Editing Newsletter/Winter 2007 (section)

== Starfleet Chef's Corner: '''Federation Vegan Fluffballs''' ==
submitted by Aragorn of Vega 13 [[Image: Oliebollen2.gif|500px|right|thumb|A tasty plate of Federation Vegan Fluffballs]]


'''Dough''' 

1kg plain white all purpose flour (2.205 lbs)

850ml tepid milk (3.61 cups)

150ml lager, (5.08 cups) beer at room temperature, for flavor

40g dried yeast (2.8 Tablespoons)

10g salt, (2.11 teaspoons) for flavor

3 eggs

Vegetable oil for deep frying

3 teaspoons sugar
  

'''Fruit'''

225g currants (15.06 Tablespoons)

225g raisins (15.06 Tablespoons)


'''For the finishing touches'''

Powdered sugar


'''Directions'''

First soak the fruit in tepid water for a few hours and strain the fruit with a sieve.

In a separate bowl, dissolve 3 tsp of sugar in 450 ml (1.92 cups) of tepid milk in a bowl. Sprinkle with 3 Tablespoons of dried yeast and whisk thoroughly. Leave in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until the surface is covered with approximately 2 cm (.787 inches) of froth. Then whisk again for only a few seconds.

Sieve the flour in a 10 liter (3 gallon) plastic bowl and make a well. Pour the yeast mixture in the well and mix gently with a long wooden spoon. Do not beat or the flour will be incorporated too quickly. 

Once mixed, add the beer, the eggs and the remainder of the milk and stir until a smooth paste forms. You may need to add a bit more milk or leave out a bit of the milk to get the right consistency, a loose stringy dough. This depends on the batch of flour used. Do not make the mixture too liquid as that will make the cooked dough ball very oily. Do not make the mixture too dry as it will not 'glide' off the spoon when cooking.

Make sure that the fruit is dry and add it to the mixture, stirring slowly while adding and keep stirring until completely mixed.

Finally add the salt and stir until it is well mixed in. Wet a tea towel and drape it over the top of the bowl and place the bowl in a quiet place near 30°C (86°F) heat.

Let the dough rise for an hour and knock it back by stirring gently a few times. After rising, the dough should be roughly one and a half or twice the original volume. Since the dough will be somewhat gooey, it is advisable not to punch it down using your hands as when making bread loaves. 

Let the dough rise for an additional hour and knock it back again. Let the dough rise for a third hour and once done, do not knock
it back but bring to the deep fat fryer, which should be heated up to approximately 180°C (356°F).
 
Use two tablespoons to scoop out the dough and let it glide into the heated oil. It will form a rough ball shape if the consistency is right. Cook only so many dough balls at one time so that each can still float and rotate freely. If the dough is of perfect consistency, the ball of dough will turn itself after it has cooked sufficiently, to cook the top. If not, use a pair of tongs to flip them over.

Cook until the whole dough ball is golden. Flip them over with a pair of tongs if the bottom is lighter in color.

Place the just cooked dough balls on two layers of paper towels to drain the oil, then transfer to a large bowl lined with fresh clean paper towels. Check from time to time to see if the dough balls are done on the inside. If not, then either the dough was too big or the fat too high in temperature.

Serve cooled with a coating or sprinkling of powdered sugar and enjoy.

'''Note:''' For a beer-less version, replace the beer with tepid milk and increase the amount of dried yeast by half a teaspoon since beer contains yeast.