For the 5th night of Hanukkah, put a pot of boiling oil on the stove and make these traditional fried holiday doughnuts.
Homemade Sufganiyah
By Uri Scheft
Ingredients (for 25 doughnuts):
For the dough:
30 ml of water at room temperature
120 ml (1/2 cup) 3% milk
30 g of fresh yeast
500 g (3.5 cups) flour
2 egg yolks
1 egg
A pinch of grated lemon peel
Juice from half an orange
1 tbsp brandy or rum
65 g (5 tbsp) white sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 vanilla stick
90 g unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into cubes
For frying:
2 liters of sunflower or canola oil
400 g strawberry jam
100 g powdered sugar
Preparation:
- Weigh all the raw materials in advance. Pour the water and milk into a mixing bowl, and dissolve the fresh yeast. Add the flour, egg yolks, egg, lemon zest, orange juice, brandy, sugar, salt and the vanilla stick.
- Using your hands, mix all the ingredients for about a minute until combined, scraping the ingredients from the sides of the bowl. If you use a mixer with a dough hook, mix all the ingredients for about 2 minutes at low speed until the ingredients are combined, increase the speed of the mixer to medium and continue another 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and knead by hand for about 3-5 minutes to obtain a smooth dough. Gradually add the cubes of butter, and continue kneading together until fully incorporated and a smooth dough is obtained.
- Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour, until the dough has almost doubled in volume. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, and flatten with your hands.
- Using a bread knife, divide the dough into 25 equal parts. Form each of them into a ball. Lightly grease baking paper with sunflower/canola oil, and place the dough circles on it. Cover and let rise for 40-50 minutes at room temperature.
Fry the sufganiyot:
Choose a medium pot, so that the oil is at a height of 10 cm. Heat the oil to a temperature of 180°C. Fry the donuts on both sides for 2 minutes per side. Carefully remove from the oil, and place on absorbent paper.
Fill and decorate the donuts:
Using a piping bag, fill each donut with 15 g of jam and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
Classic Sufganiyah
By Miki Shemo
Ingredients (for 25 doughnuts):
60 g (1 cube + tbsp) fresh yeast or 1/2 bag + tbsp yeast
100 g (1/2 cup) sugar
360 ml (11/2 cups) cold water
1 kg of bread flour
3 large eggs
75 g soft butter cut into cubes
Finely grated rind from 1/4 lemon
1 tsp of real vanilla extract
3 tbsp of brandy or cognac
1 tsp of salt
For frying:
canola or sunflower oil
For filling:
strawberry jam or any jam you like
For decorating:
powdered sugar
Preparation:
- Prepare the dough - put yeast and sugar in a mixer bowl and dissolve in cold water. Add flour, eggs, butter, lemon peel and vanilla extract and mix with a dough hook for about 10 minutes at a slow-medium speed until you get a uniform and smooth dough. Add brandy and salt and knead for another 2 minutes until a smooth dough is obtained.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise for 45-60 minutes.
- Divide the dough on a lightly floured surface into 25 equal parts weighing 70 grams each and roll each part into a ball.
- Place on lightly oiled trays, cover with a damp towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes until doubled in volume.
- Heat oil in a large pot and fry 3-4 donuts at a time for about 3 minutes on each side until golden. Transfer to absorbent paper and cool for about 5 minutes.
Fill, decorate and serve:
Inject about 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each donut with a syringe and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
*Variation option: add a tablespoon of instant vanilla pudding to the dough along with the flour. The pudding gives the donuts a vanilla flavor and a soft texture after frying.