Chanukah is around the corner. It is so early this year and I am scrambling to put a beautiful dinner together. I don’t know about where you live, but here in my town, the kosher jelly doughnuts or Israeli Sufganiyot, available from the bakeries are totally unacceptable. If you purchase them earlier in the day, they become stale so rapidly that they leave that greasy mouth feel without the satisfaction of being light and airy.
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I decide this year to conquer my fear of failure and make a recipe that was easy, successful, could be fried very last minute, and most of all was dairy-free so I could serve it after brisket or any meal.
Makes 22 to 24
3 to 3 1/ 4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
3 teaspoons rapid rise dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm almond milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1 extra large egg
1 extra large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Sunflower oil for deep frying, 6 quarts for a deep frying machine or less depending on what pan you use
1 jar of seedless raspberry or other flavor jam ( i use seedless so the injector does not clog with seeds)
powder sugar for dusting or
1 tablespoon cinnamon with 1/3 cup sugar for dusting (Vietnamese Extra Fancy is the most pungent)
Place flour and salt in a medium bowl, stir, and set aside. Place warm water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl or measuring pitcher, stir and leave to proof (form bubbles on top). Add warm almond milk, sugar, and oil to bubbling yeast bowl. Crack egg and egg yolk into another small bowl and whisk with vanilla.
Add liquids to flour and stir to combine. Work dough with your hands to incorporate flour. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Set dough aside in a greased large bowl in a warm corner. Place a thin sheet of plastic loosely over the top and then, cover bowl with a tea towel. Let dough rise for about an hour or more.
When dough is doubled in bulk, remove from bowl to a floured work surface. Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick square. Using a floured biscuit cutter about 2 inches in diameter, cut rounds from dough and place on a floured surface to rise a second time. This second rise takes about 40 minutes until the Sufganiyot puff up.
Heat oil to about 365° F. It should be 3 or more inches deep. If you do not use a deep fryer, use a very deep saucepan. When the oil is the right temperature gently place pillows of dough into hot oil. Fry until deep golden and then use a tong to carefully turn. Fry the second side until deep golden as well. Remove Sufganiyot from oil and drain on paper towel lined sheet pan. When cool enough to touch, you may inject them with jam or crème filling through the bottom or side. Sprinkle Sufganiyot with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar as you like. Enjoy.
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