125 ml water
100 ml full fat milk
12 g instant yeast (for savoury dishes)
5 g sugar
15 g salt (max)
500 g Italian type 0 flour
40 ml extra virgin olive oil
To Fry:
sunflower oil
First mix the milk and water. Put the flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well, then add the olive oil. Knead with your hands and slowly drizzle in the milk-water mix. When all the liquid has been absorbed, transfer to a floured work surface.
Form a compact and dry ball of dough, place it inside a bowl, cover with cling film, let the dough rest for at least an hour up to a maximum of 12 hours, in a cool place. After the time has elapsed, take the dough, lightly sprinkle the pastry board with flour and divide into smaller loaves with a food scraper or a knife. Take one (cover the rest with the bowl), roll out the dough with a rolling pin until you get a verry thin sheet, no more than a couple of millimetres thick. Even out the edges of the dough with a pastry cutter. Then cut out some 8×7 cm pieces. Repeat for the rest of the dough. By doing so you should get about 50 pieces. Do not throw away the scraps of the dough after rolling but knead them again.
Once cut out, fry them in boiling oil at 170°C for about 1 minute, no more than 3-4 pieces at a time. Once the first side is golden, turn and fry on the other. Drain on absorbent paper and repeat with all the others. Enjoy hot!
Gnocco means simply, “lump”; and like the pasta dumplings gnocchi (plural—meaning lumps), a gnocco fritto refers to a lump of dough, in this case fried into an irresistible puffy bread, delicious eaten with cured meats and/or cheeses.