Tiroler Kiachl mit Preiselbeerkompott (Tyrolean fried yeast discs with lingonberry compote)
Yeasted dough stretched thin and deep-fried until it puffs into a hollow, blistered disc, the traditional Tyrolean fairground treat, served with a tart lingonberry compote to cut the richness. The oil needs to be genuinely hot before the dough goes in, or the discs soak up fat instead of puffing and stay dense and greasy.
Christoph's Tiroler Kiachl, the oil brought to a genuine 175 to 180°C so the dough puffs rather than soaking up fat.
Ingredients
Written for a 3 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Dough
- 400 g flour rounded
- 7 g instant dried yeast rounded
- 10 g sugar rounded
- 4 g fine salt rounded
- 200 ml warm milk rounded
- 1 egg rounded
- 1 L neutral oil, for deep-frying rounded
Lingonberry compote
- 250 g fresh or frozen lingonberries rounded
- 60 g sugar rounded
- 30 ml water rounded
- 20 g icing sugar, for dusting the Kiachl (optional) rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Whisk the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together. Add the warm milk and egg, mix to a soft dough, then knead by hand for 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Cover and prove in a warm place for 60 minutes, until roughly doubled.
- Meanwhile, combine the lingonberries, sugar and water in a small pan. Simmer 10 minutes, until softened and slightly thickened. Set aside to cool.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Stretch or roll each into a thin, uneven disc, about 12 cm across, thinner in the centre than at the edges; the traditional shape is rustic, not perfectly round.
- Heat the oil in a deep pot to 175 to 180°C. Fry the discs one or two at a time, about 2 minutes per side, until puffed and deep golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Dust with icing sugar, if using, and serve warm with the lingonberry compote.
Notes
- Check the oil temperature with a thermometer rather than guessing. Too cool, the dough absorbs oil and turns heavy and greasy instead of puffing; too hot, the outside burns before the inside cooks through.
- Stretch the dough unevenly on purpose, thin in the centre. This traditional shape is what lets the centre puff dramatically while the thicker edge holds its structure.
- Fry only one or two discs at a time. Crowding the pot drops the oil temperature too far, and the discs sit in cooling oil rather than frying properly.
- They are best eaten hot, straight from the fryer; they lose their puffed texture and turn tough within an hour or two.
Ingredient substitutions
- Lingonberries can be cranberries, cooked the same way, if lingonberries are unavailable.
- A savoury version, topped with sauerkraut instead of compote, is a traditional alternative if you would rather serve them as a main course.
- Milk can be replaced with the same amount of water for a slightly leaner dough if needed.
From Christoph Mayer