Funviralpark The main thing that makes even the most seasoned home cook cautious about projects involving yeast and projects involving frying. Hot, freshly made donuts. The kind that drives your family crazy. Hanukkah offers the perfect incentive.
Want to learn how to write more amazing dishes and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food’s newsletter, The Bite.
“The Hebrew word for donut, sufganiyot, is arguably Israel’s most popular Hanukkah dish.
“These iconic deep-fries are easily prepared gems made with yeast, filled with chocolate, cream, curd or jelly. For weeks before the actual holiday, bakeries and markets across the country start selling them.” You’ll see them filling shelves and windows with these little darlings in a week.” And he encourages, “But now you can always make one.”
Despite the fact that I once had enough grease fires to bring an entire sirensing brigade to my door, I love fried food. But I get impatient and frustrated with things that double in size and expect to punch down and wait to get back up again. It seems like too many places go wrong along the way. This is why I’m telling you, I get it. Anyway, join us on this adventure. There’s a donut on the other side of your insecurities.
Here I used Zimmern’s recipe as a reference. He uses caster sugar in his dough, but not all home cooks have it on hand, so I used granulated sugar. If you like , go here. He recommends armagnac or apple brandy, but if that’s something you don’t usually drink, rum is better than buying a bottle of something you wouldn’t otherwise enjoy. Other notes: Zimaan rolls sufghani yot in granulated sugar. Others prefer confectioner’s sugar or white sugar. A typical filling is strawberry jam, but here you can improvise with your own favorite.
The process of making donuts is long but leisurely, and it’s just a day’s work of hanging around the house. And enjoy the intense aroma of sweet dough and the enthusiastic applause of your guests. And once you realize how easy it is to create this kind of straight-up magic in your own kitchen, you’ll want to keep it going year-round. there is nothing to do.”
* * *
Sound inspired by Andrew Zimmern
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 egg
- 4 teaspoons dark rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 teaspoon flaked salt
- 5 cups vegetable oil (plus for brushing)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Optional: 3 cups strawberry jam (or your favorite flavor)
- Gently heat the milk in a small microwave-safe bowl for about 15 seconds. It should not be too hot.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes until it becomes foamy.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine flour and 1/3 cup sugar. Add milk and yeast mixture, butter, eggs, rum, vanilla, and salt. Using a hand mixer or dough hook, knead on low speed for about 4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is soft, about 10 minutes.
- Rub a small amount of oil onto clean hands and roll the dough into a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment for about 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. If you leave it alone for a while, nothing terrible will happen.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and brush with oil. Punch out the dough and divide it in half. Roll each half into a 12-inch log. Pinch each log into 12 pieces, roll them into balls, and arrange evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- In a medium bowl, combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Prepare a large sheet pan by lining it with a paper bag or parchment paper. Place a cooling rack on top.
- In a large saucepan, heat the oil to 325 degrees or crackling over medium heat. Working in small batches, flip donuts once and fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
- Remove donuts using a slotted spoon or kitchen spider. Roll them in cinnamon sugar and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Put a squeeze opening in the pie crust bag and add the jam with a spoon. Gently squeeze about 2 tablespoons of jam onto each donut. No pastry bag? no problem. Place the jam in a ziplock bag and cut off the corners. Poke a small hole in the donut with the tip of a spoon and squeeze out the jam.
cook notebook
These are obviously best eaten fresh and warm. However, that doesn’t deter you from turning leftovers into French toast that is absolutely phenomenal.
read more
one of the easiest things to make with chocolate
Salon Food writes about what we think you’ll love. These products have been independently selected by our editorial team, but Salon has affiliate partnerships, so we may earn a commission if you buy from our links. .
