Steak and Cheese Fried Dough

Add water into the bowl of a stand mixer bowl. Add yeast and let it sit for five minutes. Then stir. Add milk, sugar, salt, shortening and half of the flour. On low speed, combine the ingredients until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn off mixer. Add the remaining half of the flour. Starting on low, mix to incorporate the flour. Gradually increase speed to 4 or medium. Stop the mixer to scrape the flour off the side of the bowl. Once the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl on its own, check the consistency. If it feels wet and clumps to your hands, add 1/8 cup of additional flour at a time until dough no longer clumps. Mix on level 4 or medium for 5 minutes. After the kneading process, dough should be smooth and elastic.

With greased hands, remove dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 times using the palms of your hands. Place dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with a greased sheet of plastic wrap and a cloth towel. Place in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, cook steak. Heat the first listed amount of oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add steak and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until no longer pink, breaking up any clumps into small pieces. Remove from heat and drain liquid. Allow to cool.

Preheat 3-4 inches of oil in a deep fryer or a frying pan to 375 F.

After the one hour resting period, punch down dough with greased hands. Pinch off golf ball sized pieces and shape into 5-inch rounds that are no more than 1/4 inch thick. If the dough is too tacky when forming rounds, generously dust the work surface and your hands with flour. Set the dough rounds aside on a lightly floured surface until you finish with all of the dough.

To assemble, place one of the dough rounds onto a greased surface. Layer with about 2 ounces of steak and about 1 1/2 slice of cheese, making sure to avoid the edges. Cover with a second dough round. Press edges tightly to seal. Repeat assembling the remaining rounds.

With greased spatula and your hands, gently transfer the dough into the hot oil (don’t crowd the pan). Fry until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove them from the hot oil using a slotted spoon or kitchen spider and place on paper towels to drain. Repeat frying the rest.

Yields 8 servings.

Note: The dough recipe is an adaptation of one I found in Taste of Home.