Beaver Tails (Fried Bread Dough)

This morning, I made a recipe that my mother used to make for us.  My family loves these Beaver Tails with maple syrup or just cinnamon and sugar. Ingredients are listed at the bottom. Here's how to make Beaver Tails.

Firstly, the bread dough.  Whether you use a bread machine with a dough setting or make it by hand, making the bread dough has to be done the night before you make the tails. The dough must be left to rise in the refrigerator at least 8 hours before frying.  I used a simple white bread recipe in my bread machine, then placed it, covered with a clean cloth, to rise in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, take it from the fridge and remove the cloth.

Notice the dough has a little crust on top. That's alright, it doesn't affect the way the tails are made.
If you have a deep fryer, heat it up to 350 degrees.  My Fry Daddy's an older one, so it doesn't have a temperature control. If you don't have a deep fryer, heat a couple inches of canola or peanut oil in a deep pan over medium to medium-high heat.

Once the oil's all heated, pinch off a piece of the dough.

 Make sure the pinch isn't any bigger than your closed fist, or you'll have trouble stretching it.

Pinch the dough on the edges and stretch it out carefully, try not to tear it. A couple holes are okay, though.

Being careful not to splatter hot oil on yourself, ease the stretched dough into the oil.

After 2-3 minutes, flip the tail over. The underside should be a nice golden brown.

Fry for another 2-3 minutes, until both sides are golden brown, then remove and drain on paper towels.
Serve buttered with cinnamon and sugar, maple syrup, or powdered sugar.

Bread Dough (for a 1.5 lb loaf):
1 cup + 2 tbs water
1+1/2 tbs butter or margarine
1+1/2 tsp salt
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbs half-and-half
2 tsp sugar
1+1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast

1. Add ingredients as your bread machine manual instructs (mine says wet ingreds first, then dry, then yeast).
2. Select the dough setting and start.
3. Once the cycle completes, transfer the dough into a loaf pan or ceramic dish of a similar shape (I used a 1.5 quart casserole).
4. Cover dough loosely with a clean cloth and place in the refrigerator overnight, at least 8 hours.
5. Heat oil to 350 degrees.
6. Pinch off pieces of the dough no bigger than your fist, and stretch them carefully.
7. Ease stretched dough into the hot oil.
8. After 2-3 minutes, flip dough over. The underside should be golden brown.
9. Fry for another 2-3 minutes, until both sides are golden brown.
10. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Serve with butter and syrup, or cinnamon and sugar, or powdered sugar. Enjoy!