Pişi

Method

You will need: A deep pan · A thermometer · A rack lined with paper

1. Mix the yeast, sugar and warm water, add the flour and salt and knead 5 minutes. Prove the soft, slightly sticky dough at 24–27 °C for 45 minutes.

   Look for The dough should have doubled and be full of bubbles.

   Why At 66% water the dough steams in the oil into a light, open crumb. Yeast dies at 55–60 °C, so the water is warm, not hot.

   Starch still asleep The granules are just floating there doing nothing. No body arrives before 62 °C.

   A gluten web is forming Gliadin and glutenin hydrated into an elastic net. This is what will hold the gas. no way back

   The yeast is working It is eating sugar and making carbon dioxide plus aroma compounds. Slow work, but this is where depth comes from.

   Salt · 1.01% Right in the window. Flavours sharpen, bitterness retreats, water is held.

2. Oil your hands, pull off walnut-sized pieces, flatten them to palm size and poke a hole in the middle.

   Look for Each piece should be 1 cm thick with an open centre.

   Why Oiled hands stop sticking without extra flour; loose flour burns in the oil and clouds it.

   Starch still asleep The granules are just floating there doing nothing. No body arrives before 62 °C.

   A gluten web is forming Gliadin and glutenin hydrated into an elastic net. This is what will hold the gas. no way back

   The yeast is working Wrong temperature. Outside 24–40 °C it stalls, and past 55 °C it dies.

   Salt · 1.01% Right in the window. Flavours sharpen, bitterness retreats, water is held.

3. Fry at 170–175 °C, one minute a side, until golden, and drain on the rack.

   Look for Each pişi should rise to the surface and puff as soon as it goes in.

   Why At this temperature the crust does not burn before the inside cooks. At 190 °C the outside darkens while the middle stays raw; below 160 °C the pişi soaks up oil.

   If it went wrong

   If they darken outside while raw inside, drop the oil to 165 °C. Oily ones can go on a rack at 200 °C for three minutes.

   Starch gelatinised The granules soaked up water, swelled and burst into a network. It has thickened, and it will firm further as it cools. no way back

   Maillard is running Amino acids have met reducing sugars. The crust, the roasted flavour and that smell all come from here. no way back

   Frying dynamics Surface water is flashing to steam and pushing outward — that is the shield keeping the oil out. no way back

   Salt · 0.81% Right in the window. Flavours sharpen, bitterness retreats, water is held.

   Too much starch. It will set into a rubbery gel once cool — add more liquid.