I bought a Valentine’s Day card for Brian that had a picture of a donut and a donut hole. The enclosure was “You complete me.” I didn’t even care that the card was near $5, because I love donuts that much and so does someone else. It was perfect.
There were too many excuses to bake this past weekend… the day of love, Mardi Gras, and I guess that’s it, but reason enough. I did simple cookies for Valentine’s Day gifts, but wanted to go for gold in honor of Fat Tuesday. Inspired by fried dough, I decided to go with beignets.
I was excited about my experiment and did not want to fail. Leading up to bake time, Brian kept referring to the fried dough as a paczki (poonch-key). He was right, on a lot of different levels: fried dough, a Fat Tuesday treat, but he was stuck in Poland and I was in New Orleans.
I made the dough, let it rise, fried it off, and topped it with loads of powdered sugar; I sampled… I liked. I really liked. I served my in-laws and scored big. I left the dough at their house, so they could fry up some fresh ones the next day. Brian just happened to stop by that morning to drop our dog off before a day of skiing and texted me, “we can’t stop eating the bin yays.” Close but no cigar.
Today, I’m headed to Dinkel’s Bakery on Chicago’s northside–they are famous for their paczkis. I will complete the fried dough trinity just before Lent (although, I’m not giving anything up this year). Brian and I will finally be on the same page. Perfect.
Buttermilk Beignets
adapted from: DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/2 TBS sugar
~3 1/2 cups bread flour++
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
canola oil for frying
salt to taste
confectioners’ sugar
In a small saucepan heat the whole milk over medium heat until small bubbles start to form. Remove from the heat and add the buttermilk. Quickly add the mixture to a stand mixer bowl; whisk in the yeast and sugar, let rest for five minutes. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix on low (with the hook attachment) until the ingredients are moist; approximately three to four minutes. Increase the speed to medium and watch the dough until a loose dough ball forms (while still wet and tacky). This is where the approximate flour measurement comes in–continue adding small amounts of flour if needed until the dough ball forms–approximately one to two minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for one hour.
Pour enough canola oil into a medium, heavy gauge pot to fry the beignets (~two to three inches high). Meanwhile, lightly flour your workspace and lay out the dough. Heat until the temprature reaches 375F or a test piece of dough goldens in the oil. Gently knead (a few folds) the dough. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough; roll until 1/2 – 1/3 inch thick. Cut the dough (using a pizza wheel) into 1 1/2 inch squares. (*note the dough can be made up to eight hours in advance; at this point place the dough squares on a parchment lined sheet tray, covered in the refrigerator.)
Place the dough squares into the hot oil. Turn often and remove when golden. Place on a paper towel lined plate. Coat with sifted powdered sugar and a touch of sea salt when warm.