I came across this video about frying gnocchi, and am now quite curious what causes the reaction shown, especially since gnocchi is made from potatoes, and we have all had a fried potato in some manner or another.
What causes gnocchi to pop violently when fried
deep-fryingfryinggnocchi
Related Solutions
You're on the right track! Start adding your flour in the bowl as you did and when you can remove it without it being too tacky then start working it on a cutting board or countertop as you continue adding more flour. Sounds like maybe you pulled it out of the bowl too soon.
As for a specific ratio of flour to potatoes/veg. that's going to depend not only on the items you're using, but also cooking method (for instance I recommend baking potatoes for making gnocchi rather than boiling as they will be drier and need less flour added, thus making for a lighter dumpling).
Once you have enough flour in the mix so that you can knead it and work it, I usually do a "stretch" or "tug" test but holding the dough up in the air and with my hands at each end and then kind of pull and push the dough from the ends (hard to explain in text but imagine the push and pull of two magnets you're trying to push together). If it has a bit of tug and a little elasticity you should be fine. If it doesn't, then either knead it a bit more, adding flour only if it is sticky. If it still doesn't have any tug after kneading more, then you probably don't have enough flour. The gluten in the flour is what's going to help hold it all together so that you don't just end up with disintegrating mashed potato/vegetable blobs in your poaching water. If you're making a big batch it will probably take longer than you expect to get it to the right consistency.
As for types of flour, the more protein a flour contains the more liquid it can absorb. While I have not made gnocchi with bread flour, it would take less bread flour than all-purpose to absorb the moisture in the mix. It will also have a more distinct flavor from the add'l protein. One caveat is that it could end up making them too tough due to the extra gluten.
The double fry process is to make a crisper potato chip. Tests have indicated that less oil is absorbed too, so this is a general health benefit
The blanch process is mainly for mass production reasons to stop potato chips from sticking together when packed. It removes all surface starch. Cold water rinsing is all that is needed for home, small scale production
Cooling and drying the chips between steps generally makes for a better chip
The quality, and suitability of the potatoes is still probably got more to do with it than the cooking process
Interesting experiments at http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/02/the-great-baked-fry-experiment/
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Best Answer
I think it's because there is water inside the gnocchi paste, which turns into vapor and builds up pressure. A little bit like why you shouldn't throw an ice cube in hot oil.
You can pan fry them, but not deep-fry them.