Sfinci (Sicilian Fried Dough) Sicilian Recipes Mangia Bedda (2024)

It’s not Christmas Eve without our sfinci (Sicilian fried dough). These leavened fried dough balls are delicious savory or sweet!

What are Sfinci (Sicilian Fried Dough)?

Sfinci, a Sicilian specialty, are leavened fried dough ballstraditionally served on Christmas Eve. We also refer to them as crispeddi in my family and some may call them zeppole. My nonna served them with Baccala alla ghiotta, a salt cod dish with potatoes, tomatoes and olives for dinner each Christmas Eve.

The dough for making sfinci is quite plain and therefore you can flavor your sfinci in several ways, both sweet and savoury! My personal favorite are sfinci stufffed with ricotta and prosciutto cotto, as shown below. Take a look further in this post for instructions on how to make these delicious savory sfinci!So where did this strange word sfinci come from? I am not certain however a while ago I came across a recipe for ‘sfendg’ in a middle eastern cookbook. Sfendg also consist of leavened dough shaped into rings and fried. This makes sense as we know that Sicily was occupied by Arabs several centuries ago. I’m always fascinated about the origins of my favorite foods!

Observations of my mother making sfinci:

I watched my mother prepare herself for making sfinci. She took a lemon half to the sink and proceeded to scrub her hands and wrists thoroughly, explaining that she always disinfects her hands this way before preparing dough. She then reached over to a clean dish towel to dry her hands. It was not unlike watching a surgeon preparing for surgery!

She prepared the dough in no time, vigorously mixing it with her hands in circular movements. A mixer will not do as you would not be able to “feel” when the dough isready. Actually, it’s more like a very thick batter than a dough.

She then placed the dough to rise in the same way I’ve watched her prepare bread during my childhood. That is covered with several wool blankets (not used for any other purpose but this) so that it may be completely free of any draft. This is a technique that my nonna used back in Sicily.And then the waiting period began. After 3 hours of rest, I was sure the sfinci were ready to be fried up, but I was wrong. An hour later my mother lifted the blankets to reveal the dough bubbling right before my eyes. I then understood that had we begun frying the batter earlier, the result would have been dense, less fluffy sfinci. A true lesson in patience!

Now, let me show you step by step how to make sfinci. You’ll find the complete detailed recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Sfinci (Sicilian Fried Dough):

Prepare the yeast:

In a small sauce pan, warm 2 1/2 cups of water until lukewarm. Pour 1/2 cup water into a small bowl and stir in sugar. Pour the yeast over the water and let stand 10 minutes until foamy.For the dough:

Pour the remaining 2 cups water in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add flour and salt and using your hand, stir the mixture vigorously in a circular motion. Continue stirring this way for about 5 minutes until you have a thick, smooth dough.

Cover well, using blankets if you wish, and place in a warm, draft free place in your kitchen. Let sit for 4 hours. An unlit oven with the light turned on is a good option. The dough is ready when bubbles form on the surface and it has at least doubled in size.Fry the sfinci:

Fill a heavy bottomed sauce pan half way with vegetable oil. Slowly heat the vegetable oil. In order to test if it is hot enough, take a small piece of the sfinci dough and drop it in the oil. If it immediately begins to sizzle, the oil is ready.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough into the hot oil. As you can see my mother uses her finger to scrape the dough from the spoon. I opted to use 2 spoons!

They immediately puff up into these oddly shaped dough balls.

Flip them over to ensure that both sides are golden brown. Remove the sfinci with a slotted spoon and place on a dish covered with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Serve hot.

Sweet and savoury sfinci variations:

• Sfinci right out of the oil are also delicious lightly sprinkled with granulated sugar and cinnamon.

• Sfinci stuffed with prosciutto cotto (cooked ham) and ricotta: Preparing stuffed sfinci can be quite the sticky process. If you attempt to do so, I recommend you prepare a few before your oil is ready. Approximately twice the amount of batter normally used for sfinci (2 spoonfuls) is placed on a well floured surface. I watched my mother carefully flatten this incredible sticky dough, using more flour as needed, into a rectangular shape. Place half a slice of ham on the dough and top with about a tablespoon of ricotta. Roll the dough over the filling. It will resemble a lumpy, oddly shaped sticky mess but don’t worry, it will puff up nicely in the oil.

• Sfinci stuffed with anchovies: stir anchovy fillets (as many as you like) in the leavened dough and proceed to fry the sfinci.
• Sfinci with raisins: stir raisins into the leavened dough and proceed to fry as indicated in the recipe.

Tips and suggestions:

• Keep leftover sfinci refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Reheat leftover sfinci in a 350F oven until warmed through and crisp, about 10 minutes.
• Sfinci can be frozen. To defrost, wrap in foil and place in a 350F oven until hot.

It would not be Christmas Eve without sfinci on the table. Truly a tradition worth preserving and passing on! If you give this recipe a try, please tag me with #mangiabedda on Instagram so I can see your sfinci. Buon appetito!