>
> Similar is found throughout Central Asia, with Turkish, Caucasian, Kazakh, Mongolian, etc. versions:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boortsog
>
> Also Indian puri.
>
> Wikipedia tells me there is a Navaho version, which I had never heard of befohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread

Navajo Frybread is to die for ... Probably where the whole fried bread
idea came from. ;-). At OKC's Arts festival, they serve Frybread as a
base for strawberry shortcake, sort of. Scrumptious! You can find
recipes easily. Mine, fairly authentic it was claimed, has a combo of
flour and cornmeal.

N.

On Thursday, 28 March 2013 11:25:28 UTC+10, Nancy2 wrote:
> On Mar 27, 6:56*am, Timo > wrote:
> > On Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:22:33 UTC+10, James Elbrecht *wrote:
> >
> > > If anyone called them featherbeds, do you know where the name came
> > > from? * * *It is supposedly a handed down recipe-- but I'm curious
> > > about whether it came from the English, Irish, German, Canadian,
> > > Quaker, ?Native American?- or 'NY redneck' branch.
> >
> > There are breads like this from Eastern Europe, usually called "langos" or similar (from the Hungarian name). E.g.,http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Sand...an.Langos.html
> >
> > Similar is found throughout Central Asia, with Turkish, Caucasian, Kazakh, Mongolian, etc. versions:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boortsog
> >
> > Also Indian puri.
> >
> > Wikipedia tells me there is a Navaho version, which I had never heard of befohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread
>
> Navajo Frybread is to die for ... Probably where the whole fried bread
> idea came from. ;-). At OKC's Arts festival, they serve Frybread as a
> base for strawberry shortcake, sort of. Scrumptious! You can find
> recipes easily. Mine, fairly authentic it was claimed, has a combo of
> flour and cornmeal.

How large are they?

They're not nearly as old as the Central Asian ones and their descendants, but they appear to be an independent invention. What else do you do with flour and fat? Fried bread, deep-fried bread, and pastry. Are there Navajo pastries?

On 3/27/2013 5:56 AM, Timo wrote:
> On Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:22:33 UTC+10, James Elbrecht wrote:
>>
>> If anyone called them featherbeds, do you know where the name came
>> from? It is supposedly a handed down recipe-- but I'm curious
>> about whether it came from the English, Irish, German, Canadian,
>> Quaker, ?Native American?- or 'NY redneck' branch.
>
> There are breads like this from Eastern Europe, usually called "langos" or similar (from the Hungarian name). E.g., http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Sand...an.Langos.html
>
> Similar is found throughout Central Asia, with Turkish, Caucasian, Kazakh, Mongolian, etc. versions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boortsog
>
> Also Indian puri.
>
> Wikipedia tells me there is a Navaho version, which I had never heard of befo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread
>


The Portuguese version, called "malasadas" (which translates to
"not-well-baked") is made with Portuguese/Hawaiian sweet bread dough.

The Navajo version unsweetened and called "fry bread" is used as the
base for "Navajo tacos".

gloria p

On 3/27/2013 9:25 PM, Nancy2 wrote:
> On Mar 27, 6:56 am, Timo > wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:22:33 UTC+10, James Elbrecht wrote:
>>
>>> If anyone called them featherbeds, do you know where the name came
>>> from? It is supposedly a handed down recipe-- but I'm curious
>>> about whether it came from the English, Irish, German, Canadian,
>>> Quaker, ?Native American?- or 'NY redneck' branch.
>>
>> There are breads like this from Eastern Europe, usually called "langos" or similar (from the Hungarian name). E.g.,http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Sand...an.Langos.html
>>
>> Similar is found throughout Central Asia, with Turkish, Caucasian, Kazakh, Mongolian, etc. versions:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boortsog
>>
>> Also Indian puri.
>>
>> Wikipedia tells me there is a Navaho version, which I had never heard of befohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread
>
> Navajo Frybread is to die for ... Probably where the whole fried bread
> idea came from. ;-).

It probably is to die for; look at the incidence of heart disease among
the Navajo.


--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.