Makes 12 hand pies
These are sweet and savory little pies, each one a big bite of flavor. Take care: They can be quite hot inside, so cool them for a few minutes before serving. Potato bread has more sugar than, say, rye bread, and browns very quickly, much faster than some other breads. Keep your eye on these as they fry. Turn them often but allow them to get quite brown for the best crunch. If you don’t like goat cheese, use a 50/50 combo of farmer’s cheese and regular cream cheese.
12 ounces soft goat cheese, cool but not cold
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 potato bread slices (about 1¼ ounces per slice)
About 2 cups canola oil
6 tablespoons honey
1. Mix the cheese, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl until uniform.
2. Cut the crusts off the bread slices. On a clean, dry work surface, use a rolling pin to roll each one to a flattened square, less than ¼ inch thick, but not really larger than the original slice, just more compressed.
3. Put a small bowl of water near your work space. Place about 1½ tablespoons of the cheese mixture in the middle of one piece of flattened bread. Dip a clean finger in the water and moisten the four edges of the bread. Fold the bread square crosswise in half, thus surrounding the filling. Press the edges firmly together to seal. Set aside and make 11 more small hand pies.
4. Pour enough oil into a 10-inch round high-sided skillet or sauté pan to make a depth of about 1 inch. Clip a deep-frying thermometer to the inside of the pan, set it over medium heat, and bring the oil up to 350°F.
5. Fry the hand pies two or three at a time, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 1 minute per batch. Transfer to a wire rack to drain and continue until all the rolls have been fried. To serve, cool for a few minutes, then drizzle the honey over the rolls, about ½ tablespoon for each.