Best Hanukkah Doughnuts Soofganiyot Recipes

SUFGANIYOT

Steps:

• Combine flour, eggs, yogurt, sugar, salt and vanilla sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Set the dough aside for 30 minutes.
• Form the dough into balls with a 2-inch diameter.
• Heat the vegetable oil to 365 degrees F (190 degrees C) in a large pot or deep fryer over high heat. It is best to use a basket or slotted spoon for deep frying the sufganiyot, as the oil will be extremely hot. Deep fry the dough in the oil. Let the sufganiyot cool and drain on paper towels.

HANUKKAH DOUGHNUTS (SOOFGANIYOT)

Steps:

• In a heavy pot, heat oil to 350 to 375 degrees.
• Combine sugar with water and add yeast. To proof yeast, put in a warm, moist place or put a pot of boiling water in an enclosed space such as the oven or clean, empty dishwasher. This provides a draftfree warm, moist place for the yeast to prove itself active.
• While yeast proofs, heat orange juice, margarine, sugar and salt in a small pan. When lukewarm, pour into bowl and add beaten eggs and proofed yeast. Stir to mix.
• Add flour and make into a pliable dough. Knead on floured board or in bowl.
• Grease bowl and allow dough to rise in a warm, moist place for about a half hour. Punch down.
• Cut dough in strips or cut into circles. Place on greased, floured cookie sheet at least one inch apart. Return to warm, moist place to rise. (By now you should reboil water in enclosed space to provide warmth and moisture.)
• Allow to rise for 20 minutes or longer if time allows.
• Fry in preheated deep fat until nicely browned on both sides.
• Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or cinnamon and sugar mixture. These may also be served with honey or jam or both, and may be reheated to restore freshness.

HANUKKAH SUFGANIYOT

Steps:

• For the sponge: In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk and yeast, whisking until the yeast is dissolved and there are no lumps. Add the flour and using a spatula, combine until uniform. The mixture will be the consistency of pancake batter. Cover with plastic and let it sit at room temperature until bubbly, and the mixture has grown by about half its volume. This will take 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the dough: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs and yolks, and mix again at medium speed for 1 minute. The eggs and yolks will not fully emulsify with the butter mixture, and it will resemble very wet scrambled eggs. This is ok!
• Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom again with the spatula, then add all of the flour and mix until just combined, about 10 seconds on low speed. Remove the paddle, scraping off any of the butter, egg and flour mixture back into the bowl. Switch to the dough hook and add all of the sponge. Turn the mixer on low speed and mix, kneading the dough into a smooth ball. This will take 20 to 25 minutes. You can stop the mixer halfway through and scrape down the sides with a spatula to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
• Lightly spray the top of the dough with neutral cooking spray and cover with plastic. Let it proof at room temperature until doubled in size, usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Gently punch down the dough, transfer to a large bowl lightly sprayed with neutral cooking spray, cover with plastic and transfer to the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.
• When you're ready to fry, set up 2 sheet trays. Cut 16 to 18 squares of parchment paper, about 3 inches square, and spray each with neutral cooking spray. Line them up on the sheet trays, without overlapping. Remove the dough from the fridge and gently turn it out onto a floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour and gently roll it out into a circle about 1/2 inch thick. This dough rolls best cold. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, punch out circles of dough, cutting 16 to 18 rounds.
• Place the cut rounds on the squares of parchment, giving each its own square. Spray the rounds with a little neutral cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic. Allow them to proof at room temperature until doubled in size and light to the touch, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• When the dough is proofed, heat the oil in a deep pot until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350 degrees F. While it heats up, set up a sheet tray with a resting rack right by the stove. Keep a slotted spoon handy.
• When the oil is hot, pick up the rounds of dough on their parchment paper squares and carefully drop about 5 rounds at a time into the hot oil. The parchment will separate itself from the dough as it starts to fry, and you can fish it out and discard as you go. This makes transferring them to the oil very easy. Allow them to fry, flipping them with the slotted spoon, for 3 minutes on each side. They should be deep golden brown. Use the spoon to transfer them to the resting rack when done. Repeat until all the dough is fried.
• For the fillings and toppings: Place the sugar in a mixing bowl. Once the sufganiyot are cool enough to handle, gently roll each in the sugar, coating well. It's fine if they're warm when you do this. Transfer to a clean tray to continue cooling.
• Fit a piping bag with a Bismark piping tip. Fill your piping bag with your filling of choice. Once the sufganiyot are cooled to room temperature, use the piping tip to poke a hole into the side or top (a style preference) of each, and squeeze in the filling, being careful to not overfill. Repeat until all the sufganiyot are filled. Best enjoyed the day they're made!

SUFGANIYOT (HANUKKAH JELLY DOUGHNUTS)

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the water or milk and stir to dissolve.
• Place the flour on a work surface and make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, egg yolks, salt, cinnamon, and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Knead well, about 5 minutes, working the butter or margarine into the dough and kneading until the dough is elastic. You can also use a food processor fitted with the steel blade to do this, processing about 2 minutes.
• Put the dough on a greased bowl, cover with plastic, and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator.
• Sprinkle flour of the work surface. Roll out the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness. using a 2-inch cookie cutter or floured drinking glass, cut out circles. Let the dough circles rise 15 minutes or more.
• With your hands, gently form the dough circles into balls.
• Pour 2-inches of oil into a heavy pot and heat until very hot, about 375 degrees.
• Slip the doughnuts into the oil, 4 or 5 at a time, using a slotted spoon. Turn them when brown, after a few minutes, to crisp on the other side. Drain on paper towels.
• Using a turkey baster, a pastry bag, or an injector, inject a teaspoon of jam into each doughnut. Then roll all of them in granulated sugar and serve immediately. You can make larger sufganiyot if you like.