PUNK PUFFS
Let's face it, if there is one thing most of us have on our hands at the moment, it's too much time. With that being the case, and sourdough being so lockdown number 1, I thought it would be fun to have a go at making some snacks to accompany my daily descent into alcoholic oblivion.
This weekend I made Punk Puffs, flavoured with chili and lime sea salt. I envisaged these as making a good accompaniment to a crisp pilsner (such as Luna by Track) and I think with a bit of experimenting, they probably will. However, to say they were a roaring success would be a po-faced lie, but I have made the mistakes so you don't have to. This recipe is adapted from the Suffolk Beer Puff by Paul Foster which can be found here.
Ingredients
Coarse sea salt
2/3 limes
Chili flakes
150g '00' pasta flour
50g ground rice
2g table salt
90ml beer
Lime and Chili Salt
Set an oven to 60 Celsius.
Chuck a tablespoon or two of coarse sea salt and the zest of 2/3 limes in an ovenproof dish, stir it about and pop all that in the oven.
Leave it in the oven for a few hours until the zest is really dry.
Add a teaspoon of chili flakes (or as much or little as you like) and blitz in a spice grinder.
This will make loads more than you need but will keep in an airtight container for a good old while.
Beer Puffs
Add the flour, rice and salt to a mixing bowl.
Add the beer and mix until well combined. I used Punk IPA but any beer would work
Knead the dough until smooth.
Wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Roll out the dough as thin as you can, using ground rice to stop it all from getting too sticky (I used a pasta maker but a rolling pin will definitely do the trick).
Cut the rolled out dough into strips about 10cm long and 2/3cm wide .
Fry in batches in oil at 170 C until puffed up and golden.
Drain on kitchen paper before tossing in a bowl with no more than a teaspoon of the lime and chili salt.
I would recommend erring on the side of caution with the salt, once it is blitzed it is really difficult to judge how much you are actually adding and my first attempt ended up being way too salty. Anyway, if you have a go at making these, or have any suggestions for other additions to the DIY Beer Snack series, please comment below.
**Full disclosure - I got a bit distracted and didn't take as many photos as I had intended, but these are so easy, you'll manage easily without**
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