History

Doughboys grew out of Italian immigrant Rhode Island shore communities adapting fritto misto and fried pizza dough for the beach-shack market. Iggy's Doughboys at Oakland Beach in Warwick was founded by Gaetano Gravino in 1989; the doughboy is part of every Rhode Island summer-shore visit, sold alongside clam cakes and chowder. The doughboy travels from shore to city in the form of zeppole-like Italian-American fair food; Federal Hill summer festivals reliably have a doughboy stand.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Makes 18 doughboysHands-on 20 minTotal 90 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g strong bread flour
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 7g instant yeast
  • 320ml lukewarm water
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Mix flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add water and olive oil. Knead 8 minutes until smooth.
  2. Cover and rise 60 minutes at room temperature until doubled.
  3. Heat 5cm of vegetable oil in a heavy pot to 180C (355F).
  4. Punch the dough down. Tear off walnut-sized pieces and stretch each into a 4 inch round, about 5mm thick.
  5. Fry in batches of 4, 90 seconds per side, until deep golden and puffed.
  6. Drain on paper towels.
  7. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a paper bag.
  8. Drop the hot doughboys into the bag, shake to coat. Eat immediately.

Tip from the editors. If the dough is too wet to handle, dust with extra flour as you stretch. The oil temperature drops with each batch, let it recover before adding more.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat doughboys

Doughboys in Providence

More cities are in research. Want doughboys covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →