We are, sadly, nearing the end of Chanukkah – the festival of lights – when we remember and celebrate the Maccabees triumph over the Greeks. It is also a holiday when Jews take sufganiyot (donut) eating quite seriously. Sufganiyot is one of the traditional Chanukkah foods, and like latkes, we eat them because they are fried in oil. And they are delicious. Lucky for us, one of our Yavneh chefs, known for her delicious baked goods, was kind enough to share her sufganiyot recipe – just in time to wrap up the Chanukkah season.
SUFGANIYOT
- 2-3 tsp. dried yeast
- 2 ½ tbs. warm water
- 1/8 cup (2 tbs.) sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tbs. butter or margarine
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbs. warm water
- Oil for frying
- Jam
- Powdered sugar
Mix together the yeast, warm water and 1 tsp. of the sugar and leave to stand until bubbly. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in the fat. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the yeast mixture with the beaten egg, and enough warm milk or water to make a soft dough. Beat well and then knead for 5 min. on a floured board.
Divide into twelve pieces, knead each well and place apart on a greased and floured tin. Brush with water and place the tin inn a greased polyethylene bag and leave until they have doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour in a warm place. Fry in oil that is not too hot (350-360ºF, turning over to brown both sides, about 3 min. Drain on absorbent paper. Fill with jam or some other filling. Roll in powdered sugar.
One recipe will yield about 13 medium sufganiyot or 30 small sufganiyot.
