HOW TO LEAVEN THE DOUGH FOR PETULLA?

Albanian recipe for petulla has many variations. Some leaven the dough with yeast
which in Albania is called ‘maja’ or ‘maja birre’. Other recipes also use yogurt to
leaven the dough!

When using yeast, I prefer to use instant yeast and let the dough rise for about
half an hour. When using yogurt, I prepare the dough the night before and by
morning it’s ready to fry. Yogurt acts as a fermenting agent.

If using yeast, you can still use the overnight method of preparing the dough, just
add less yeast and let the dough ferment overnight in the refrigerator. Then next
day, let it come to room temperature before frying.

There’s variability in this recipe when using eggs too. You can find recipes with no
eggs at all to recipes that use up to 3-4 eggs. Ultimately, I prefer the recipe with
eggs and yogurt because it provides more protein.

Petulla with powder sugar

INGREDIENTS FOR PETULLA

This recipe is what I have settled upon recently, but please keep in mind that you
can make petulla using many recipes. See the Notes section in the recipe cards for
variations in case you like to try any of the other recipes.

 3 cups Unbleached Organic Bread Flour

 3 eggs

 1.5 cups Greek yogurt

 1 tsp baking soda

 0.5 tsp Mediterranean sea salt

  1 tbsp olive oil

 Oil for frying – I prefer using grapeseed oil however that is not authentic, so
if you’re looking for traditional use vegetable oil for frying.

 1 tbsp sugar (optional) – I don’t always add this to my dough. Sugar helps to
create a better flavor if eating petulla with no syrups or added jams. But if
you’re using honey, jams and other sides to serve petulla with, you can skip
adding sugar to dough.

Ingredients for Petulla

LET’S MAKE ALBANIAN PETULLA:)

Ok this might be one of the easiest recipes you can make.

 Sift the flour if needed, add salt and baking soda, mix and set dry ingredients
aside.

 Whisk eggs, add yogurt and keep whisking. Add olive oil and mix.

 Finally start adding the dry ingredients slowly to bowl and incorporate with
the eggs/yogurt mix.

 Cover the dough with a kitchen towel, let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Next morning take bowl out and let is sit in room temperature.

 Once dough is bubbly, you can fry it in oil. Make sure to flip the dough so it
fries evenly on all sides. Petullas need to look golden brown.

 It’s important to let the fried dough rest on a platter with paper towel before
serving. This step will ensure that the dough doesn’t keep the oil it has
absorbed during frying process.