Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts (Soufganiot) Recipe - Cooking Index
1/2 cup | 118ml | Warm water - (about 115 degrees) |
5 teaspoons | 25ml | Active dry yeast |
(2 envelopes plus 1/2 tspn) | ||
1/3 cup | 65g / 2.3oz | Granulated sugar plus 1 pinch - divided |
1 cup | 237ml | Warm milk or water |
1 teaspoon | 5ml | Vanilla |
2 | Eggs | |
1/3 cup | 78ml | Vegetable oil or melted vegetable |
Shortening | ||
5 1/2 teaspoons | 27ml | Salt |
4 1/4 cups | 265g / 9.3oz | All-purpose flour - (to 5 cups) |
Vegetable oil - for frying | ||
2 cups | 474ml | Jam or jelly - at room temperature |
In large mixing bowl, stir together 1/2 cup warm water, yeast and pinch sugar. Let stand for several minutes. Stir in remaining 1/3 cup sugar, milk, vanilla, eggs, oil, salt and most of the flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 5 to 8 minutes by hand or with a dough hook, adding more flour as needed to form a firmer dough that is smooth and elastic.
Place dough in greased bowl. Place bowl in plastic bag and seal. (If making dough a day in advance, refrigerate at this point.) Let rise for about 1 hour. Gently deflate. (If dough was refrigerated, let come to room temperature for about 40 minutes before proceeding).
Pinch off pieces of dough and form into small balls, a little larger than a golf ball. Alternately, roll dough about 3/4 inch thick and cut into 2 1/2- or 3-inch rounds.
Cover doughnuts with a clean tea towel; let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Heat about 4 inches oil in deep fryer or heavy Dutch oven to about 385 degrees.
Fry a test doughnut; oil should bubble. Fry until underside is deep brown. Turn once; fry until other side is deep brown. Total frying time should be 1 1/2 to 3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Check middle of doughnut to make sure inside is cooked. If not, reduce heat of oil slightly. Fry remaining doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time.
To fill, make a small opening in each doughnut; spoon in jam or jelly. (Instead of filling doughnuts, you can shake them in a paper bag with granulated or powdered sugar.)
Yield: 2 to 2 1/2 dozen doughnuts.
Tester's note: Time-consuming but good recipe that yielded, light, non-greasy doughnuts. I made the dough and let it rise in a bread machine with a 2-pound loaf capacity. Smaller machines would not be able to handle this recipe.
Source:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 12-14-1998 - Recipe adapted from A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking by Marcy Goldman (Doubleday, $25)
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