Churros Recipe and The Porras
Is culture baked into our veins or do we control our own life? Let’s make some Churros to see what lies behind!
Societies are complex form of human existence that’s been evolved similarly as life on Earth did. Although, individuals can fend for themselves in the wild, similarly as single cells can, getting together seemed to increase the chances of their survival.
Is being in society baked into our cells?
On cellular level this meant that multicellular beings evolved with specific cells responsible for various function while on the society level humans formed small tribal groups where individuals got responsibilities to fulfill.
As more and more functions were required by the organisms to survive, more and more functions needed to be developed with cells, specific to the given tasks. Sight, hearing, smell, taste all had to develop the specific groups of cells to accommodate the new functions.
Of course, these advancements didn’t come overnight, or out of the blue. Species evolve responding to changes in their environment similarly as human tribes recognized that the best way to protect their territory is by not fighting each other but by protecting each other from outsiders.
Why so similar, yet not so?
As every species that competes with each other had to evolve similar characteristics or perish in the attempt, modern countries are required to have similar institutions in order to compete in the modern era.
Forming nations was as advanced evolutionary step in human society as it was for nature to create complex multicellular organisms, such as ourselves. Having specific group of people to serve for tasks required to run a nation, created the backbone of the society.
The reason each society is so different from another is the same why individual spices are so different from one another, even if they are from the same family as cats or even from the same class like birds.
Does a breakfast tells all about us?
What the individuals bring to the whole, creates the culture what binds the society together. Unspoken customs create pillars where the common past can rest, providing fertile soil for the future seeds to grow.
There are traditions, highly visible for anyone, even for those who are not completely integrated into a society, such as Thanksgiving, a flag in classrooms or in other countries, whole ham hanging on walls.
Once we dive deep into cultures though, we find that there is other -although not as prominent but more significant details- that are governing everyday life. As simple thing as a breakfast can tell a lot, not just about the individual but its culture too.
A syrup-soaked breakfast with black coffee can tell us as much as a baked bean soaked one with tea or deep fried one with coffee con leche.
What’s for breakfast in Spain?
If anyone has ever been to Spain, may have been faced with the incredible sight of whole cured pork legs proudly hanging from ceiling wall to wall or simply placed on the bar, ready to be served as a bite, into the forefront of Spanish culture washed down with small ice-cold lagers.
Some may even have the courage to explore the local cuisine and dive into the adventure of exploring the various delicacies around the lodging but probably few of us dared to expand the boundaries of tourism.
Popping open a crowded bar’s door in the morning when napkins are littering the floor and the chatter from the people are blended into the news coming from the television with the occasional screeching of the milk frother shouting through the air. There and then, we can meet the humble backbone of society, served on the same white plates as the glass cupped lattes, the churros.
What is churros?
Churros is a typical Spanish fried dough that reached to every corner of the world where the Spanish language is heard. Some say that churros came to the Spanish peninsula by Portuguese travelers who frequently sailed to the Asian continent where there has been a similar dessert still popular nowadays.
Others say that churros is the invention of Spanish shepherds who used churros as a way of getting fresh baked produce at the campfire, far from the coziness of their homes.
Today’s churros is somewhat different from any of those, since nowadays churros is fried in specially made olive oil filled churros making friers. The dough is pressed through a star shaped nozzle that creates a firm crunchy outer layer and soft core with a widely recognizable form.
Churros or Porras then?
Another delicacy is the similar, yet more likely the original churros is the porras. Porras is much wider in diameter and less starry shaped or rather none at all which makes its outer layer less crunchy but its inside airier and thus softer.
Although they are clearly different, churros and porras are used interchangeably and clear distinction between the two are not everywhere respected or cared for. Depending on the place where we buy them or when we buy them, churros may be sprinkled with sugar without asking or in many places of the world sugar and cinnamon on top is very popular for some unfathomable reason.
Be it coffee in the morning or hot chocolate in the afternoon, though the love of churros or porras will bind together all, whose heart beats together in the morning like a pledge of allegiance under the raising rays of the late sun.
Ingredients
Native
- 2 cups / 240g Flour
- 1 cup / 240ml Water (hot)
- ½ teaspoon / 3g Salt
Fancy
- 2 cups / 240g Flour
- 1 cup / 480ml Water
- 12 tablespoons / 180g Butter
- 1 teaspoon / 6g Salt
- 6 Eggs
Porras
- 2 cups / 240g Flour
- 1 cup / 240ml Water
- 1 teaspoon / 5g Salt
- 1 teaspoon / 5g Yeast
How to make Churros – Porras
Churros
- Mix flour, boiling water and salt together quickly. If going for the fancy version add the butter too.
- Let it rest for 5 minutes covered with a kitchen cloth.
- Knead it until a uniform texture reached. (For the fancy version add the eggs now and mix it into the dough.)
- Fill it into a piping bag or churros making equipment. The churros mass supposed to be very dense (except the fancy version) so choose a tough piping bag otherwise it will rip into pieces.
- Spread a thin layer of oil onto a tray (parchment paper also works) then squeeze the churros out. Experienced churros makers can squeeze them directly into the oil.
- Heat oil to 360°F / 180°C or as hot as possible and with oily hand transfer the churros into the oil.
- Fry them until golden brown for about 3 minutes.
Enjoy!
Porras
- Mix flour, lukewarm water (no more than 85°F / 30°C) salt and yeast in a bowl.
- Cover the bowl, put it to a 68°F – 81°F /20°C – 27°C place to rise for 45 – 90 minutes.
- Fill the dough into a piping bag or porras making equipment.
- Spread a thin layer of oil onto a tray then squeeze the porras out. Experienced porras makers can squeeze them directly into the oil.
- Heat oil to 360°F / 180°C or as hot as possible and with oily hand transfer the porras into the oil.
- Fry them until golden brown for about 3 minutes.
Enjoy!
Churros Recipe and The Porras
Ingredients
Native
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Water hot
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Posh
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Water
- 12 tablespoons Butter
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 6 Eggs
Porras
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Yeast
Instructions
Churros
- Mix flour, boiling water and salt together quickly. If going for the fancy version add the butter too.
- Let it rest for 5 minutes covered with a kitchen cloth.
- Knead it until a uniform texture reached. (For the fancy version add the eggs now and mix it into the dough.)
- Fill it into a piping bag or churros making equipment. The churros mass supposed to be very dense (except the fancy version) so choose a tough piping bag otherwise it will rip into pieces.
- Spread a thin layer of oil onto a tray (parchment paper also works) then squeeze the churros out. Experienced churros makers can squeeze them directly into the oil.
- Heat oil to 360°F / 180°C or as hot as possible and with oily hand transfer the churros into the oil.
- Fry them until golden brown for about 3 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Porras
- Mix flour, lukewarm water (no more than 85°F / 30°C) salt and yeast in a bowl.
- Cover the bowl, put it to a 68°F – 81°F /20°C – 27°C place to rise for 45 - 90 minutes.
- Fill the dough into a piping bag or porras making equipment.
- Spread a thin layer of oil onto a tray then squeeze the porras out. Experienced porras makers can squeeze them directly into the oil.
- Heat oil to 360°F / 180°C or as hot as possible and with oily hand transfer the porras into the oil.
- Fry them until golden brown for about 3 minutes.
Notes
Pin now, Enjoy later!
