During the Great Depression, my great-grandmother would make Elephant Ears and Hummingbird Tongues for my grandma and her three brothers. It was incredibly cheap and so delicious! My grandma made it for my dad growing up, and he made it for us growing up. It's my favorite breakfast and it's our family's special occasion breakfast. Every Christmas and birthday we have fried dough slathered with butter (or vegan butter) and powdered sugar.
The charming name of this divine treat comes from the shapes of the dough. Some of them look like hummingbird tongues and some of them looked like elephant ears. It was always fun as a kid to guess which shape you were eating! Even adults enjoy guessing, it's just a fun breakfast! This breakfast can't be made ahead of time, it needs to be eaten as it's fried, so it gets everyone in the kitchen together to wait for the next batch.
Making the Fried Dough
This recipe is also as delicious as it is easy! It's a total breeze to make. The dough needs time to rise so you need to put it out the night before. I always use Rhodes frozen white bread dough because that's what my dad always used, and it is vegan! Take one or two loaves out of the freezer (depending on how many people you're serving; one loaf makes about 12 ears/tongues). Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray and put one loaf in it. Set it in your oven or microwave to keep overnight (don't warm your oven, keep it off). It will rise significantly overnight.
In the morning, poke a few holes in the dough and it'll deflate (this is a perfect kid job). Using your hands flatten the dough on a cutting board and cut into pieces.
Warm a frying pan with vegetable or canola oil. Make sure there's ¼ inch of oil on the bottom of the pan. I always drop a tiny piece of dough in the oil to see if it starts frying up instantly, if it does then you know the oil is ready. If you drop it in, and it just sort of sits there then the oil isn't ready yet, let it warm just a bit longer. When your oil is ready and you're frying the dough, you don't need to submerge it in oil, it just needs to fry on one side until it's very lightly browned and then you flip it, and it fries on the other side (it takes maybe a minute total).
When your ears and tongues are done, set them on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil. While they're still warm, smear butter (or vegan butter) all over the fried dough and dust powdered sugar on top. It is best eaten with a cold glass of almond milk or cup of coffee. I promise once you try this delicious treat, it will become a favorite in your house too!
Elephant Ears and Hummingbird Tongues
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Rhodes frozen white bread dough
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil depending on the size of your fry pan, you may need more or less oil
- butter or vegan butter
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- The night before, set a loaf of Rhodes frozen white bread dough in a loaf pan or baking pan that's been sprayed with nonstick spray. Set in the microwave or oven to rise overnight.
- The next morning, poke holes in the dough to deflate. With your hands, flatten the dough on a cutting board and cut into about 12 pieces.
- Pour ¼ inch of oil on the bottom of the pan. I always drop a tiny piece of dough in the oil to see if it starts frying up instantly, if it does then you know the oil is ready. If you drop it in, and it just sort of sits there then the oil isn't ready yet, let it warm just a bit longer. When your oil is ready and you're frying the dough, you don't need to submerge it in oil, it just needs to fry on one side until it's very lightly browned and then you flip it, and it fries on the other side (it takes about a minute total).
- Once the dough is fried, set them on a paper-towel lined plate to absorb the oil. Slather with butter (or vegan butter) and dust on powdered sugar.
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