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Hanukkah (Chanukah) Recipes
Israeli Sufganiyot
Source: The Jewish Holiday Baker,
Joan Nathan, Random House, 1997.
The word sufganiya, a modern Hebrew word, comes
from the greek sufgan, meaning "puffed and fried."
Every bakery in Jerusalem, no matter the ethnic origin of the
baker, makes these jelly doughnuts for Chanukah. They used to
consist of two rounds of dough sandwiching some jam, and the
jam always ran out during the frying. Today, with new injectors
on the market, balls of dough can be deep-fried first and then
injected with jam before being rolled in sugar. This is a much
easier, quicker way of doing them. And no jam escapes.
INGREDIENTS
2 scant tablespoons (2 packages) active
dry yeast
4 tablespoons sugar, plus sugar for rolling
3/4 cup lukewarm water or milk
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
2 large egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter or parve margarine, at room
temperature
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1/2 cup plum, strawberry or apricot jam
Yield: twenty-four 2-inch
wide sufganiyot.
PREPARATION
1. Sprinkle the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the
water or milk and stir to dissolve.
2. 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.
3. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover
with plastic, and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator.
4. 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.
5. With your hands, gently form the dough
circles into balls.
6. Pour 2-inches of oil into a heavy pot
and heat until very hot, about 375°F.
7. 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.
8. Using a turkey baster or an injector
available at cooking stores, 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.
