Recipes & Articles by Tracy Klass
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24
Medium
30 minutes, plus 1–2 hours’ rising time
15 minutes1. Combine the water and yeast in a small bowl and allow to stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, icing sugar, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. Add the egg yolks, 2 T oil, and vanilla to the water-and-yeast mixture and whisk using a fork until combined.
4. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir using a rubber spatula until the dough comes together. It should be a bit sticky. Cover the bowl with clingwrap and allow the dough rise until doubled in size, 1–2 hours.
5. Line a baking sheet with a few layers of kitchen paper. Line another baking sheet with baking paper and dust heavily with flour. Generously dust a clean countertop and your hands with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the counter and dust with flour.
4. Pat the dough into a ½ cm-thick rectangle (it should be about 25 x 30 cm in size), making sure the bottom doesn't stick, adding more flour to the counter and your hands as required. Using a pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut the dough into 5 cm squares and transfer to the floured baking sheet, leaving a little space between the squares. Sprinkle the squares lightly with flour.
5. Add enough oil to a large cast-iron casserole or heavy pot to measure about 5 cm deep and heat over medium heat to 180°C. (If you don't have a candy/deep-fry thermometer, drop a 2 cm cube of bread into the oil; if it takes about 1 minute to turn golden brown, the oil is at the right temperature.)
6. Place 6 dough pieces in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes, flipping halfway through frying. Adjust the heat, if necessary, to maintain the oil's temperature between 160 and 180°C. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to the kitchen paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.
7. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to puncture the side of each to form a pocket in the centre. Place the tip of a squeeze bottle or piping bag into the pocket and squeeze 1–2 t jam or preferred filling inside. Using a fine sieve, dust the doughnuts generously with icing sugar. Serve warm.
Cook’s note: Warm water helps activate the yeast.
Find more Hanukkah recipes here
Videographer: Barry de Villiers
Photographer: Shavan Rahim
Food Assistant: Bianca Jones
Recipe credit: Jenn Segal